Week14: Experiment#2 BY Kenneth & Ben

Gelatin bioplastic experiments#2 || Ben&Kenneth

Date: December 6th, 2019

Group member: Kenneth&Ben

Position: 822

Updates from the first experiment

In the last experiment, I tried to test the gelatin recipe. The experiment result is several hard, yellow plastic pieces.

For the first time, I used a thick mold for drying and that is the reason why it takes 5 days (approximately) to dry out, which means become harder and solid.

So that gives us inspiration for the second try. For the second try, we try to use an acrylic flat sheet as the mold so that our bioplastic will be thin enough and we will have a faster drying process ideally. 

Experiment Process

Materials: Gelatin 150g | Glycerol 50ml | Coldwater 750ml | Flower Buds |  Lavander

Tools: Pan | Heater | Acrylic boards (2) | Gram scale | Spoon | Measuring bowls | Stirring stick | Strainer

Steps:

1. sure out wet and dry ingredients and separate via bowls & beakers
2. Split the water into 2 equal parts (1 is to be boiled, the other is to be kept in room temperature)
3. Create the rose/flower water (dye/fragrance) by boiling water and petals until the desired color is reached
4. Strain the liquid and remove all excess petals
5. Mix the hot rose water with the room temperature water and add gelatin *before gelatin is added*
6. Mix in the gelatin until a thick consistency is reached *try to reach a consistency that has NO clumps/chunks*
7. Heat the pot with the mixture until a white foam/bubbles in the mixture begin to form and accumulate (DO NOT BOIL)
8. Strain the mixture again or use a spoon to remove the white foam/bubbles
9. Pour the mixture onto the flat acrylic sheet *Make sure there are no spots or hols, and try to remove air bubbles if possible (Make sure to lay a protective layer underneath the acrylic – the process is messy and very HOT)