FulanoDetail“In the Hall–Héroult process for aluminum extraction, the typical weight ratio of cryolite (Na₃AlF₆) to alumina (Al₂O₃) in the electrolyte is approximately 3:1. This means that for every 1 kg of alumina, about 3 kg of cryolite is used.
This ratio is crucial because cryolite serves as a solvent for alumina, significantly lowering the melting point of the mixture to around 950°C, which facilitates the electrolysis process. Maintaining the appropriate cryolite-to-alumina ratio ensures efficient aluminum production.”
I was trying to figure out how to remove it from the final product:
“When a mixture of alumina (Al₂O₃) and cryolite (Na₃AlF₆) solidifies, the two substances do not separate into distinct layers based on density. Instead, they form a homogeneous solid solution. This occurs because cryolite has a lower density than alumina, with cryolite's density around 2.95 to 3.0 g/cm³ and alumina's density approximately 3.9 to 4.1 g/cm³. However, the difference in density is not sufficient to cause separation during solidification.
Additionally, cryolite has a melting point of about 1012°C, which is lower than that of alumina, which melts at approximately 2072°C. This means that at typical processing temperatures, cryolite remains molten while alumina solidifies. Therefore, in the absence of electrolysis, the cryolite would remain in the molten phase, while the alumina would solidify, leading to a separation of phases rather than a homogeneous mixture.
This encapsulation could lead to a porous structure in the final solidified material, as the alumina particles may not fully integrate into the cryolite matrix.”
“Chemical Reaction:
Introducing a substance that reacts with cryolite to form a compound with a different density or solubility can facilitate separation. For instance, adding a calcium-based compound like calcium oxide (CaO) can react with cryolite to form calcium aluminate, which may separate from the molten alumina. However, this method requires precise control to avoid unwanted reactions and contamination.
Calcium Fluoride (CaF2): Adding CaF2 can lead to the formation of fluoroaluminates, which may help in separating cryolite from alumina. The reaction can produce complex ions that may alter the solubility of cryolite, potentially allowing it to precipitate out or form a less dense phase that can be separated [2].
Sodium Fluoride (NaF): Similar to CaF2, NaF can interact with cryolite to form various fluoroaluminate complexes. This could potentially change the solubility dynamics, allowing for separation [2].”
Kyropoulos method - Wikipedia Although this method requires you to heat the material to 2000ºC, I still think that it could be interesting for cryolite + alumina.
The videos I posted earlier shows that.
It is called the Flux Method.
“After crystallization, often some solidified flux remains on the surface or inside the desired crystal. This flux may cause defects in the crystal due to the different thermal expansivities of the flux and crystal.[4] A solvent (typically an acid or a base) can dissolve the flux, but it's difficult to find a solvent that doesn't also dissolve the crystal. The flux can be removed mechanically using a blade or drill. If the crystal and flux have significantly different boiling points, the flux may be removed with evaporation. Flux can also be removed through recrystallization through use of a seed in the liquid phase, leaving the flux behind as the crystals accumulate.”
The thing is: can you do the same to alumina?
Apparently you can use the flux method for sapphire/alumina, but they almost never worry about structural strength…
(PDF) Growth of ruby and sapphire crystals by the flux method
Rubies on sapphire: Recipe for making crystals in flux
“The solubility curve is a graph that shows how much dissolves at what temperature. It is crucial to know this information in order to grow crystals with precision. With this research, the solubility curve of Al2O3:Cr in MoO3 for 1050 to 1200 °C was obtained.”
Effect of Holding Temperature on Growth of Ruby Crystal Films via Molybdenum Trioxide Flux Evaporation–Solubility of Aluminum Oxide, Growth Rate, and Material Balance (the study in question)
“The maximum crystal size obtained was 1.0 mm, all transparent, presenting well developed faces, bipiramidal hexagonal shape, and showing a typical red (ruby) and/or light blue (sapphire) color.”
Oh well, I guess it wouldn’t be practical then…
In fact, I was wondering about something:
In a lot of videos teaching about making DIY crystals at home, they normally dissolve the desired materials in a solvent under heat, place a seed crystal and then the crystal will slowly grow from the solution.
