Process optimization for evaluation of barrier properties of tapioca starch based biodegradable polymer film

The present study focuses on analysing the interactive effect of biological macromolecules such as tapioca starch with glycerol and acetic acid in developing a biodegradable polymer film. The process parameters comprise of tapioca starch (3-5 g), glycerol (0.1-0.3 ml) and acetic acid (0.3-0.9 ml) and the aim is to develop a model according to Central Composite Design. Box-Behnken design with four factors at three levels was applied to study the individual and interactive effects of film composition and the barrier property of the developed film. Analysis of Variance was done on the barrier property of the developed film. The optimum levels of the process parameters obtained were - tapioca starch of 3.6 g, glycerol of 0.9 ml, acetic acid of 0.16 ml resulting in 0.392 × 10^-10 g/ms Pa of WVTR, 3.8 × 10^-10 cm³/ms Pa of OTR respectively. Results revealed that the process variables had significant effect (p < 0.05) on the Water Vapour Transmission Rate (WVTR) and Oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR). Response surface and contour plots were constructed to depict the association existing between the film composition and the responses.