Sargassum siliquosum J. Agardh extract as potential material for synthesis of bioplastic film

In this study, alginate extracted from the brown alga Sargassum siliquosum J. Agardh was used as raw material for the synthesis of bioplastic film. Two-level full factorial design (FFD) and augmented central composite design (CCD) were employed in analysing the effects of following parameter toward the physical properties of the film produced: alginate loading, addition of sago starch and sorbitol as well as the concentration of calcium chloride (CaCl2) used during treatment process. Statistical analysis of results indicated that bioplastic film could be produced from S. siliquosum by using a mixture containing 2 g of extracted alginate powder and 15% w/w of sorbitol followed by the treatment with 75% w/w of CaCl2. Model validation proved that the percentage error was below 3.21% in general, indicating the proficiency of the models in predicting an optimised film with the following properties: tensile strength of 33.90 MPa, elongation at break of 3.58%, water vapour permeability of 2.63 x 10(-10) g Pa-1 s(-1) m(-1) and water solubility of 33.73%.