Eco-efficient products are the new generation of bio-based products prepared with sustainable materials,
which agree with ecological and economic requirements including environmentally acceptable disposal
of post-user waste. Increasing environmental concerns associated with handling of plastic waste has
emphasized the importance of developing biodegradable edible films from starch. The objective of this
study is to develop models and study the individual and interactive effects of the process variables on
the mechanical properties of tapioca starch-based edible films using Box–Behnken design. Box–Behnken
design with four factors at three levels was employed to evaluate the individual and interactive effects of
process parameters (tapioca starch 1–3 g; glycerol 0.5–1.0 ml; agar 0.5–1.0 g; and span 80: 0.1–0.5 ml) on
the tensile strength, elongation,Young’smodulus,puncture force, andpuncturedeformationrespectively.
The results were analyzed using Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA). For each response, second order
polynomial regression models were developed and it showed good fit of the experimental data with
high coefficient of determination (R2) and a close agreement between experimental and predicted values
was found. The response surface and contour plots were constructed for representing the relationship
between the process parameters and the responses.