The first Idea I had was to dissolve alumina/corundum/sapphire in cryolite until it becomes saturated, add a crystal seed and wait.
But I doubt it would be that simple.
ChatGPT:
“At approximately 1000°C, cryolite (Na₃AlF₆) is commonly used as a solvent for alumina (Al₂O₃) in the Hall–Héroult process for aluminum extraction. In this process, alumina is dissolved in molten cryolite to facilitate electrolysis.
The solubility of alumina in molten cryolite at 1000°C is about 10 wt%. “
“Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) does not typically react with aluminum chloride (AlCl3) at 1000ºC under standard conditions. Instead, aluminum oxide is often used in processes such as the electrolysis of aluminum oxide to produce aluminum metal, which occurs at high temperatures, including around 1000ºC [2].
Key Points:
Stability of Aluminum Oxide: Aluminum oxide is a stable compound and does not readily react with aluminum chloride at elevated temperatures.
Electrolysis Process: At 1000ºC, aluminum oxide can be electrolyzed to produce aluminum metal, but this process does not involve a direct reaction with aluminum chloride [2].
Chemical Behavior: The introduction of aluminum chloride to aluminum oxide does not lead to a significant chemical reaction that would produce new compounds under these conditions.”
heh…
I couldn’t find any information on the subject and it also didn’t say how much percentage per weight aluminum chloride dissolves cryolite.
… But:
Chlorides of Period 3 Elements - Chemistry LibreTexts
Aluminium chloride - Wikipedia
Source: (PDF) AlCl3-NaCl-ZnCl2 Secondary Electrolyte in Next-Generation ZEBRA (Na-ZnCl2) Battery
So:
You either let the molten mixture solidify and leave it in an aluminum chloride bath at room temperature for days or you would need to keep everything inside a pressure pan…
In any manner, assuming that the pressure pan could work (And that you wouldn’t die trying to do this), you would still need to keep the cooling to reduce its temperature very slowly over time. Normally I see something around 2ºC per hour.
Which would take 12 to 18 days in total.
Maybe other solvents would work better?
Digestion of aluminium oxide : r/chemhelp
“Hot concentrated nitric acid, hot concentrated sulfuric acid, or concentrated phosphoric acid should all eventually dissolve alumina, though the rate is going to depend on a lot of variables. Don't bother with HCl or HF as they'll evaporate from the hot acid.
Hot concentrated alkali will do the trick too, but again it'll have to be hot to see any reasonable rate and you'll need to do it in a non-glass vessel (as the glass will dissolve faster than the alumina!).”
How can I dissolve alumina? | ResearchGate
What acid usable of alumina leaching processing? | ResearchGate
How can one dissolve sapphire (Al2O3) substrate? | ResearchGate
Sciencemadness Discussion Board - dissolve corundum - Powered by XMB 1.9.11
How Can I Safely Dissolve Sapphire Without Damaging Gallium Nitride?
By the way, sulfuric acid boils at 400ºC and HCL boils at 100ºC.
It would be hundreds of times easier, cheaper and safer to just use an arc welder machine:
How To Make Synthetic Ruby In The Workshop
DIY Steel Melter (HIGH CURRENT ELECTRICITY HACK)
5000 DEGREE electric arcs | High Voltage |
Okay, maybe using a hydrogen-oxygen torch using electrolysis would work too, since it can burn with 2800ºC.
DIY Oxy Hydrogen Torch Using Water Electrolysis
There is also the possibility of using metal matrix composites with fiberglass… It would be cheaper than using epoxy composites since I can recycle metals…
A review of aluminum metal matrix composites: fabrication route, reinforcements, microstructural, mechanical, and corrosion properties | Request PDF (the article isn’t fully free to see, but in some images it achieves around 500 MPa also)
Tailoring mechanical properties of fiber metal laminates with BaSO<sub>4</sub> nanoparticle-infused epoxy systems (around 450 to 600 MPa)
Reinforcement of Aluminium-Matrix Composites with Glass Fibre by Metallurgical Synthesis (434 MPa)
US20050133123A1 - Glass fiber metal matrix composites - Google Patents “Samples produced ultimate tensile strengths of 46.8 ksi and an elastic modulus of 8.8 Msi.” 46 ksi = 320 MPa
(PDF) Enactment of aluminium-fly ash composites (not fiberglass as the filling material, but flyash can be quite the addition)
Study on Tensile and Hardness Properties of Aluminium 7075 Alloy Reinforced with Graphite, Mica and E-Glass (it doesn’t use fibers, but e-glass, 343 MPa achieved)
Option 3:
By the way, I personally don’t like to work with carbon fiber or glass fiber because of the danger of working with them, so I searched for natural fibers that compare in strength to that of glass fibers.
