CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS VOL. 56, 2017 A publication of The Italian Association of Chemical Engineering Online at www.aidic.it/cet Guest Editors: Jiří Jaromír Klemeš, Peng Yen Liew, Wai Shin Ho, Jeng Shiun Lim Copyright © 2017, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l., ISBN978-88-95608-47-1; ISSN 2283-9216 Pineapple Peel Fibre Biocomposite: Characterisation and Biodegradation Studies Roshafima Rasit Ali* ,a , Wan Aizan Wan Abdul Rahman b , Rafiziana Md Kasmaini c , Norazana Ibrahim c , Hasrinah Hasbullah c , Aziatul Niza Sadikin b , Umi Aisah Asli b , Ebrahim Abouzari a a Department of Environmental and Green Technology, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, 54100 Kuala Lumpur. b Department of Bioprocess and Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru. c Department. of Renewable Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru. roshafima@utm.my In this study, pineapple peel fibre (PAPF) based low density polyethylene (LDPE) biocomposites for green packaging was studied. The PAPF was first being treated with alkali before compounded with LDPE. The mixture was compounded using twin screw extruder and the test samples were prepared using hot press machine. The compatibility of the PAPF as biocomposites was observed through the characterisation analysis and thermal properties and also the biodegradation analysis. Melt flow index (MFI) analysis was conducted to determine the process ability of the biocomposites. As the fibre loading in the biocomposites increases, the MFI values were decreased. The amount of water absorption was increased with the increases of PAPF loading due to the higher cellulose content. Thermal stability studies of biocomposites were undergoing thermogravimetry (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. Melting temperature (Tm) for the biocomposite was determined from the DSC analysis while the degradation temperature was determined by using the TGA analysis. The thermal properties of PAPF biocomposites were more or less the same as the LDPE properties. The biocomposites was buried in the soil for a month and exposed to fungi environment for 28 d for biodegradation analysis and the highest PAPF/LDPE loading biocomposites degraded the most. Therefore, PAPF biocomposites was compatible for green packaging. 1. Introduction The annual world production of polymer materials was around 150 × 10 6 t in 1996 (Ren, 2003) and the current global consumption of plastics is more than 200 × 10 6 t, with an annual grow of approximately 5 % (Siracusa et al., 2008). Packaging waste is a major contributor of municipal solid waste (MSW) and disposed of by landfill (Kale, 2007). Landfilling disposal may result in the generation of greenhouse gases and takes up. It also may contaminate land that could be used in the future. The rapid increase in production and consumption of plastics has led to the serious plastic waste problem, besides landfill depletion because of the plastic waste high volume to weight ratio and resistance to degradation (Ren, 2003). Natural fibres reinforced composites will form new class of materials which possess a significant improvement in properties without sacrificing the desirable properties. The biocomposites also contains biodegradable components from waste for biodegradability and cost effectiveness. Pineapple peel fibre (PAPF) shows significant role as cheap, exhibiting superior properties and environmental friendly biocomposite as a reinforcement fiber. Pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) exhibit high specific strength and stiffness due to the high cellulose content which is 70 - 80 % and relatively low microfibrillar angle. Due to its excellent mechanical properties, PALF have a high reinforcing efficiency for application in polyester, low density polyethylene (LDPE) and biodegradable plastic composites. There are also some limitations encounters in the PALF bio-composites due to an inadequate bonding between PALF and hydrophobic matrix. PALF biocomposites also has high susceptibility to water absorption, DOI: 10.3303/CET1756223 Please cite this article as: Ali R.R., Rahman W.A.W.A., Kasmani R.M., Ibrahim N., Hasbullah H., Sadikin A.N., Asli U.A., Abouzari E., 2017, Pineapple peel fiber biocomposite: characterization and biodegradation studies, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 56, 1333-1338 DOI:10.3303/CET1756223 1333