bioplasticKitSim-2024

Objective: Learn about the process of creating different kinds of bioplastic material and explore the world of crafting with bioplastics! Tips: 1. Click on objects throughout, there may be hidden information 2. Tweet any technical questions at @aminobiolab

Making Bioplastics

Welcome to Virtual Bioengineer:

Start

1. Bioplastic Base

The Bioplastics kit lets you combine different biological ingredients to create a range of fun materials including collagen-based plastics using gelatin, starch plastics, biocomposite plastics using food waste as fillers, and a red-algae plastic using agar. Creating these bioplastic will help you learn some of the basics skills of making materials. This simulator is a companion guide to some of the activities described in the Bioplastic Kit Series. We’ll begin by experimenting with the base bioplastic recipe.

3. Bioplastic Strings

1. Bioplastic Base Recipe

2. Bioplastic Sequins

5. Bioplastic using Food Waste

Discover the Bioplastic Kit Series

OK, Let’s Start

4. Bioplastic Bag

Today, bioplastics are being developed and tested as sustainable replacements for single-use plastics for packaging, utensils, food containers, 3D printing, fashion, and even medical implants.

These new types of plastics made with biological-based ingredients are called bioplastics. They are made at least in part with renewable biological matter (like vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, woodchips, sawdust, and food waste), or they are plastics that can degrade in a reasonable time.

What are Bioplastics? What can we use it for?

What are plastics? What is the big plastic problem?

Plastics are chains of repeating molecules linked together. These “strings” of repeating molecules are called polymers. Most polymers have been produced with petrol-based compounds because petroleum-based compounds are cheap, easy to obtain and process, and very durable

Traditional plastics have three significant impacts on the environment: they use fossil fuels, have a large carbon footprint, and stay in the environment for hundreds of years. One major problem with plastic that needs to be addressed right away is that it is too durable! Most petroleum-based plastics are not biodegradable; instead, they degrade so slowly that they stay in the environment, landfills, beaches, and oceans for decades up to hundreds of years.

Vegetable Oil

Distilled Water

Nitrile Gloves

Glycerol

Start Preparing the Mold

Microwave

Gelatin Powder

Mold

Materials

1. Bioplastic Bases

Great!

3. Starch Bioplastic String

4. Algae Sheet Wallet

5. TBA

2. Dying Bioplastic Sequins

What are Bioplastics? What do we use it for?

Fun Fact! It might surprise you to learn that bioplastic production is much older than the petrol-based plastics we use today! In 1500 BC, people in Egypt were already using materials made of gelatin and casein (a protein found in milk) for furniture constructions. And it’s not all ancient history either; in the 1940s, industrial pioneer Henry Ford experimented with soya bean plastics. Cool! The history and potential of bioplastics are rich and inspiring!

What are plastics? What is the big plastic problem?

The problem doesn’t end there. As we continue to learn about the presence of plastic in the environment, science indicates that some of these petroleum-based plastic actually do not entirely go away. If they are not recycled into new plastic products, petroleum-based plastics like PVC will break down into smaller pieces that stay in our environment, water systems, and soil. These are sometimes referred to as “forever plastics” or microplastics, and they’ve been found in all our oceans, marine life, drinking water, and even in human bodies!

Back

Approx 100 mls is needed to be mixed with other components. You may also use tap water if distilled water is not an option.

Got it

Syringe or Pipette

A rectagular mold you can use to pour your bioplastic mixture in. Molds come in different shapes and sizes. As the bioplastic solidifies, it will take the shape of the mold.

You need a microwave to boil your water. Having boiled water will make sure your powder ingredients will dissolve properly.

Glycerol (sometimes also called glycerin) is a colorless, viscous liquid that helps softens and reduces shrinkage in bioplastics. This is because glycerol functions as a plasticizer that bonds with the polymer in your mixture. A plasticizer is something that is added to another material (usually a plastic base) to make that material softer or more pliable.

Gelatin is a colorless powder derived from collagen, which acts as a binding material and a hardening component in bioplastics. It often functions as the polymer in your mixture.

This tube of vegetable oil will help you lubricate your mold and containers to easily take out your bioplastics once dry. If you make bioplastics outside of this kit, you can use household oils, like olive, canola or coconut as mold lubricant (also called mold release).

When doing science such as this you should wear gloves (latex, nitrile). You do this to protect you from your experiments and your experiments from you!

Take your rectangular mold and set it down on a level surface. Drag the marker to the mold to label it with your bioplastic recipe name: “base”.

Put on your purple Nitrile Gloves. You should always wear gloves to protect your experiments from you and you from your experiments

Base bioplastic

Great! Next Step

Drag the paper towel to the mold to paint a thin layer of oil on the insides of the rectangular molds and the petri dishes . The oil will prevent the bioplastic from sticking to the mold as they dry, acting as “mold release”.

Base bioplastic

The mold is prepared! Now it’s time to boil our water.

Drag the water into the microwave so you can boil it. This can take between 60 and 90 seconds depending on your microwave. Once you see the water boil, take it out. Careful! The water will be hot.

