Preview

Biodegradable Plastics from Cassava Starch

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
878 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Biodegradable Plastics from Cassava Starch
EWB-UK Workshop Guide
Make your own Bio-Plastic
Description

A workshop focusing on the problems of plastics made by fossil fuels and a look into making your own bio-plastic.

At a glance

Total time: 1 hour
Learning Styles: Visual, auditory, practical, participatory, teamwork
Objectives: To learn about the challenges facing fossil fuel plastics and how to make your own bio-plastic
Audience: Anyone
Max/Min no. of participants: N/A (Dependant on amount of materials)
Timetable

Time | Activity | Equipment | 5 minutes | Welcome | | 15 minutes | Introduction | | 30 minutes | Practical | See material and tools list | 5 minutes | Closing | Sign-ups for email |

Materials Per batch of bio plastic (Ideally per person): * 100g of potato * 300cm3 of distilled water * 25ml of water * 3cm3 of hydrochloric acid or vinegar * 2ml pure glycerol * 3cm3 sodium hydroxide * Food colouring
Tools
* Grater * Pestle & Mortar * Strainer * Beaker/Jars * Measuring cylinder/jug * Weighing scales * Indicator Paper * Portable hob
Preparation

* Prepare equipment, tools and materials * Prepare sign-up sheets for new members

Room requirements

* An area suitable for doing hands on work and mixing liquids * Kitchen for source of heat. Use portable hobs if this isn’t possible

Welcome (5 minutes)

Introduce yourself: * Your Name * Position/Job/Organisation * Your role in the workshop * Relevant experience to the workshop (University, projects, work etc.)

Explain the learning objectives of the workshop to the audience:
The purpose of the workshop is for participants to learn about the problems surrounding plastics made by fossil fuels. This is done in the introduction presentation.
Afterwards, participants get to make their own bio-plastic in a hands-on practical. Participants will be able to take the plastic home with them at the end of the
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Plastic and High Tensile Strength
    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Plastic and High Tensile Strength

    * Replacement for petroleum-derived plastics => high tensile strength, insoluble in water, non-toxic and biodegradable…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Final Paper Com44
    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Final Paper Com44

    In our effort to make cognitive for the bettering of our environment, we have decided to base our final project around the idea of reducing waste produced by the public and encouraging the public to recycle more of their waste. More specifically, we would like to focus on the reduction of plastics, such as plastic water bottles that are frequently discarded by students.…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Pros And Cons Of Fracking
    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Pros And Cons Of Fracking

    1) Jet fuel and Naphtha, which is often used as a chemical foundation. There are plenty of suitable and sustainable alternatives for energy sources (solar, hydro, nuclear etc.), however refined products such as plastic are much harder to come by otherwise. Plastics play an important role in innovating technologies used in the space advancements, bulletproof vests and prosthetic limbs, as well as in a myriad of everyday products and more importantly, packaging. However, it is possible to e.g. create corn bioplastics that are biodegradable and, when incinerated, don’t emit toxic fumes unlike their oil-based counterparts. The main issues is that its structural rigidity is lesser than that of conventional plastics as well as the fact that bioplastic's packaging has a limited shelf time, however these issues are easily solvable by technological…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    english annotation
    • 2453 Words
    • 10 Pages

    english annotation

    This source is a video on youtube.com that provides a good amount of important information that would help to enlighten those who are confused about plastic recycling…

    • 2453 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Information on the biopolymer poly-hydroxybutanoate (PHB)
    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Information on the biopolymer poly-hydroxybutanoate (PHB)

    c) Evaluate the use of the biopolymer in terms of its impact on the environment and whether or not it represents a better alternative to those plastics made from petrochemicals.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Plastic Affecting The Environment
    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Plastic Affecting The Environment

    Fossil fuels are burned during the production of plastic, which results in the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, etc. If we recycle plastic, many of these fossil fuels will no longer be used in such large quantities, and therefore the number of greenhouse gases emitted will become lower. This will also help lower air pollution. According to the Stanford Alumni, which is known for their continuous researches, “…recycling could save between 30 and 170 million tons of carbon each year, or the approximate equivalent of removing between six and 30 million vehicles from U.S. roads” (Staley, 2005). Reducing the amount of plastic waste will ultimately result in a healthier atmosphere. Water pollution can also be decreased if plastic is recycled. Since there won’t be such a high quantity of plastic waste, the need for disposal of it will decrease, and most of it will not end up in the oceans. According to Conserve Energy Future, which mainly writes about environmental issues throughout the world, “Recycling helps…reduce air pollution and water pollution (from land filling) by reducing the need for “conventional” waste disposal...” (No Author Given, 1). If the amount of plastic waste decreases, the need for disposing waste the way we do now, which includes using landfills, will not be…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Polyhydroxyalkanoate Case Study
    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Polyhydroxyalkanoate Case Study

