Study of Cocoa Pod Husk/Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) as a new biodegradable composite film

Abstract

This paper present the possibility for the use of cocoa pod husk in composite with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). In this study, we preparad a new green composite film from cocoa pod husk (CPH) and poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVA) and to characterize the morphology and mechanical properties of the composite film. The effect of fiber loading, plasticizer (glycerol) and effect of alkaline treatment were investigated. Poly (vinyl acohol) (PVA) with 5, 10, 15wt% cocoa pod husk (CPH) powder were prepared by aqueous mixing. The mixture was casted as composite film prior characterizations. The effect of plasticizer (glycerol) was investigated in the study and it was found that the film showed some good mechanical properties with addition of glycerol and increasing fiber loading. The effect of alkaline treatment on fiber was investigated. © 2012 by Asian-Australian Association for Composite Materials (AACM).