To find a material
Last updated
Last updated
The tools needed to make these bioplastics are a pot, a spoon or fork, a stove, a measuring scale, a measuring cup, a blender, a mixer, a mold/sheet and the materials named in the recipes for the experiments.
The materials used in all the recipes are alginate, calcium chloride, corn starch, gelatine, glycerine, honey, potato starch, tapioca starch and water.
Tools Measuring scale Blender Glass plate Spray bottle
Ingredients 12g Alginate 30g glycerine 400g water 10g sunflower oil (used: olive oil) Spray bottle with calcium chloride
Method Mix the alginate, glycerine and oil together and slowly add the water while mixing to avoid lumps. Leave the mix overnight to take out air bubbles. Cast the mixture on glass with an approximate height of 3mm. Spray calcium chloride over the sheet once after casting and again after a few minutes. Leave the sheet to dry for a couple days.
Material properties
Flexibility
Hardness
Mold growing
Scratch resistant
Shrinkage
Smell
Stickiness
Strength
Touch
Water resistant
Weight
Fully flexible
Not hard
No
Will tear when scratched
High schrinkage in height
-
Very sticky to itself and other objects.
Easy tearable at the edges
Sticky, soft
Yes
Lightweight
Conclusion The alginate foil is strong against pulling forces and will not tear when bended. However it is also very fragile against tearing when in contact with a sharp object. In this form it is not usable for protection.
Tools Pot Spoon or fork Stove Measuring scale Mold/sheet
Ingredients 20g Corn starch 20g Glycerine 10g Vinegar 80g Water
Method Mix the corn starch, glycerine and vinegar together and let it swell for a few minutes. Pour the water in the mix and heat it to approx. 90 degrees (Celcius) for 5-10 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened, cast it into a mold or plaster it over a glass/acrylic plate. Let it dry for a few days before taking it out and when needed stick it down to prevent bending of the msterial. NOTE: when the material feels colder than the air temperature it means it's still drying.
Material properties
Flexibility
Hardness
Mold growing
Scratch resistant
Shrinkage
Smell
Stickiness
Strength
Touch
Water resistant
Weight
Flexible to an extent
Very hard
No
Scratch resistant to anything appart from sharp objects
20-40% in length/width
Strong smell
No
Strong to bending and pulling forces
Smooth and steady
Yes to cold water, will break down in warm water
Medium
NOTE 1 Adding less glycerine will give a less flexible variant
NOTE 2 When trying to make a thicker sheet this mixture will tear while drying. The material will still have the same properties.
Conclusion The corn starch recipe has almost all the qualities I'd want in a foam pinda, only it is not suitable for thicker pieces. It is also more heavy than prevered.
Tools Pot Spoon or fork Stove Whisk Measuring scale Mold/sheet
Ingredients 20g Corn starch 10g Glycerine 10g Vinegar 20g Soap 80g Water
Method Mix the corn starch, glycerine and vinegar together and let it swell for a few minutes. Pour the water in the mix and heat it to approx. 90 degrees (Celcius) for 5-10 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened, add the soap and whisk it for another couple minutes until it has formed bubbles. Cast it into a mold or plaster it over a glass/acrylic plate. Let it dry for a few days before taking it out and when needed stick it down to prevent bending of the material. NOTE: Unlike other starch recipes, this will not feel cold anymore after a couple hours.
Material properties
Flexibility
Hardness
Mold growing
Scratch resistant
Shrinkage
Smell
Stickiness
Strength
Touch
Water resistant
Weight
Fully flexible
Soft surface
No
Slightly scratch resistant
Approx. 10% shrinkage
Strong smell
-
Strong against pulling and bending
Soft, foam like
Yes to cold water, will break down in warm water
Medium/light
NOTE 01 This sheet has a small thickness, if you want to make a thicker sheet it is recommended to put the sheet in the freezer after casting. This will cool down the mixture more quickly and will prevent the lower layer from becoming set.
Conclusion This material is almost usable for foam pinda's, it's not thick enough and the weight is still a little too high. It is preverable for it's easy discard process, it will break down in warm water and go through the sink or you can throw it in the groenbak.
Tools Pot Spoon or fork Stove Whisk Measuring scale Mold/sheet
Ingredients 90ml Gelatine 30ml Glycerine 20ml Soap 120ml Water
Method Mix the gelatine and glycerine together and let it swell for a few minutes. Pour the water in the mix and heat it to approx. 90 degrees (Celcius) for 5-10 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened, add the soap and whisk it for another couple minutes until it has formed bubbles. Cast it into a mold or plaster it over a glass/acrylic plate. Let it dry for a few days before taking it out and when needed stick it down to prevent bending of the material.
Material properties
Flexibility
Hardness
Mold growing
Scratch resistant
Shrinkage
Smell
Stickiness
Strength
Touch
Water resistant
Weight
Very flexible
Medium hard
No
Not scratch resistant
Small shrinkage
Strong smell, will dissapear when fully dried
-
Strong against bending and pulling
Grainy and soft
Slightly
Meidum/light
NOTE 01 The material has a height of a couple mm's. The lower layer of the material has set back to it's properties before it was whisked. This can be prevented by storing the mixture in the freezer immediately after mixing or making a thinner sheet.
Conclusion The material properties of the top layer of the material are almost ideal. When executed better it might become perfect for a packing peanut.
Tools Bowl Mixer Measuring scale Mold/sheet
Ingredients 90ml Gelatine 30ml Glycerine 20ml Soap 120ml Water
Method Mix the gelatine and glycerine together and let it swell for a few minutes. Pour the water in the mixture and use a mixer for a few minutes. Stop once all the ingredients are completely mixed together. The mixture will turn into a grainy sticky material. The grains stick to each other but can be pulled apart.
Material properties
Flexibility
Hardness
Mold growing
Scratch resistant
Shrinkage
Smell
Stickiness
Strength
Touch
Water resistant
Weight
Very
Not hard
No
Will break apart
-
Slight smell
Very sticky, to itself and other surfaces
Not strong, will break apart with any force
Sticky and soft
The material is made from grains, water will go through it
Light
Further application
Shaping the material into small balls and heating them for 10 seconds in the microwave will make the material harder and less sticky to other surfaces.
Conclusion The material has the properties to protect an product but will also likely stick to the product. The material can be cleaned off of the product but that's not what you want a costumer to have to do. The heated version is still too unreliable to use.
Tools Pot Spoon or fork Stove Mixer Measuring scale Mold/sheet
Ingredients 100ml Gelatine 100ml Glycerine 50ml Honey +/- 5ml Soap 50ml Water
Method Mix the gelatine and water together and let it swell for a few minutes, and do the same to the honey and glycerine. Mix both mixtures together and heat it until the glyxerine has fully disolved. Add the soap to the mix and use a mixer for a few minutes. The mix is done when it starts to stick to the hooks of the mixer. Cast the mixture into a mold or glass plate and let it cool down in the freezer. Optional Honey does mold after a few days, to prevent this add +/- 5ml of an antibacterial to the mix.
Material properties
Flexibility
Hardness
Mold growing
Scratch resistant
Shrinkage
Smell
Stickiness
Strength
Touch
Water resistant
Weight
Fully flexible
Not hard; You can push dents into the material with your hands
No
Will tear when scratched with sharp objects
No shrinkage
Slight smell of honey and antibacterial ingredient
Slightly sticky
Withstands pulling and pressing
Soft, foam like and slightly sticky
Somewhat
Very light
NOTE 01 Once the material has been mixed, it can be heated again without losing any 'foamness' and be recasted.
Conclusion This material is near perfect for packing peanuts. The gelatine foam sticks slightly to each other and might leave open spaces in boxes when shuffled (if it keeps sticking to each other). Apart from this, the material is very light in weight and will bend when pressed. It can be disposed of by disolving it in warm water or disposing of it in the groenbak.
Tools Pot Spoon or fork Stove Measuring scale Mold/sheet
Ingredients 20g Potato starch 20g Glycerine 10g Vinegar 80g Water
Method Mix the potato starch, glycerine and vinegar together and let it swell for a few minutes. Pour the water in the mix and heat it to approx. 90 degrees (Celcius) for 5-10 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened, cast it into a mold or plaster it over a glass/acrylic plate. Let it dry for a few days before taking it out and when needed stick it down to prevent bending of the msterial. NOTE: when the material feels colder than the air temperature it means it's still drying.