Let's boil the water

You first need to boil 100 ml of water. The water will help you dissolve the other ingredients you need.

Next Step

Your water is boiling!

Your next ingredient is gelatin. The gelatin acts as a binding material and a hardening component in your bioplastic. Measure out 8.0 g of gelatin. Get the weight as close as you can to 8.0 g.

Weight the Gelatin

0.000g

Drag the gelatin over to the beaker to add it to the water.

Click (tap) to stir the gelatin!

Stir the mixture in the beaker until combined–it’s okay if there are some clumps.

1.000g

2.000g

3.000g

4.000g

5.000g

6.000g

7.000g

8.000g

Drag the beaker to the microwave for another 5 seconds until you see it foam. Watch carefully to ensure that it does not foam over the edge of your bottle

Your bioplastic mixture is ready. To give it shape, you will pour it into your mold. This will allow it to dry into the shape of your mold. Fill the mold by dragging the beaker over the mold. You want to make sure the bioplastic reaches the top of the mold for best results.

Stir the mixture until smooth. If clumps persist after stirring, microwave the mixture for five additional seconds and stir. Repeat until no clumps remain.

Congratulations!

You made your first bioplastic! You now know how to make bioplastic using common ingredients: water, gelatin, and glycerol, and you know their roles in creating a bioplastics.

What can you make with bioplastics? Let’s keep going!

Next: Making with Bioplastics!

Try the Bioplastic Kit in Person

Do this experiment in real life!

You will now add glycerol to your mixture. The glycerol acts as a plasticizer which “lubricates” or softens the plastic. If you want the plastic more pliable, add more glycerol. If you want the plastic to be stiff, add less glycerol. Drag the tube of glycerol to your beaker to add 4 mL into your mixture.

Let the mixture dry for 24-72hrs!

Now that you made and molded your bioplastic, you have to let it dry. The drying time will depend on your room temperature and humidty.

You know it is dry once it is no longer gel-like to the touch. Placing it in a hot area can cut down on the drying time.

Let the mixture dry for 24-72hrs!

Once your plastic is dry, remove it from the mold by running a toothpick or something similar between the edge of the bioplastic and the mold. Then, grab a corner of the bioplastic to slowly and gently peel it up.

Remove the plastic!

Pick one of the activities to continue

Make a Bioplastic Bag

Make Bioplastic Strings

Now that you understand how basic bioplastics are made, let’s see how you can use different tools and techniques to shape and create bioplastics. You’ll also discover a few new ingredients.

Make Bioplastics Using Food Waste

Make Bioplastic Sequins

Lets begin!

A sequin is a small, shiny circle usually made of metal or plastic. Sequins are used for ornamentation, especially on clothing and for fast fashion. They are quite taxing on the environment. You will learn to make some bioplastic ones as well as how to dye your sequins into different colours!

Let's learn how to extrude bioplastic strings out of a bioplastic recipe that has a bit of a rubber feel. To do this, you will use a new ingredient, vegetable starch and a new technique using syringes.

Measure 300 ml of water in your beaker and drag it over to the microwave until it reaches a rolling boil, about 2 minutes. Careful, the beaker will be hot!

Great! You had leftover bioplastic mixture from your base bioplastic experiment. Since it was sitting on the counter for a bit it started solidifying. Add 15 mL of water to it; no need to be very precise, since you are only adding some of the water that evaporated. Drag the pipette over to the beaker with the mixture.

Measure 30 ml of water and microwave it until the water reaches a rolling boil. Drag the beaker over to the microwave.

Time to create a usable object out of bioplastic - a small bag - using a new ingredient, agar, and the skills you have learned so far! You will first create an agar bioplastic sheet. Then, once dry, you will turn it into a bag.

Microwave for 30 seconds and verify if the mixture has liquified. If it has not, keep microwaving it in 10 second intervals until it is fully liquid. You can also add some more water if needed. Always be careful as the bioplastic will be hot!

Add Bioplastic

Now that your bioplastic mixture is liquid, you will use the pipette to add about 5 mL of bioplastic to a ‘mixing' dish.

All done!

Restart

Now, you can add colored dye to your bioplastic and mix it in. Click on the coloured vials to add dye until you create your desired colour! In real life, you would only need a few drops.

To make your sequins, you will gently pipette out small drops of bioplastics on your silicone tray. Try to create rounded drops of 5 to 10 mm, leaving at least half a centimeter between each drop Drag the pipette with your dyed bioplastic mixture across over the stencils!

Dry the sequins for 48 hours!

Great Job!

Once your sequins are no longer soft to the touch, you can remove them from the tray!

Try the Bioplastic Kit in Person!

Go back to the start

You’ve learned how to dye and pipette bioplatic sequins!

Try Another Crafting Activity!

You’ll make a new bioplastic by adding the following ingredients to your hot water. Drag the glycerol to the beaker first.

3 mL of glycerol

The bioplasics are ready!

Seperate your mixture into three even parts, then click (tap) on the vials to add a drop of dye to each!

3 grams of starch

Finally, you need to add the starch to the water. The starch acts in the same way as the gelatin, as a polymer which binds your ingredients together, but it is more flexible than gelatin, giving you a more “rubbery” bioplastic.

