Effect of drying methods and conditions and straw type and ratio in the mixture on physical and mechanical properties of biodegradable pots-based sustainable biomaterials

Agricultural wastes, cow manure and straw, are utilized in this study to produce biodegradable pots. Cow manure and 4 types of straw are employed for pots production. The effect of type and ratio of straw and drying method on characteristics of biodegradable pots was investigated. Two different drying methods were used to dry the pots (natural, electric oven); In natural drying, two types were used, drying at room temperature and plastic greenhouse, and drying at 50 °C, 80 °C, and 100 °C in electric convection-air oven. Among the four types of straw, rice straw-derived pots yielded highest values of 3020.67 N and 451.67 N for dry compression strength and dry penetration strength, respectively., while rape straw-based pots exhibited higher water absorption (137.38%) than pots contained any other type of straw. Additionally, the values of pots strength decrease when ratio of straw increase from 0 to 10%. Therefore, cow manure-derived pots exhibited higher dry and wet compression strength (6935.67 N and 2042.33 N, respectively) and higher dry and wet penetration strength (627.33 N, 225.33 N, respectively) than pots contained straw. The use of natural conditions in the drying process had a beneficial effect on quality and properties of biodegradable pots, where natural drying resulted in smooth bonded pots characterized by high strength and low water absorption, as compared to oven drying. Based on the results, drying in room condition could be an appropriate temperature to achieve final high quality product aspects with low cost.