Open Access

ARTICLE

Characteristics of Food Packaging Bioplastics with Nanocrystalline Cellulose (NCC) from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (OPEFB) as Reinforcement

Maryam^1,*, Rahayu Puji², Luthfi Muhammad Zulfikar², Ikhsandy Ferry², Nadiyah Khairun¹, Hidayat³, Ilyas Rushdan Ahmad⁴, Syafri Edi⁵

1 Agro-Industrial Engineering, Politeknik ATI Padang, Padang, 25171, Indonesia
2 Petrochemical Industry Process Technology, Politeknik Industri Petrokimia Banten, Serang, 42166, Indonesia
3 Research Center for Environmental and Clean Technology, National Research and Innovation Agency, Serpong, 15314, Indonesia
4 Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, 1310, Johor, Malaysia
5 Department of Agricultural and Computer Engineering, Politeknik Pertanian Negeri Payakumbuh, Payakumbuh, 26271, Indonesia

* Corresponding Author: Maryam. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Special issue from 1st International Conference of Natural Fiber and Biocomposite (1st ICONFIB) 2024 )

Journal of Renewable Materials 2025, 13(12), 2431-2451. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2025.02024-0063

Received 17 December 2024; Accepted 07 May 2025; Issue published 23 December 2025

Abstract

The development of the bioplastics industry addresses critical issues such as environmental pollution and food safety concerns. However, the industrialization of bioplastics remains underdeveloped due to challenges such as high production costs and suboptimal material characteristics. To enhance these characteristics, this study investigates bioplastics reinforced with Nanocrystalline Cellulose (NCC) derived from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (OPEFB), incorporating dispersing agents. The research employs a Central Composite Design from the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with two factors: the type of dispersing agent (KCl and NaCl) and the NCC concentration from OPEFB (1%–5%), along with the dispersing agent concentration (0.5%–3%). The objective of this study is to analyze the characteristics of food packaging bioplastics composed of a sago starch matrix, NCC from OPEFB, and dispersing agents. The novelty of this research lies in the development of food packaging bioplastics using sago starch reinforced with NCC from OPEFB and the addition of dispersing agents (KCl and NaCl). The results indicate that incorporating NCC from OPEFB and dispersing agents significantly enhances the bioplastic’s properties, meeting the JIS 2-1707 standards for food packaging plastic films. The bioplastic was tested as packaging for gelamai (a traditional food from West Sumatra) through an organoleptic evaluation. Consumer acceptance in terms of taste, smell, and color remained satisfactory up to the 14th day. Further research is required to scale up production using the optimal formulation identified in this study. Additionally, this bioplastic is recommended for use as packaging for various food products.

---

Keywords

---