CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS VOL. 65, 2018 A publication of The Italian Association of Chemical Engineering Online at www.aidic.it/cet Guest Editors: Eliseo Ranzi, Mario Costa Copyright © 2018, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. I SBN 978-88-95608- 62-4; I SSN 2283-9216 Chemical Modification and Characterization of Starch Derived from Plantain (Musa paradisiaca) Peel Waste, as a Source of Biodegradable Material Jeiffer Ferreira-Villadiego a , José García-Echeverri a , M.V. Vidal a , Jorgelina Pasqualino b , Pedro Meza-Castellar a , Henry A. Lambis-Miranda a* a Process Engineering program. CIPTEC Research Group. Fundacion Universitaria Tecnológico Comfenalco.Cr44D N 30A, 91, Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia. b Environmental Engineering program. GIA Research Group. Fundacion Universitaria Tecnológico Comfenalco.Cr44D N 30A, 91, Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia hlambis@tecnocomfenalco.edu.co Agriculture modernization and biomass processing generate millions of tons of waste per year containing different amounts and quality of polymeric components such as starch, sugar, lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. The raw material for extraction was the green plantain peel (Musa paradisiaca), obtained from a local company that produces fried plantain snacks. This work presents the comparisons between the synthesis by wet extraction method and the modification of natural biopolymer with polyhydric alcohol (glycerin). Four blends were prepared at different concentrations of starch, glycerin and water to create a modified biopolymer. Later they were characterized with Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Amylose-Amylopectin ratio. In the unmodified starch samples, the observed bandwidth at 3373 cm-1 can be attributed to amylopectin O-H stretching (55%) and its width was attributed to the formation of inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonds, also in the region known as the fingerprint (close IR), ranging from 400 to 1250 cm-1, four characteristic peaks are observed in the spectra between 520 and 1020.16 cm -1, which are attributed to the stretching of the C-O bond. For both unmodified starch and modified starch, the TGA tests showed that the weight loss started at a temperature of about 310 °C, but in modified starch the total degradation temperature increases to about 610 ° C. Starch extraction from plantain peel wastes has demonstrated its potential for waste use and the production of value-added products, like degradable polymers. The mixtures of starch, glycerin and water (labeled 1, 2, 3, and 4) have different characteristics, shown in the FTIR spectra. Mixture number 4, with 35% glycerin, has a significant peak at 3425 cm-1, corresponding to the OH group stretching. The bending peak at 1641 cm-1, has less transmittance, since the percentage of water in the mixture is zero. The transmittance band between 1060 and 990 cm-1, is characteristic of the polysaccharides, of amorphous structure. 1. Introduction Since the synthetic polymers were discovered, more than 60 years ago, there have been hundreds of applications with which they have contributed to the development of humanity. Their most significant characteristics are the durability and manufacturing economy, which in turn affect the environment due to the variety of manufacturing methods and the many years needed for natural degradation (Ruiz-Avilés, 2006). Although recycling is an option to mitigate this problem, it is not entirely effective, because not all polymers can be recycled due to their composition or their usefulness. The dispute about polymeric products against the environment continues to gain strength, and, as a result, new products have come to light, such as biopolymers, or biodegradable polymers. In this way, the use of the natural available resources plays a determining role in obtaining different raw materials (Di Donato et al., 2014; Nwokocha and Williams, 2009; Mazzeo et al., 2017). An example is the extraction of starch from banana and plantain peels, with appropriate properties for the development of different materials without 763 DOI: 10.3303/CET1865128 Please cite this article as: Ferreira-Villadiego J., Garcia-Echeverri J., Vidal Mejia M.V., Pasqualino J., Meza-Catellar P., Lambis H., 2018, Chemical modification and characterization of starch derived from plantain (musa paradisiaca) peel waste, as a source of biodegradable material., Chemical Engineering Transactions, 65, 763-768 DOI: 10.3303/CET1865128