Biodegradable Materials, Expiry dates alert IDM10

Al-Bairaq World Module

Titanium Rahma Al.sideeg El.hassan / Yasmin Ahmed Aboujabal /Kholoud Khamis Ahmad AL-BairaqI am Discovering MaterialsBio-degradable Materials

1

-Outline

-Introduction-Activity 1: Comparing Packing Materials.-Activity 2: Hunting for bio-degradable objects.-Activity 3:Processing bio-degradable materials and comparing their mechanical properties.-Activity 4: Measuring the degradation rates of bio-degradable materials.-Design project: Designing a medicine release capsule.-Product Idea : Expiry dates alert.

. Introduction. Bio-degradable materials are substances that become smaller, non-toxic particles that return to the environment and may be reused by living things.

-Activity 1: Comparing Packing MaterialsPart A-We were given 2 foams, green and white, then we put each one in water. -The foam that dissolved in water was the white because its made of corn starch (bio-degradable) and the green didnt because its made of polystyrene.

Part B-We got to Check how protectable the two types of foams are.-Both of the plastic bags that had the eggs gave the same protection, but when it comes to the bio-degradable, we should be wise about the things we put in them.

-Activity 2: Hunting for bio-degradable objects-We did a research and listed items that are around us in a table discussing which should be bio-degradable and which shouldn't be, supported with reasons.Should be bio-degradableReasonsShouldnt be bio-degradableReasons1. TowelsMore hygienic1. Cooking pots If affected by nature it will go away fast2. News papersEasy to get rid of2. Bathroom toolsIt will not be affected by bacteria3. Trash bagsWe use it too much and it will be better for the environment3. Chairs and tablesIt will be affected by humidity and will be spoiled.

.Activity 3:Processing bio-degradable materials and comparing their mechanical properties-We made 3 gelatin solutions, it was noticed that as we increased the concentration the density increased, yet the transparency decreased. -After 2 days, we got 2 films, the 10% was stronger than the 5% because there are more polymers cross links as the concentration increases. Also we got gel (20%) which was more compress-able but can be broken easily.

-Activity 4: Measuring the degradation rates of bio-degradable materials -We measured the degradation of different bio-degradable materials (foam peanut, gelatin capsul,gelatin films) in HCl,NaOH and boiling water and determined the quickest.Items HClNaOHWater (H2O)Foam peanut17:1519:501:54Gelatin capsule18:3020:350:455% of film20:0121:100:1820% of gelatin19:1220:250:12

We noticed that all the materials degraded faster in boiling water. Also, they degraded in HCL (acid) quicker than NaOH (base).

-Design project: Designing a medicine release capsule-We designed a medicine release capsule and degraded it.

Sodium alginate and calcium chloride made the capsules.To degrade the capsules, we put them in sodium citrate as a simulation of capsules degradation in our stomach.

-Product idea: Expiry dates alert

-In recent days food poisoning has occurred in high percentages, one main reason is that consumers and suppliers are not aware of expiry dates of food products.one of the countries dealing with this is Qatar. That's why we founded a project that supports environment and Qatari society by making a product that alerts consumers and suppliers of expiry dates of food products through substances from the topic Bio-degradable materials.-What attracted us to this project is the importance of checking the expiry dates and how effective it is on health of the society.-Properties of the product: Eco-friendly/Made for all community divisions/Usable by special needs,deaf,blind and even who cant read/Useable internationally/Achieves Qatars environmental vision/Inexpensive along with availability of materials.-We consider it a bounce in the world of consuming products and biodegradable materials ,has a promising future through guiding the next generation and the present. -We took a glimpse at bio-degradable materials which provided more information and visions that will benefit Qatari society, that's why we got many ideas that accomplish Qatars visions. For example: our product idea. -Aim of the work: Settle a substance that alerts the consumer and the supplier about the expiry dates of food products using the five senses, aiming to spread awareness and decrease the chances of food poisoning.

Expiry dates alert:HypothesisCreate a substance which will be placed in a visible area on the food products that alerts the consumer and supplier of expiry dates of the selected product through using the human senses (Touching-Hearing-Seeing).

Expiry dates alert:Methods and MaterialsWe will make a plastic seal that is made of normal plastic polymers, and add different quantities of d2w in order to make it a bio-degradable alert that notifies the consumers and the suppliers about the expiry dates of the food products, which will range in colors according to the duration of validity.to make sure the alert doesnt degrade from external factors in the time of storage, we will put each one in a sack which has high pressure and is air-sucked. Heres a video of the process:

Expiry dates alert: Recommendations-We recommend all areas familiar with such a project to apply it in all areas of food products, local and worldwide, in addition to governments to apply strict laws and charges against those who dont follow the rules, and media to spread awareness due to its importance and capability of decreasing food poisoning, maintaining a healthy society.-Also, if there are new and developed techniques that are designed to improve the performance of our product we welcome all suggestions and researches.

Conclusions

In the end,we,Team Titanium were so happy to be a part of Al-Bairaq ,the week of activities was so educational and enthusiastic we got to bring out many ideas that resulted in founding our product Expiry dates alert,which we believe is going to be a worldwide thing to apply and talk about. All we can say is that we wish the best for everybody, specially the team of CAM who helped us in everything.

AcknowledgmentMany thanks to my teachers, school and AL-Bairaq team from Center for Advanced Materials (CAM), Qatar University for supporting us during our journey with a AL-Bairaq.

Also, I would like to thank the sponsors UNESCO, Qatar National Commission, Ras Gas, Maersk and Shell.