Material properties
Flexibility
Hardness
Mold growing
Scratch resistant
Shrinkage
Smell
Stickiness
Strength
Touch
Water resistant
Weight
Slightly flexible
Medium hard
No
Slightly scratch resistant due to the hard surface
20-40%
Slight smell
-
Medium strong
Smooth with a hard surface
Resistant to cold water
Medium
Conclusion This material is less flexible than the corn starch. It is too hard to use for packing peanuts and might scratch other products when used in transport.
Tools Pot Spoon or fork Stove Whisk Measuring scale Mold/sheet
Ingredients 20g Potato starch 10g Glycerine 10g Vinegar 20g Soap 80g Water
Method Mix the potato starch, glycerine and vinegar together and let it swell for a few minutes. Pour the water in the mix and heat it to approx. 90 degrees (Celcius) for 5-10 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened, add the soap and whisk it for another couple minutes until it has formed bubbles. Cast it into a mold or plaster it over a glass/acrylic plate. Let it dry for a few days before taking it out and when needed stick it down to prevent bending of the material. NOTE: Unlike other starch recipes, this will not feel cold anymore after a couple hours
Material properties
Flexibility
Hardness
Mold growing
Scratch resistant
Shrinkage
Smell
Stickiness
Strength
Touch
Water resistant
Weight
No, will break apart when bended
Slightly
No
No, will break apart
Shrinkage causing the sheet to form little pieces
-
-
-
Fragile
-
Light
Conclusion The material completely shrank and dryed into small pieces. This might be prevented by making a thicker layer. - Unfit for packing peanuts -
Tools Bowl Mixer Measuring scale Mold/sheet
Ingredients 20g Potato starch 10g Glycerine 10g Vinegar 20g Soap 80g Water
Method Mix the potato starch, glycerine, vinegar and soap together and let it swell for a few minutes. Pour the water in the mixture and use a mixer for a few minutes. Stop once the mixture has risen to a foam like mixture and put it into the freezer.
NOTE 01 The material is strong and foam like when it's still at a freezing temperature, however when it heats up it will become fluid again.
Further application When you let it dry for a couple days it will turn into a thick snow like powder.
Material properties
Flexibility
Hardness
Mold growing
Scratch resistant
Shrinkage
Smell
Stickiness
Strength
Touch
Water resistant
Weigh
Not flexible
Slightly hard
No
No
-
Slight smell
-
Strong while freezed
Hard foam like
Will dissolve in water
Very light
Conclusion Very much usable for a packing peanut on Antartica. In europes climate? Not so much.
Tools Pot Spoon or fork Stove Measuring scale Mold/sheet
Ingredients 20g Tapioca starch 20g Glycerine 10g Vinegar 80g Water
Method Mix the tapioca starch, glycerine and vinegar together and let it swell for a few minutes. Pour the water in the mix and heat it to approx. 90 degrees (Celcius) for 5-10 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened, cast it into a mold or plaster it over a glass/acrylic plate. Let it dry for a few days before taking it out and when needed stick it down to prevent bending of the msterial. NOTE: when the material feels colder than the air temperature it means it's still drying.
Material properties
Flexibility
Hardness
Mold growing
Scratch resistant
Shrinkage
Smell
Stickiness
Strength
Touch
Water resistant
Weight
Slightly flexible
Very hard surface
No
Only very sharp objects can scratch the surface
20-40%
Slight smell
-
Very strong, especially in bended shapes
Hard surface with many bumps
Yes
Medium
Conclusion Tapioca is the most hard of all the starch recipes. It is not usable for packing peanuts because it might damage the products while in transport.
Bioplastic Cook Book https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/bioplastic_cook_book_3
Miriam Ribul cookbook https://issuu.com/miriamribul/docs/miriam_ribul_recipes_for_material_a
Bioplastic - Tools and Recipes https://issuu.com/johanviladrich/docs/bioplastic
Food for thought (apprentenship verslag) http://www.daniellewilde.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/SDU-Design_FoodForThought_24June2018.pdf
Bioplastic cookbook for ritual healing from petrochemical landscapes by Tiare Ribeaux http://bioplastic-cookbook.schloss-post.com
Research Book Bioplastic
Alginate folie by Loes Bogers
The CHEMARTS Cookbook
Biofabrication materials (Bioplastics, visleer, fruitleer, gegroeide materialen)
