WO2016105184A1

WO2016105184A1 - A method of producing a biodegradable composition

Info

Publication number: WO2016105184A1
Application number: PCT/MY2015/050155
Authority: WO
Inventors: R Meyyanathan RETNASAMY
Original assignee: Retnasamy R Meyyanathan
Priority date: 2014-12-24
Filing date: 2015-12-16
Publication date: 2016-06-30
Also published as: MY169171A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of producing a biodegradable composition comprising the steps of: washing and cleaning a tapioca; shredding the washed and cleaned tapioca; grinding said shredded tapioca into a pulp; drying and powderized said pulp; adding 20% - 80% by weight of starch based on total weight of the biodegradable composition as a binder or thickener to said tapioca powder; adding shredded and communicated fine fiber of the tapioca for increasing flexural strength of a product produced from said biodegradable composition; adding releasing agent to facilitate easy removal of the product produced thereof; adding plasticisers for improving quality of the product; and characterized by: adding a repellent to said mixture containing the tapioca powder; and wherein said repellent comprises of soybean powder, milk protein and silicone to obtain the biodegradable composition.

Description

A METHOD OF PRODUCING A BIODEGRADABLE COMPOSITION

Background of the Invention

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a biodegradable composition, more particularly a method of producing a biodegradable composition and the product produced thereof, which can be utilised in forming into shaped articles including containers for food and beverage, plates, trays, packaging products, packaging material and the like. Said shaped articles are biodegradable in a range of about 28 to 45 days. This application is a modification from a Malaysia patent MY-1 16328-A, granted on 31 January 2004 to the applicant of the present patent application, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Description of Related Arts

Plastics are the main material in making containers of various geometrical shapes and sizes. The commonly used plastics include polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate are low cost but they pose a major threat to the environment as they are not biodegradable. Problems associated with the handling of the environmental waste, particularly the large amount of discardable plastic products and the limited volume of land fill facilities have placed great emphasis on developing products which are biodegradable.

U.S. Patent No. 5,279,658 discloses a composition suitable for forming into shaped articles comprising flour, starch and water, each present in an amount such that the composition is rigid and stable over a predetermined temperature range. The composition preferably contains 40-80% by flour, 20-60% starch and 15-25% water. The flour and starch are obtained from natural cereal sources.

European Patent No. 1622984 B1 disclosed a biodegradable composition having improved water resistance and a process for producing same. Said composition comprises of 30-50 parts by weight of the fibrous powder and 5-50 parts by weight of the acrylate copolymer based on 100 parts by weight of the natural polymer. The fibrous powder is derived from wood, straw, sugarcane, bamboo, woody stem, phloem fiber, leaf fiber or seedlings. The natural polymer is an anionic starch which derived from corn, potato, wheat, rice, tapioca or sweet potato. Optionally, the composition further comprises 0.05 - 2 % by weight of a preservative based on the total weight of the composition.

U.S. Publication No. 2010/1 16708 A1 disclosed biodegradable compositions that are useful in food product packaging such as including bowls, plates, cups and others; and the process of produced the composition thereof. The composition comprises 40%-70% by weight of starch, 8%-40% by weight of a plasticising agent, 5%-30% by weight of cellulose, 0.5%-5% by weight of proteins and 0.005%-0.05% by weight of a transglutaminase, with respect to the weight of the composition. WO Publication No. 1993019125 A1 disclosed a biodegradable thermoplastic composition used to make extruded or molded articles that have a high level of water-resistance and physical strength. The thermoplastic composition, comprising, in admixture: 50-95% by weight starch; 5-50% by weight protein; and an amount of cross-linking agent effective to internally and externally link the starch and protein together to form a water-resistant biodegradable moldable thermoplastic composition; the % by weight being based on the total dry weight of the composition; wherein the composition has a water content of about 3-35% by weight based on the total weight of the composition. The starch can be native starch includes the tapioca starch, or animal derived starch; the protein also can be plant derived such as soybean protein or animal derived protein. Cross-linking agent is an aldehyde or an epoxide. Said composition further comprises an effective amount of a colouring agent.

None of the prior arts disclosed the utilisation of repellent agent as presented in the present application. Accordingly, there is a need to provide an alternative method of producing the biodegradable composition using alternative material. Summary of Invention

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a method of producing a biodegradable composition suitable for forming into shaped articles using raw whole piece of tapioca plant including leave, stem and the whole piece of tapioca without any waste.

It is also an objective of the present invention to provide a method of producing a biodegradable composition, which includes a repellent comprising of soybean powder, carbohydrate polymer and silicone.

