CC01 Chrondus Crispus (Carrageenan)

NOTE: This recipe is poorly documented. Do not expect to gain the same results by following my steps. Even I forget how I made this one. And that is a shame because this is really good bioplastic. Instead, try making CC02.

Chrondus crispus is well known for its high carrageenan content. To make this, I followed the abundant online tutorials on how to make Chrondus crispus gel, then casted that gel into a mold.

Procedure:

1. Blend the seaweed in water (choose your own quantities: 150mL of water and 3g seaweed will make a LOT of bioplastic.)

2. When it is homogenous, put it into a pan or cooking apparatus.

3. Heat at 60C for 2-10 minutes, depending on quantity. You will lose some water in this step and the gel will become thicker.

4. Once the mixture is feeling thicker, cast it into a mold or a flat item.

5. Let dry for 5 days.

6. Done!

Note that I did a horrible job of casting the bioplastic, and that is evident!

Before drying:

The film-like ball of stuff is what dried in the heated pan.

After drying:

Results:

Overall, I would call this a large success. This is because I can make bioplastic out of raw material, instead of doing lots of processing, which costs money and has a large environmental impact. I look forward to continuing this research by creating a stronger film in the future.