Coir 188 MPa, Jute 249 MPa, Hemp 514 MPa and Sisal 484 MPa.
However, these values are for the fibers alone, not of the resulting composites.
Factors Affecting Mechanical Properties of Reinforced Bioplastics: A Review - PMC I checked all of the sources, the tensile strength reached up to a whopping 2 to 70 MPa no matter the modification. But it did say the lack of strength was due to the fact that the surface of the fibers were too smooth instead of bumpy and rough, which reduced adhesion.
Process-controlled optimization of the tensile strength of bamboo fiber composites for structural applications (pressed composites [not densified wood], achieved around 140 to 180 MPa)
Synthesis of glass FRP-natural fiber hybrid composites (NFHC) and its mechanical characterization | Discover Sustainability (50 to 70 MPa based on composition)
Natural Fiber Composites: A Review (66 MPa, while glass fiber achieved 169 MPa)
Plant-Based Natural Fibre Reinforced Composites: A Review on Fabrication, Properties and Applications (this one just shows how many percent the biofiber composites got stronger, but not the original tensile strength, so you would need to check hundreds of sources and then calculate the increase, assuming that each source only shows a single value. So I’m pretty pissed at the author)
Mechanical Properties of Bio-Based Epoxy Composites Reinforced with Hybrid-Interlayer Ramie and Recycled Carbon Fibres (it is about ramie fibers with recycled carbon fibers [however you would find those], by itself, the fibers achieved maximum 50 to 70 MPa while the addition of recycled carbon fibers reached around 120 to 190 MPa depending on the amount of carbon fiber and biofibers)
The impact of natural fibers’ characteristics on mechanical properties of the cement composites | Scientific Reports (In this last one it is said that Ramie fibers can achieve 400 to 1000 MPa, but all of the composites had tensile strengths below 10 MPa and compressive strengths below 30 MPa)
Carbon fiber has 5000 to 9000 MPa of tensile strength, epoxy has 5 MPa, but the resulting material is just as strong.
But… The resulting epoxy natural fiber composites only reach around 50 to 80 MPa of tensile strength, while the biofibers have tensile strengths around 1000 MPa.
I just don’t understand that… 🙁
In the end the articles never find a pure biofiber based composite that can surpass 100 MPa of tensile strength without the addition of glass fiber and/or carbon fibers.
However, again the detail is that these fibers are normally added as woven layers instead of just random fibers.
And even then, it is not mentioned how the glass/carbon fibers were added in a very clear way.
Development of flax/carbon fibre hybrid composites for enhanced properties - ScienceDirect (The only article that was able to reach 100 to 126 MPa or above using biofibers alone was this one, and it used bidirectional and unidirectional woven layers of Flax)
Mechanical, Moisture Absorption, and Abrasion Resistance Properties of Bamboo–Jute–Glass Fiber Composites | Journal of Bio- and Tribo-Corrosion (natural fibers only achieved 25 to 35 MPa, biofibers + glass fibers achieved 50 to 70 MPa, however, it doesn’t explain the characteristics of the glass fiber layer. If they are woven, if they are randomly stacked etc.)
Large-Scale Manufacture of Recyclable Bioplastics from Renewable Cellulosic Biomass Derived from Softwood Kraft Pulp | ACS Applied Polymer Materials (This one said that the pressed delignified wood chips achieved 350 MPa of tensile strength, but again, how would you make complex shapes with this method?)
Study of Effect of Surface Treatment on Mechanical Properties of Natural Fiber Reinforced Composites - ScienceDirect This one was able to reach around 200 to 300 MPa of tensile strength using pre-treated jute fibers.
