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ENZYMATIC DETERMINATION OF STARCH IN BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING MATERIALS

I.A. Khadyko, E.V. Novozhilov

Abstract

Starch is widely used as a biodegradable component in the production of modern packaging materials. Determination of starch is necessary to control the stage of production of starch-containing materials, as well as to assess their biodegradability. The main process leading to the destruction of biodegradable composites is the biological degradation of starch under the influence of enzymes when starch-containing materials are located in the natural environment. Two types of starch-containing packaging materials were used. One of the materials was a commercial packaging film Mater-Bi, which contained starch and synthetic fibers (polyamide). Corrugated cardboard produced from technical pulp fibers was taken as the second material. Starch is a binding agent in corrugated cardboard. The determination of packaging materials starch was carried out by amylolytic enzymes. Enzymatic degradation of starch by alpha-amylase and glucoamylase proceeds selectively. As a result the glucose is formed, which can be determined by various methods. It is established that not the whole starch containing in the selected materials is available for the action of amylase. It is necessary to pre-extract the starch from the material using chemical reagents. It is established that the method of alkaline extraction at high temperature (SCAN-P 91:09 test method) is applicable for the determination of starch in the packaging film Mater-Bi. However, the SCAN-test method allowed to determine only 75% of the starch from its content in the corrugated cardboard. The best results in the determination of starch in corrugated cardboard are obtained by the alkaline extraction method at a temperature of 20 пїЅ C. This extraction method allows the starch to be completely extracted from the material and then determined by amylase. The usage of amylolytic enzymes allows us to make a preliminary assessment of the starch availability in packaging materials to the action of microorganisms and to predict the extent and rate of biodegradation of starch-containing materials in the environment.

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