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Nicholson Labs
  • About
  • Bioplastic
    • Tools and Materials
    • Tips and Tricks
    • Recipes (Refined Seaweed)
      • Carrageenan Ca01 (Solid, without Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag01 (Solid, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag02 (Film, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag03 (Solid, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag04 (Film, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag05 (Solid, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag06 (Solid, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag07 (Foam, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag08 (2-3mm Film, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag09 (1.5mm Film, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag10 (5mm Leather, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag11 (1.5mm Film, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag12 (4.5mm Film, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag13 (Solid, without Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag18 (Solid, without Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag14 (2mm Film, without Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag15 (3mm Film, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag16 (Coating, without Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag17 (?mm Film, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag18 (4.5mm Film, with Plasticizer)
      • Agar Ag19 (Thin Film, with Plasticizer)
    • Recipes (Raw Seaweed)
      • CC01 Chrondus Crispus (Carrageenan)
      • LS01 Laminaria Saccharina (Fucodian or Alginic Acid)
      • CC02 Chrondus Crispus (Carrageenan)
      • CC03 Chrondus Crispus (Carrageenan)
      • CC04 Chrondus Crispus (Carrageenan)
      • CC05 Chrondus Crispus (Carrageenan)
      • CC06 Chrondus Crispus (Carrageenan)
    • Experiments with Bioplastic
      • Plasticizer vs. No Plasticizer
      • Freezing Bioplastic
      • Melting Bioplastic
      • Extruding Bioplastic
      • Flipped vs. Not Flipped
      • Microwaving Bioplastic
      • Burning Bioplastic
      • Heat Joining Bioplastic
      • Cooking Bioplastic
      • Water Permeability
      • Hot vs. Room Temp Drying
      • Fully Dissolving Bioplastic
      • Bioplastic in a Dehydrator
      • 3D Printing Bioplastic
      • Biodegradability
    • Science Behind Bioplastic
    • More Recipes
    • Potential Uses
  • Carbon Capture
    • Before You Start...
    • Materials
    • Test Chambers
      • Test Chamber MK1
      • Test Chamber MK2
      • Test Chamber MK3
    • Sorbent Prep
      • Sorbent #1 Prep
      • Sorbent #2 Prep
    • Tests
      • Test #1 with Sorbent #1
      • Test #2 with Sorbent #1
      • Test #3 with Sorbent #1
      • Test #4 with Sorbent #1
      • Test #5 with Sorbent #1
      • Test #6 with Sorbent #1
      • Test #7 with Sorbent #1
      • Test #8 with Sorbent #2
    • Data Analysis/Quantification
    • How Does Carbon Capture Work?
    • Further Learning
    • Was This Project a Success?
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  1. Bioplastic
  2. Experiments with Bioplastic

Melting Bioplastic

This allows it to be molded and not shrink!

The possibility of remolding bioplastic and not having it shrink opens up a whole new world for solid bioplastic. This is because when you traditionally mold both solid and film bioplastics, they shrink when they dry. This isn't very useful because then the item you molded will be all wonky and the dimensions will be all off after drying. Melting the bioplastic after it has done its majority of drying allows it to be remolded without shrinking again

I don't really have any photos for this, but I'll describe the process.

First, I put some completely dried solid bioplastic into a waffle maker.

Then, I closed the griddle and let it "cook" for about 10 minutes.

After ten minutes, the bioplastic had melted, though it wasn't runny or a liquid. It was more of a still-hardish Playdoh-like blob. So, I carefully took it out of the waffle maker and molded it with my fingers. It was hot, but I had to work fast before it cooled down.

I let it dry for not too long (less than a few hours), and it was ready to use. I measured the size of it over a few days, and I can back up that it didn't shrink.

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Last updated 1 year ago

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