Abstract:
The pollution is a major drawback in the conservation of natural ecosys-
tems, especially the aquatic habitats. One of the main causes behind this is the plastic
items that are used as single-used food packing. The utilization of banana leaves as
food wrapping and serving material is an age-old practice that evidences that there are
possibilities to develop sustainable packaging materials from banana leaves, which
will help in the present context for tackling plastic pollution. The current study aims
to analyze the effect of a chemical named Glycerine on the mechanical strength of
banana leaves in the path of developing a bio-degradable food packaging material.
For this purpose, the fresh banana leaves harvested from Jaffna peninsula were col-
lected, reduced in size, and subjected to treatment with glycerine solutions at two
concentrations (25% and 33.3%) for seven days. Each day, the samples of banana
leaves were retrieved from the dip, dried for 24 hours at room temperature, and then
assessed for mechanical properties such as Load-bearing capacity, Tear resistance,
and Hardness. The results revealed that the banana leaves reached optimal mechanical
strength through the treatment with 33.3% glycerine for one day, where there was a
significant increase (P<0.05) in the load-bearing capacity (1.88±0.08N, 2.18±0.08 N),
tear resistance (1.90±0.09 N, 3.33±0.26 N), and hardness (16±2N, 22±2 N) of the
banana leaves before and after the optimum treatment. The results suggest that Glyc-
erine solution (33%) can enhance the banana leaves' mechanical strength, which may
be used as a source for developing bio-degradable packaging materials. Furthermore,
these biodegradable packaging materials will support in the conservation of aquatic
ecosystems including the cascade system, by mitigating pollution and in the restora-
tion of water quality.
