Biodegradable foam tray based on sago starch with beeswax as coating agent

Biodegradable foam is an original packaging as a styrofoam alternative. Sago starch is used to produce biodegradable foam because of its huge amount, low-cost, and high biodegradability. Starch as a prospectus foam material is sensitive to water due to its hydrophilic properties. Thus, improvement is necessary to boost its water resistance capability. Coating the foam with a hydrophobic material prevents water contact with the starch. In this work, Beeswax was used as a coating agent due to its hydrophobicity. The purpose of this work to determine the concentration and time of beeswax coating on the mechanical properties of biodegradable foam. Beeswax was varied at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10% wt concentration with coating duration process for 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 seconds. Biodegradable foam was produced by baking process at 80°C for 1 hour 20 minutes. The results showed that the beeswax coating process increases the water resistance, although it does not significantly affect the tensile strength. Beeswax addition as much as 4% wt. for 150 seconds had improved the biodegradable foam properties as much as 1.92%, 73% in 28 days, and 0.09 MPa for water absorption capability, biodegradability, and tensile strength, respectively.