Evaluation of the Hydrophobicity of Alocasia sp. as a Potential Surface Coating for Paper Bags

Authors

  • Demelzy Wangkey
  • Janine Rosel Gabriel
  • Jenzenne Valenzuela

Keywords:

Bio-wax extraction, Hydrophobic surface coating, Paper bag application

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Plastic pollution is one of the major global problems we are facing today (Villanueva, 2018). One of the worldwide initiatives to decrease plastic pollution is the utilization of paper products as an alternative to plastic materials. Alocasia sp. may be considered a potential raw material in producing paper products due to its hydrophobic characteristics. Thus, this research study aims to evaluate the hydrophobicity of Alocasia sp. leaves as a potential surface coating for paper bags. It also aims to examine the hydrophobicity of Alocasia sp. leaves in accordance with Colocasia esculenta leaves which serve as the positive control in this study.

METHODS

The main materials, fresh Alocasia sp. and C. esculenta leaves, underwent the solvent (methylene chloride) extraction method to obtain its bio-wax content. Afterward, pieces of filter papers were set in a dip-coating technique to be fully coated with bio-wax. These were dried up before it was put, one by one, in an improvised contact angle meter device where the actual hydrophobicity test was done. The materials and equipment used in the experiment were properly disposed of according to the disposing rules and regulations of the laboratory. An independent t-test was used in comparing the gathered data and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

In the preliminary analysis of the bio-wax content of both plants, the results show that the amount of bio-wax present per gram of leaf of Alocasia sp. is 0.005g and is lower than the amount of bio-wax present per gram of leafof the C. esculenta which is 0.0062g. However, after three trials of hydrophobicity test, the results show that Alocasia sp. has a higher hydrophobic rate than C. esculenta. This was supported by its higher mean of contact angles which is 125.45° than the mean of C. esculenta's contact angles which is only 104.20°. Moreover, the results from the independent t-test show that the angles produced by Alocasia sp. and C. esculenta were statistically significantly different from each other, as evidenced by a p-value less than 0.05 (p=0.023).

DISCUSSIONS

In previous studies, C. esculenta has been proven to be an effective source of hydrophobic coating for paper bags. By comparing the test results of hydrophobicity, it was confirmed that Alocasia sp. is hydrophobic and may be considered an effective source of bio-wax for hydrophobic surface coating for paper bags.

Published

2019-01-18