CC06 Chrondus Crispus (Carrageenan)
Using the seaweed from CC05, I tried to make more bioplastic by blending the seaweed goop in water and applying heat.
Ingredients:
Water (100 mL boiling or hot)
The seaweed solids from CC05
Procedure:
When you strain the goop and the seaweed with a mesh strainer in CC05, collect whatever is in the mesh strainer.
Put what you collected from the mesh strainer into a beaker.
Let the beaker sit for a week. Do not touch it or add water. Don't worry, mold will not grow.
After a week, dump the contents of the beaker into a blender. I used an immersion blender for this, but other beakers should work just as well.
Add the boiling or hot water to the blender.
Blend for a few minutes so you can obtain a very thick and homogenous slurry. This step takes some time but is critical for a cosmetically-appealing bioplastic. Imagine the slurry being a milkshake - you don't want any seaweed bits in it - so you need to blend for a while.
Pour the slurry into a pan.
Heat the pan until it reaches just below boiling and gelling starts happening. This could take between 3-10 minutes depending on quantity, temperature, and preferred bioplastic thickness.
Cast your gelled slurry onto a glass plate or silicone mold.
Wait 5 days and peel off your bioplastic!
Images of the process:
Before drying:
During drying:
After drying:
Results:
This turned out to be a success, albeit the plastic smells a little funny. It's not very transparent either. But it is really flexible and thin, with some strength and structure to it. And it doesn't stick to itself!
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