“The best resulting treatment was found to be the alkali treatment with 5% NaOH for 4 hours, which significantly improved the flexural strength of the bagasse/epoxy composites compared to untreated fibers. This treatment enhanced the fiber-matrix interaction, leading to better mechanical performance of the composites.”
Given that, you could mix the chopped glass fibers with the woven biofibers in order to increase the tensile strength of the composite without needing too much money.
The strongest accessible polymers are PET (70 to 120 MPa), PLA (50 to 60 MPa) and ABS (also 50 to 60 MPa).
PET achieved around 100 MPa with 30% fiberglass reinforcement (not mentioned if it was woven fibers or random fibers [which is extremely relevant]).
You could also use these plastics with the biofibers and bioplastics.
I wanted to check bioplastics just to see what I could make:
There are a lot of types of bioplastics and I do think they are interesting and could be a possible alternative.
Observation:
You need to remember that this is tensile strength at break. You also need to find the fatigue strength etc.
Plastics Made from Milk, Potatoes and Sugar? | HTME
Can You Turn Wildflowers into Rubber?
Conversion of Food Waste into Polylactic acid Fibre
Effect of fiber reinforcement on tensile strength and flexibility of corn starch-based bioplastic (tensile strength below 5 MPa)
Recent advances in biodegradable polymers for sustainable applications | npj Materials Degradation (PLA composite with modified Harakeke or Hemp fiber achieved 100 MPa of tensile strength maximum)
Mechanical Properties of Bioplastics Product from Musa Paradisica Formatypica Concentrate with Plasticizer Variables (this one reached 100 MPa, but is uses sorbitol)
You could add both bioplastic with natural fibers for extra strength, but I don’t know how well it would work. I say this taking into consideration that the epoxy+biofiber composites are disappointing. Maybe if you added pine resin it could get stronger…
I saw a few news and articles about converting oils into bioplastics, but the process is very complex and difficult. Some are really simple, but result in bioplastics that aren’t useful for structural use.
Seed Oil converts to PLASTIC (This one is the only video that I found, but I would just use it to complement other bioplastics/biocomposites, since they usually have a little bit of oil that doesn’t do anything)
Turning paper into plastic (this one makes cellulose acetate/diacetate, it is said to have around 30 to 50 MPa, but some links suggests it surpassing these values with specific additives, like fibers)
Making Paper From Grass... and Printing On It
Making Fake Ivory And Casein Milk Plastics, Glues and Paints
1933 Blood Graphene - A Way To Make Graphene From Blood, Eggs Or Milk
1934 Simple Bioplastic Made Stronger Than Steel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0jo9OmD84U&list=PLbQqm4rNo6243e69xp-ZPUkYDb38oS4xU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kflPZLGEKVc&list=PLbQqm4rNo626qCY2Nj6ODUCQLNAR0c_44
Advantages and Disadvantages of Bioplastics Production from Starch and Lignocellulosic Components - PMC (Manioc plastic reached 100 MPa of tensile strength, it redirects to a reference [link] and it is using starch from Manioc, not Manioc itself [still cheap tho])
Make your own bioplastic (extended version)
Conversion of Food Waste into Polylactic acid Fibre
Making PLA (Polylactic Acid Polymerization)
How To Make Plastic From Seaweed | World Wide Waste | Business Insider
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gKLHXuYfo00?feature=share
Homemade Bioplastic: gelatin - YouTube
How to make Algae Seaweed Bioplastic - BEST tips and tricks!