    Every activity in modern life is influenced by plastics and many depend entirely on plastic products due to their useful material properties and low production costs. Almost every product is constituted of some kind of polymer; however, traditional synthetic polymers (often called plastics), such as polypropylene and polyethylene, are derived from non-renewable petrochemicals and are not readily biodegradable (http://www.plastice.org/ fileadmin/files/Brochure_teachers.pdf). The need for polymers and the products they constitute is ever increasing; however the use of non-renewable fossil fuels for plastic production products not only diminishing fossil fuel stockpiles but eco- ‘unfriendly’ too. The enormous use of petroleum-based…

    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Moore's Article Analysis
    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Moore's Article Analysis

    The greatest strength of Moore’s’ article is the fact that he has significant scientific evidence to back up his conclusions. First, he opens his article by saying that he has just come back from a scientific voyage into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with the purpose of studying its effects. This immediately gives a sense that he understands the consequences of the object of his was writing. By asserting that he studied the area in question, he immediately lends scientific credit to his arguments. In addition, he goes on to reference several scientific studies. In order to illustrate his argument that no agency or organization has yet been able to find a way of recycling plastics that covers the vast amount that escapes into our water…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    What Are the Main Problems Associated with Using Plastic Bags? Identify Solutions to Reduce These Problems.
    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What Are the Main Problems Associated with Using Plastic Bags? Identify Solutions to Reduce These Problems.

    The manufacturing process of plastic bags commences with the extraction of and handling of raw materials. Large amounts of energy are required to extract crude oil, and most of the electricity used in the process of manufacturing the plastic used in these bags comes from coal-fired power plants (Greenfeet, 2004). The fundamental components of manufacturing plastic bags are petroleum and natural gases (Lajeunesse, 2004), whereby 4% of the world’s total oil production is used in the production of plastic bags (Greenfeet 2004). The toxic emissions and consequently air pollution of chemicals and carbon dioxide during the production of plastic bags presents a serious concern for the environment. According to the Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment (1990), the manufacturing of two plastic bags produces 1.1 kg of atmospheric pollution, which contributes to acid rain and smog.…

    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Resin Identification Code
    • 1990 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Resin Identification Code

    He builds his argument by outlining the history of resin codes and their immediate effects, comparing the past’s flow of plastics to today’s, and then explains why they are working to update the resin codes. Finding this article was vastly encouraging – while it did not give me the periphery information I desired, it did give me the core of my answer with much more detail than I had found previously. It also brought up “films” – thin plastics that were difficult to recycle along with the main stream of materials. Intrigued, I decided to look more closely at those, my hunger for the history of recycling being assuaged for…

    • 1990 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Function Sheet
    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Function Sheet

    * The objective of the exhibitors is to provide the attendees with accurate information and materials, using the space provided.…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Plastic Polluton Research Proposal
    • 296 Words
    • 1 Page

    Plastic Polluton Research Proposal

    I have decided to do my research paper on the effects of synthetic plastics & the amount of pollution it is causing in the Pacific Ocean. There is an island of plastic in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that people refer to as “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” & “The Pacific Trash Vortex”. AT least 10,000 pounds of garbage washes up onto the shore every year, from the smallest pieces like bottle caps to big items like computer monitors and car tires. The debris comes from South America, Asia & parts of the U.S. Most people don’t know about the effects of plastics. Plastics don’t disintegrate & they end up in our ocean water, harming our wildlife & the fish we eat. There are no pictures of “the island” because you would have to sail with a net to truly understand the amount of debris at the bottom of the ocean. It is said that if it could all be taken out it would be as large as double the size of the state of Texas or enough to cover the entire United States.…

    • 296 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    plastic
    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages

    plastic

    Polymer technology explained using text and animations Multimedia Design and Technology Education Plastics Technology Animations of Processes This “Plasics Module” covers the plastics technology specifications for KS3 and GCSE courses, including:  Structure, composition and properties of polymers  Polymer composites  Formulae of common polymers  Hazards – polymers leaching chemicals  Sustainability  Recycling  Abbreviations of polymers                     Blown film Calendering Compression moulding DMC…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Determination of the tensile strength of star bioplastic cast-film reinforced with pineapple peel
    • 2228 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Determination of the tensile strength of star bioplastic cast-film reinforced with pineapple peel

    Plastics have grown throughout the modern world because of their usefulness. Plastics can be flexible or rigid, brittle or resilient, clear or colored, and have many other useful properties. Some plastics are electrically conductive while others are excellent insulators. Plastics emerged onto the global manufacturing scene as the wonder material of the present generation. However, plastics have gone from being a manufacturing wonder material to being a hazardous consumer waste material due to its destructive environmental impact. Due to its cost and evolving hindrances, awareness turned to action giving birth…

    • 2228 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Research about plastic recycling
    • 4928 Words
    • 21 Pages

    Research about plastic recycling

    The purpose of this research is to find out the damage that is caused by plastic rubbish and how to avoid it. Plastic rubbish is a global problem and affects us all. This research will be based on secondary research, so by existing literature.…

    • 4928 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics