First Experiment
In my first experiment i want to experiment with agar based and gelatin based bioplastic. From this experiment I want to discover which composition is the strongest, but it also has to be squeezable.
I chose agar and gelatin because I discovered during the bioplastics week that it is quite firm. In this case it was slices but now I want to make it thicker and massive to see if it stays that way and what happens when I squeeze it. If it is really that sturdy, I want to see what would happen if I stand on it with all my weight.
Cooking bioplastics
For the gelatin based recipe i used the recipe from the Bioplastic Cookbook by Margaret Dunne. I doubled de amount of ingredients because I want to make a bigger piece than before in the bioplastic week.
Ingredients
24 grams of gelatin
120 ml water
15 grams of glycerine
I warmed it up while stirring with a spoon so that it became a composition that started to feel thicker while stirring. Then I poured it into a bowl and placed it next to an open window to dry.
I did exactly the same with the agar based bioplastic. The agar packaging stated that 3 grams of gelatin is equal to 1 gram of agar and I used that in my recipe. I had written down a formula to calculate how much I needed.
Ingredients
8 gram of agar
120 ml water
15 grams of glycerine
I let them dry for two days before testing.
What struck me is that the agar based bioplastic had shrunk a lot in comparison with the gelatin based one.
After drying i squeezed both of them with full force to see what happens and also did a durability test by standing on them.
Conclusion
After testing both, I came to the conclusion to continue with the gelatin base bioplastic. I chose this because that of agar shrinks enormously and quickly. When the gelatin is pressed and squeezed, it quickly "inflates" again while remaining dented with the agar.
On a small scale, the gelatin base bioplastic has the right properties for a balance pillow and the next step is to make it bigger.
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