It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a method of producing a biodegradable composition that is then be used as a "premix" compound in manufacturing a biodegradable shaped articles by any molding technique, preferably by injection molding or thermo molding technique.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a biodegradable composition and the articles produced using said composition, wherein said articles able to sustain heat for a longer period of time to hold a hot article or liquid, for example to hold a hot soup longer.

It is yet a further objective of the present invention to provide a biodegradable composition that is used for producing the shaped articles, which is biodegradable within about 28 to 45 days. Accordingly, these objectives may be achieved by following the teachings of the present invention. The present invention relates to a method of producing a biodegradable composition comprising the steps of: washing and cleaning a tapioca; shredding the washed and cleaned tapioca; grinding said shredded tapioca into a pulp; drying and powderized said pulp; adding 20% - 80% by weight of starch based on total weight of the biodegradable composition as a binder or thickener to said tapioca powder; adding shredded and communicated fine fiber of the tapioca for increasing flexural strength of a product produced from said biodegradable composition; adding releasing agent to facilitate easy removal of the product produced thereof; adding plasticisers for improving quality of the product; and characterized by: adding a repellent to said mixture containing the tapioca powder; and wherein said repellent comprises of soybean powder, carbohydrate polymer and silicone to obtain the biodegradable composition.

Detailed Description of the Invention

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting but merely as a basis for claims. It should be understood that the detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modification, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes" mean including, but not limited to. Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one" and the word "plurality" means one or more, unless otherwise mentioned. Where the abbreviations or technical terms are used, these indicate the commonly accepted meanings as known in the technical field.

The present invention presents a method of producing a biodegradable composition, wherein said biodegradable composition can be utilised in producing a biodegradable shaped articles or products of various shapes. Said method of producing the biodegradable composition, comprising the steps of: washing and cleaning a tapioca; shredding the washed and cleaned tapioca; grinding said shredded tapioca into a pulp containing starch and fibre of said tapioca; separating the fibre from the starch via centrifugation; drying the separated fibre and the separated starch to a moisture content in a range of 5% - 20% and powderised said dried fibre and dried starch separately; mixing 20% - 80% by weight of the starch based on total weight of the biodegradable composition as a binder or thickener with said tapioca powder; adding shredded and communicated fine fibre of the tapioca and the tapioca plant stem for increasing flexural strength of a product produced from said biodegradable composition; adding releasing agent to facilitate easy removal of the product produced thereof; adding plasticisers for improving quality of the product; and characterized by: adding a repellent to said mixture containing the tapioca powder; and wherein said repellent comprises of soybean powder, milk protein and silicone to obtain the biodegradable composition.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of producing the biodegradable composition, said method further comprises the step of extracting chlorophyll and fibre from a tapioca tree leave that have been harvested, washed and dried to a moisture content in a range of 5% - 20%.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of producing the biodegradable composition, the fine fiber is added in a range of 0.5% - 20% by weight of the fine fiber based on total weight of the biodegradable composition. In a preferred embodiment of the method of producing the biodegradable composition, the releasing agent is stearate.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of producing the biodegradable composition, the releasing agent is added in a range of 0.5% - 20% by weight of the releasing agent based on total weight of the biodegradable composition.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of producing the biodegradable composition, the plasticiser is added in a range of 0.5% - 20% by weight of the plasticiser based on total weight of the biodegradable composition. In a preferred embodiment of the method of producing the biodegradable composition, the plasticiser is selected from the group consisting of glycerine, polyethylene glycol, ethylene glycol, sorbitol and polyvinyl alcohol. In a preferred embodiment of the method of producing the biodegradable composition, the repellent is added in a range of 0.5% - 20% by weight of the repellent based on total weight of the biodegradable composition.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of producing the biodegradable composition, the repellent comprises of soybean powder, milk protein and silicone.

The method of producing the biodegradable composition is initially begun with washing and cleaning a raw, optionally peeled, whole piece tapioca to remove soils and unwanted particles such as debris. The cleaned tapioca is fed into a shredder to shred the tapioca and thereafter, the shredded tapioca is fed into a grinder for grinding into the pulp. Said pulp is then subjected to a centrifugation for separating the fibre from the starch. The fibre and the starch of said whole piece of tapioca are dried separately to the moisture content in the range of 5% - 20%, and followed by powderising said dried fibre and dried starch separately.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the chlorophyll is extracted from the leave of the tapioca plant and it is used as a natural colouring agent in the formation of the shaped article using said biodegradable composition. The starch, the fine fiber, the releasing agent, the plasticiser, and the repellent are then mixed together to form the biodegradable composition. The starch is mixed in the range of 20% - 80% by weight of starch based on total weight of the biodegradable composition. The starch will act as binder or thickener during application of said biodegradable composition in making the shaped article. Besides the starch obtained from the whole-piece tapioca, the starch added may be selected from potato starch, corn starch, rice starch or wheat starch. Other types of binders that may be used include carboxymethylcellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, gum tragacanth, alginic acid, amylopectin, amylase and ZEIN a protein derived from corn.