Now add the gelatin.

3 grams of gelatin powder

To make strings out of your bioplastic mixture, you will use the syringes. The syringe will help you extrude long strands on the silicone tray. To make different colors of strings, you draw up each bioplastic into a seperate syringe.

Got it!

Click (tap) to stir the mixture!

Stir until the mixture looks combined.

Drag the beaker to the microwave to microwave for another 10 seconds at a time, until you see it foams. Watch the mixture carefully to ensure that it does not boil or foam over the edge of your bottle!

Stir until smooth. The bioplastic should be relatively clear when its ready!

Wait for Bioplastic String to Dry

Place the syringes at the edge of the silicon tray and extrude a string by applying gentle, even pressure on the plunger as you drag the end of the syringe slowly on the surface of the silicone tray. Note: Go SLOW! Select and hold each syringe plunger to begin extruding your strings!

You can now peel them off the tray and use them.

Good job!

You’ve made bioplastic string! Can you think of any uses for them?

You’ve made a bioplastic bag with algae!

Drag your tube of glycerol over to your beaker to add 8 mL of glycerol.

Now we add 9 grams of agar to the mixture. Drag the agar bag over to your water.

Drag your mixture to the microwave for 25 seconds, or until it foams and stir until smooth. If clumps persist after stirring, you can keep microwaving and stirring until no clumps remain.

Pour

Let Your Bioplastic Dry for 48 hrs!

Select and Hold the Pour button until your bioplastic mixture covers your silicone. Make sure you are on the flatest surface you can find.

Remove Sheet

Once dry, peel the bioplastic from its tray by running your hands or a toothpick along the edge of the tray and gently taking one corner of the bioplastic to slowly peel up the entire sheet of bioplastic. Congratulations! You made an algae bioplastic sheet!

Add a few drops of dye to your bioplastics and stir it in with your mixing utensil. Click(Tap) on the dye vials to add and mix your dye. Repeat until you are happy with the color. You can also leave it clear for a clear bag!

Now we need some hot water, around ~50 mL of water to begin assembling the bag! Use the hot water as a glue to seal the edges of your bag.

Next Step: Assemble the Wallet!

Paint the hot water onto the right and left edges of your sheet, from the top to the bottom. Note: Dip back into the hot water as many times as you need! Reheat the water if it gets too cool. Drag the brush to your bioplastic sheet!

Leave to dry for half an hour!

Fold the sheet in half, and press down on the right and left edges to seal them. If you have a heavy object like a large book, place it on top of your folded bioplastic to help the seal.

How can you change the properties of the bioplastics you make while reducing your impact on the planet? By adding agricultural and domestic waste to your recipes! Researchers are currently exploring the potential to create new materials using the by-products of the food and agriculture industry in order to make bioplastics that degrade faster, that are stronger or lighter, or that have different textures. These are called biocomposites. Let’s see how they are made.

Like most bioplastics, we’ll start with water. Measure 25 ml of water in your beaker and drag it over to the microwave until it reaches a rolling boil, about 45 seconds.

2 mL of glycerol

You’ll now add some familiar ingredients. Drag the glycerol to the beaker first.

Time to add our biocomposite ingredient: Chitosan. Chitosan Chitosan comes from chitin, which is an industrial food waste created in the process of shellfish, mostly crab and shrimp shells. It is what gives the structure to the exoskeletons of insects and sea creatures. It will make our plastic strong, opaque and soft to the touch. Add the chitosan to the water

Drag your mixture to the microwave for 50 seconds, or until it foams.

Stir until the mixture looks smooth. This will take a bit longer than with other recipes.

Your bioplastic is ready. Hold the pour button until your bioplastic mixture fills your mold. Make sure you are on the flatest surface you can find.

1 gram of gelatin powder

Once dry, peel the bioplastic from its mold by running your hands or a toothpick along the edge of the tray and gently taking one corner of the bioplastic to slowly peel up the entire sheet of bioplastic. Congratulations! You now have a sample of chitosan bioplastic!

Remove bioplastic

Now, let’s try using a different waste product: used coffee grounds. In this case, we will start with 5% acetic acid dissolved in water. Let’s microwave it until it boils.

You’ll now add a familiar ingredient, and a new one. Drag the gelatin to the beaker first. This will make sure your plastic hold together.

Now, you’ll add pectin. Pectin will also help hold your plastic together, just like gelatin does. It will also improve elasticity and firmness of the plastic. Also, pectin can be a by-product of fruit and vegetables processing, meaning it can be more eco-friendly than gelatin.

Time to add some food waste from the kitchen - we’ll add used coffee grounds, but you could add many things like eggshells and dried fruit peels. Depending on what you add, your plastic will have a different feel. Coffee grounds make it feel like cork board, whereas eggshells give it more of a ceramic finish. Add the spoon of coffee to your mixture.

You reused food waste to create new materials - a chitosan bioplastic which is strong, rigid and has a soft texture, and a coffee and pectin bioplastic which is cork-like and very light.