Author(s) :

Parthivi Narula.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Marine plastic pollution represents a pressing global environmental problem, with conventional and most commercial bioplastics persisting in marine environments for decades without any meaningful degradation. Development of materials that fragment in high-salt aqueous conditions while remaining structurally stable in low-salt conditions is still largely unexplored in sustainable materials design. This study presents an exploratory experimental investigation of corn starch-glycerol-calcium alginate composite bioplastic, made from renewable and food-safe materials. The composite was formulated through iterative development and tested for structural stability in three aqueous environments: distilled water, municipal tap water and 35 g/L NaCl solution within 72 h. Results demonstrate that the composite retained full macroscopic structural integrity in distilled and municipal water while undergoing progressive fragmentation into discrete pieces of approximately 2-3 mm in 35 g/L solution (reached VDI score 3 by 72 h). It is hypothesized, based on prior literature rather than measurements made in this study, that this differential response may involve Na+-mediated disruption of Ca2+ crosslinks. These findings demonstrate that polysaccharide composites prepared from renewable, food-safe components can exhibit markedly different fragmentation behavior in a 35 g/L NaCl solution compared with distilled and municipal tap water. Quantitative characterisation and comparative testing across multiple alginateto- starch ratios are identified as priorities for future investigation.