The fibre, preferably a very short and fine fibre, is obtained from the whole-piece tapioca, the stem of the tapioca plant, the leave of the tapioca plant, or a combination thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fibre of the stem is obtained by separating a main stem of the tapioca plant from its roots and leaves and preferably the mid-region of the main stem is selectively cut into smaller pieces, cleanly removed bark of the stem and fed into the shredding machine and comminuter for crushing into a pulp. Said pulp is later dried to the moisture content in the range of 5% - 20% and be powderised. The powder obtaining from the stem contains fibre. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fibre of the leaves is obtained by harvesting, washing, drying the leaves of the tapioca plant to the moisture content in the range of about 5% - 20% and shredding said dried leaves into pulp. The chlorophyll is also been extracted from said leaves using a conventional chemical process known in the art.

In the preferred embodiment, the 0.5% - 60% by weight of the fibre based on total weight of the biodegradable composition, preferably 5% - 40% by weight of the fibre is added to form the biodegradable composition. Addition of said fibre increase flexural strength of the biodegradable shaped article to be made using the biodegradable composition produced from the method of the present invention. With the utilisation of the tapioca stem further increases the utility of the tapioca plant, thereby reducing waste by-products.

The product produced using said biodegradable composition should be easily removed from a mold. To facilitate the easy removal of the molded products, the releasing agent is added, preferably in a range of 0.5% - 20% by weight of total weight of the biodegradable composition. Said releasing agent includes long chain fatty acids and their derivative such as stearate. The stearate having a general formula of CH₃(CH₂)i₆COO^"X⁺, where X⁺ can be an ion of Al, Mg, Na, K or Ca. Stearate is grease repellent or resistant and allows molding time of the product to be reduced. It gives a better surface finishing. Aluminium stearate which has been approved by FDA, has a lower melting point of 1 10 °C and gives smoother finish to the biodegradable shaped article. As described herein, the fibre is selected from the tapioca plant stem, leave and the whole-piece tapioca. Each of the fibres provides different tensile strength to the shaped article produced from said biodegradable composition. The stem fibre is harder than the leave fibre and whereas the whole-piece tapioca fibre is the hardest fibre. In order to produce the shaped article with different tensile strength, the composition of the stem fibre, leave fibre and the tapioca fibre will be varied. For example, to manufacture the shaped article with higher tensile strength, more tapioca fibre is utilised compared to the stem fibre or leave fibre. In another example of the method of producing the biodegradable composition, not all types of fibres are utilised.

Plasticiser or softening agent, preferably in a range of 0.5% - 20% by weight of total weight of the biodegradable composition, to improve quality of the finished product. The plasticiser utilised herein is selected from the group consisting of glycerine, polyethylene glycol, ethylene glycol, sorbitol and polyvinyl alcohol.

The repellent, preferably in the range of 0.5% - 20% by weight of total weight of the biodegradable composition, is then added into the tapioca mixture. Said repellent comprises of the soybean powder, the milk protein and the silicone. All of the soybean powder, the milk protein and the silicone are act as water repellent during the production of the biodegradable shaped article. The silicone also provides the non-sticky effect on the mold and enables easy removal of the biodegradable shaped article from the mold.

In a preferred embodiment, the soybean powder comprises of soybean protein. One of the preferred soybean powder used in the present invention is Glycine max. The milk protein is preferably obtainable from an animal milk such as a goat milk or a cow milk. The silicone is preferably a food grade silicone. The biodegradable composition produced according to the method of the present invention, comprising of: the powderized tapioca; 20% - 80% by weight of starch based on total weight of the biodegradable composition; 5% - 20% by weight of the shredded and communicated fine fiber based on total weight of the biodegradable composition; 5% - 20% by weight of releasing agent based on total weight of the biodegradable composition; 5% - 20% by weight of plasticiser based on total weight of the biodegradable composition; and 5% - 20% by weight of repellent based on total weight of the biodegradable composition.