Homemade Bioplastic: recycling
How To Make A Seaweed Bioplastic - The Basics
Homemade Bioplastic: agar vs. gelatin recipe
Project GLONY: An Accessible Way to Make Algae Bioplastic at Home & Biodesign for the Baltic Sea
How to make bioplastic at home
Plástico biodegradable a base de almidón- Jose David Rodríguez Botero
ALP project - Bio-plastic from banana peels
Making textile from banana peels
DIY biodegradable plastics | How to make biodegradable plastics | Stay Home🏠
Process: bioplastic with eggshells
Green Composites Using Naturally Occurring Fibers: A Comprehensive Review - Sustainable Polymer & Energy (this one says that pure chitosan films achieved 100 Mpa of tensile strength on one of the graphs, but the reference is a 350 page book on the subject: https://sci-hub.ru/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49382-4 but I couldn’t find the information through ctrl+F [I ain’t reading all of that])
Gelatine bio-composite with eggshells
Making Bioplastic from Orange Peel - REMIX EL BARRIO
Man Makes Homemade Biodegradable Plastic for His Hydroponics
DIY bioplastics from orange peels and ground coffee
ALP project - Bio plastic from watermelon rinds
'MIRROR' in bioplastic DIY with coffee waste (Caporaletti Gaia - Miandro Lucrezia)
DIY BIOPLASTICS FROM ORANGE PEEL (Sofi Khoirunnisa 9F)
Bioplastic made from wood fibres and plastic - JELUPLAST
Scalable, Strong and Water-Stable Wood-Derived Bioplastic (delignified Balsa wood infused with vulcanized natural rubber achieved 180 MPa of tensile strength)
Bioplastic made from wood waste is durable yet degradable
Turning wood into plastic | ScienceDaily = https://sci-hub.se/10.1038/s41893-021-00702-w Achieved 120 MPa of tensile strength after a chemical treatment of the wood chip/powder with Choline chloride [expensive] and oxalic acid.
After this long, I found a link selling 25kg of choline chloride 60% concentration for animal feedstock at around 300 reais (60 dollars).
Still, too rare of material for mass production at home.
According to this article [link] with a list of deep eutectic solvents, maybe Thymol/Camphor can be a replacement, but thymol is also expensive.
ChatGPT said you could replace it with: acetic acid, lactic acid, butyric acid, menthol, eucalyptol, citric acid, glycerol, sorbitol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, glucose, sucrose, urea, formamide and acetamide. But who knows how right it is tho
Analysis for Similarity:
If dispersion ( 𝛿 𝑑 δ d ) dominance is critical (e.g., for hydrophobic solvation):
Thymol/camphor alternatives should include compounds with similar 𝛿 𝑑 δ d values, such as camphor alone or other hydrophobic cyclic compounds.
If hydrogen bonding ( 𝛿 ℎ δ h ) or polarity ( 𝛿 𝑝 δ p ) is critical:
Compounds like urea or glycerol can better replicate choline chloride's characteristics. However, thymol/camphor's weak polar and hydrogen-bonding character will require matching with more hydrophobic donors, such as aromatic alcohols (e.g., phenol derivatives).
Choline Chloride from Choline Bitartrate (New) This video shows how to synthesize Choline Chloride from Choline bitartrate and potassium chloride.
Choline bitartrate is still too expensive for mass production at home.
To make choline bitartrate, you need tartaric acid, trimethylamine and ethylene oxide. Still expensive and dangerous.
Is there any other easier and cheaper way of making choline chloride?
Besides its big scary names, these two chemicals are actually pretty easy to find as food supplements, vitamins etc.
Which also puts into question whether or not this experiment would work, since food grade chemicals are normally full of impurities, additives, diluted or simply a trade name instead of an actual chemical.
https://br.pinterest.com/pin/536209899402670698/
Introduction of CXP, Thermosoftening Wood
How to Make Rice Bioplastic — Experiment Part 1
Turning Wood Into Plastic | Lignocellulosic Bioplastic
Leather from Cactus? This is how vegan leather is made 🌵
Sheena's Faux Leather Technique
How Vegan Leather Is Made From Mangoes | World Wide Waste
ECO-Leather Production || Cactus Farming and Harvest🌵
Kudarat Bioleather video pitch
Eggshell and Bacterial Cellulose Biocomposite Manufacturing Process
Making Biomaterial from Avocado Pits - REMIX EL BARRIO
How to make plastic from trees (and not fossil fuels) #TeamTrees
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/y-srIa49oVc?feature=share
Making bioplastic from orange peel
DIY material from orange peels
Making Bioplastics from Avocado Dye and Alginate - REMIX EL BARRIO
(PDF) Investigation of mechanical properties of a novel green composite developed by using enset woven fabric and bioresin materials (4 MPa tensile strength maximum, flexural strength 47 MPa)
DIY Bio-plastics : 6 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables
Green composites: natural fibers and biobased resin
How To: Make your own bioplastic pine resin pot
How to make the biodegradable polymer PHA
Better Know a Polymer Video - Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)
Turning SHRIMP into Woven Fabric
Egg Packaging Ideas: 39 Brilliant Designs for Your Inspiration
Recycle Cardboard into Anything with 3D Printing!
