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Materials
re:compose
Option 1:
We started with White Polylactic Acid. It was easily accessible due to its availability at our on campus printing lab and it was biodegradable.
Results:
It was a good place to start but way too dense, there would be no way this material could decompose in the time frame we intended. It also took a really long time to print, and the 3D printer messed up the shape too often.
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a. Model in MakerBot
b. 3D printer in motion
c. Result
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Option 2:
Our next material we tried was a calcium alginate gel, or the "edible water bottle." We hoped we could essentially wrap the compost tea in the gel. ​
Ingredients:
- Calcium lactate
- Sodium alginate
- water​
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Results:
This was very easy to make and cost effective on a large scale, but too fragile and would not withstand transportation or handling.
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Option 3:
We then tried a gelatin based bioplastic. The recipe is simple, you start with a pot of water, mix in the gelatin, heat the mixture, add the glycerol, and stir/heat till fully mixed (~5 min). Then place in mold and wait for it to dry. I was initially expecting this to have the similar consistency to melted chocolate but it was really liquidly. We had two test, one we left open and one we sealed in our mold and “spun” in an effort to get a hollow sphere.
Ingredients:
- water
- gelatin
- glycerol
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Results:
This was very easy to make and cost effective. However, takes a very long time to harden and smells really bad when making.
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Day 1
Day 7
Option 4:
The last material we tried was a starch-based bioplastic. To make, we mixed all ingredients and cook for about five minutes. We then poured the liquid mixture into the two molds we used for the gelatin-based bioplastic. They hardened, but unfortunately we were unable to get a hollow mold due to the limited amount of time we had to dedicate to turning the mold. While the end results were both solid blocks of bioplastic, the edges of the material showed promise for what we ideally wanted the material to look and feel like.
Ingredients:
- starch
- salt
- glycerol
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Results:
This was very easy to make and cost effective. Depending on thickness, it takes a few hours to a few days to harden.
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Product Comparisons
By making a comparison chart of the four different materials tested, we were able to choose the best option. Shown above is the approximate time it took to make each, time it took to dry, degradability, and overall match for our project purpose. The starch bioplastic was the most promising. Unfortunately, both bioplastics were a result of the limitations we had in terms of molds as well as time. If we had had more time, we might have been able to change the ratio of ingredients in some of these recipes in order to find the best material.
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