Forming parameters optimisation of biomass cushion packaging material by orthogonal test

Abstract

Plates made of expanded polystyrene or expanded polyethylene is a kind of non-degradable waste that is difficult to collect and recycle and needs to be replaced by biodegradable materials. At present, biomass cushion packaging material was prepared by heating the aqueous mixture of corn starch, straw fibre and foaming agent with a hot mould. In this study, the orthogonal experimental design and the single factor experiment were carried out to study the effect of forming parameters on the tensile strength and elongation of plates at break. The mixed orthogonal matrix L₉(3⁴) and analysis of variance technique were employed to optimise the forming parameters. The results showed that the top mould temperature was more important than other factors. The comparison of mechanical and cushioning performance among the biomass cushion packaging material, expanded polyethylene and expanded polystyrene indicated that the biomass cushion packaging material can be used as a substitution of current packaging materials.

Keywords:

• Starch
• Fibre
• Foam
• Packaging
• Orthogonal experimental design