In a preferred embodiment of the biodegradable composition produced thereof, the repellent comprises of: soybean powder, milk protein and silicone.

In utilising the biodegradable composition produced from the method of the present invention to produce the shaped articles, about 50% - 100% of water, or more preferably 25% - 40% of water is mixed with said biodegradable composition to allow for better flow properties depending on the type of molding technique to be chosen. Said molding technique includes the injection molding and the thermo molding. In a preferred embodiment, the mixture of the biodegradable composition and the water is received into a mold of the shape article. Said mold is then heated or baked at a temperature in a range of about 140°C - 300°C for a period in a range of about 10 - 50 seconds. In a preferred embodiment, said biodegradable composition is suitable to be used in any molding technique including injection molding and thermo molding. The molded article is then removed from the mold, cooled at room temperature under ambient condition and allow said article to cure to obtain the biodegradable shaped article. The cured molded article is reconditioned using a known conventional method, if necessary.

In a preferred embodiment, said biodegradable shaped article obtainable from said method includes, but not limited to a cup, a tray, a plate, a "clam-shell" containers, a carton, a box, a packaging sheet, a packaging loose-fill or filler and a cooling container all for the use in food industry, medical and pharmaceutical industry, electrical and electronic industry as well as for domestic use. Said biodegradable shaped article produced using the biodegradable composition comprising the repellent able to retain heat for a longer period without applying a coating.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, also shown in the appended figures, it will be apparent for those skilled in the art that many variations and modifications can be done within the scope of the invention as described in the specification and defined in the following claims.

Claims

Claims I/We claim:

1 . A method of producing a biodegradable composition, comprising the steps of:

washing and cleaning a tapioca;

shredding the washed and cleaned tapioca;

grinding said shredded tapioca into a pulp containing starch and fibre of said tapioca;

and characterized by:

separating the fibre from the starch via centrifugation; drying the separated fibre and the separated starch to a moisture content in a range of 5% - 20% and powderised said dried fibre and dried starch separately;

mixing 20% - 80% by weight of the powderised starch based on total weight of the biodegradable composition as a binder or thickener adding the powderised fibre of the tapioca and a fibre of a tapioca plant stem for increasing flexural strength of a product produced from said biodegradable composition;

adding releasing agent to facilitate easy removal of the product produced thereof;

adding plasticisers for improving quality of the product; adding a repellent to said mixture containing the tapioca powder; and wherein said repellent comprises of soybean powder, milk protein and silicone to obtain the biodegradable composition.

2. A method of producing a biodegradable composition according to claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises the step of extracting chlorophyll and fibre from a tapioca tree leave that have been harvested, washed and dried to a moisture content in a range of 5% - 20%.

3. A method of producing a biodegradable composition according to claim 1 , wherein the fine fibre is added in a range of 5% - 20% by weight of the fine fibre based on total weight of the biodegradable composition.

4. A method of producing a biodegradable composition according to claim 1 , wherein the releasing agent is stearate.

5. A method of producing a biodegradable composition according to claim 1 , wherein the releasing agent is added in a range of 5% - 20% by weight of the releasing agent based on total weight of the biodegradable composition.

6. A method of producing a biodegradable composition according to claim 1 , wherein the plasticiser is added in a range of 5% - 20% by weight of the plasticiser based on total weight of the biodegradable composition.

7. A method of producing a biodegradable composition according to claim 1 , wherein the plasticiser is selected from the group consisting of glycerine, polyethylene glycol, ethylene glycol, sorbitol and polyvinyl alcohol.

8. A method of producing a biodegradable composition according to claim 1 , wherein the repellent is added in a range of 5% - 20% by weight of the repellent based on total weight of the biodegradable composition.

9. A method of producing a biodegradable composition according to claim 1 , wherein the product is a biodegradable shaped article.

10. A method of producing a biodegradable composition according to claim 1 , wherein the repellent comprises of soybean powder, milk protein and silicone.

1 1 . A biodegradable composition, comprising of:

powderized tapioca including a whole-piece tapioca, stem and leave;

20% - 80% by weight of starch based on total weight of the biodegradable composition;

5% - 60% by weight of and communicated fine fibre based on total weight of the biodegradable composition;

0.5% - 20% by weight of releasing agent based on total weight of the biodegradable composition;

0.5% - 20% by weight of plasticiser based on total weight of the biodegradable composition; and

0.5% - 20% by weight of repellent based on total weight of the biodegradable composition.

12. A biodegradable composition according to claim 1 1 , wherein the repellent comprises of soybean powder, milk protein and silicone.