Terer Erick KipngetichMagut Hillary2024-12-102024-12-102012-122278-3229https://ir.ueab.ac.ke/handle/123456789/303Our research focus was to obtain an alternative source of biodegradable plastic from blue green algae and sweet potato starch to obtain a sustainable source of plastic synthesis. Different concentrations of starch and dried green algae were used to produce biopolymers. The amount of algae that produced the best bioplastic was the objective of the research. High percentages of dry algae produced material with high strength with a deep black colour. The concentration in percentage of sweet potato starch was varied from 25-87.5 while the algae powder was varied from 21.-75%. Cross-linking of cellulose polymers together through chemical processes produces tough material, which can be converted to various forms. The manufacture of plastics is a form of polymerization reaction. Bio-plastic or organic plastic is a polymer material obtained from renewable biomass sources such as vegetable oil, corn starch, potato starch, and pea starch unlike fossil-fuel plastics derived from petroleum. Starch is made of long chains of glucose molecules joined together. It contains two polymers: amylase which is straight chain and amyloceptin which is branched. When starch is dried from an aqueous solution it forms a film due to hydrogen bonding between the chains. However, the amyloceptin inhibits the formation of the bio-plastic. The reaction of starch with Hydrochloric acid breaks down the amylopectin forming an appreciable plastic.en-USArticle