TENSILE STRENGTH OF PAPER REVISITED
Life Hack Exposed: Recycling Wet Cardboard?
How to Make Paper Pulp from Cardboard for Papercrete and Other Crafts
A BOLA PERFEITA de OVO (it is a brazilian video, but you can activate subtitles. This is an “eco ceramic” or bioplastic made from eggshells and alginate)
Development of biodegradable and vermicompostable films based on alginate and waste eggshells - ScienceDirect (it actually achieves around 80 MPa of Tensile Strength)
Biomimetic Nanomaterials: Diversity, Technology, and Biomedical Applications
6. Biofabricating - Loes Bogers
Week 06 | BioFabricating Materials - Alice Sowa
How to Make Calcium Phosphate High Temperature Refractory
Making Chemically Bonded Phosphate Ceramic
How to Extract Calcium from Eggshells | creative explained - YouTube
Make your Own Calcium Phosphate from Eggshells
Making Calcium Phosphate for my plants
Extraction of Hydroxyapatite from Eggshells for Dental applications (I saw somewhere that Hydroxyapatite can be used for bioplastic composites, and since it is extracted from bones/eggshells, maybe it would result in an even stronger composite)
Valdís Steinarsdóttir turns animal skin and bones into food packaging and vases
“Steinarsdóttir sources her materials from local slaughterhouses and farmers before transforming them into new materials. The bowls and vases for Just Bones are made by grinding down the bones to a powder, using an advanced mortar machine.
She likens the process to the creation of MDF, which is made by breaking down wood into fine particles that are bound together by wax and a resin binder.
The designer creates the glue that works as a binder for her vessels by putting the bones in sour fruit extract and then boiling them to collect the gelatine.
"First when I mix the material it is liquid so I can mould it, similar to moulding ceramics. Once it has dried, it becomes strong and I can drill, saw, and laser cut it, for example," she explained.”
Bushcraft Skills: How to make Pine Pitch Glue
How to Make VERY STRONG Natural Glue
DIY: Home made glue from Acetone & plexiglass acrylic
How to Make Paper Like A Pro | HGTV Handmade
Unbelievable: Baking Soda Is The Secret Ingredient For Amazing Diy Clay!
Can Leaves Be Turned Into Paper? DIY Experimental Leaf Paper
how to make 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡 handmade paper • tips & tricks in diy papermaking [tutorial]
Paper Declutter and How To Make Paper Out of Recycled Paper - Simplify Your life
Making Fish (Air Bladder) Glue
Building The Busker Organ - Fish Glue Strength Test Part 2B
Making Russian Sturgeon Fish Glue For String Instruments
Homemade Glue from milk (casein glue)
Making Fake Ivory And Casein Milk Plastics, Glues and Paints
Hide Glue! - Primitive Adhesive from the 1700's
GIY Material Instructions - Grow Mycelium Shapes In 4 Easy Steps
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/y-srIa49oVc?feature=share
Green composites: natural fibers and biobased resin
How to make Algae Seaweed Bioplastic - BEST tips and tricks!
How To Make A Seaweed Bioplastic - The Basics
The process of making bio yarns
Making Bio-plastic from Algae _ Week 1
(PDF) The effect of fiber morphology on the tensile strength of natural fibers
Weatherproof Paper Mache Clay for Outdoor Sculptures - an Experiment
A Hemp And Seaweed Bioplastic - How To Make It
Plastic from plants | Our Plastic Predicament: Episode 4 #ThinkBioplastic
Man Makes Homemade Biodegradable Plastic for His Hydroponics
Making Paper From Grass... and Printing On It
Making Paper Out Of Trees (100% From Scratch)
Full article: Handmade Papers: Innovation, Technology, and Design
Compact Laminate - Composite Sandwich Panels
Kraft paper - Wikipedia (Some sources say that kraft paper can reach 80 MPa of tensile strength)
(PDF) Comparative analysis of the physical and mechanical properties of kraft paper and watercolor paper (120 to 282 MPa tensile strength)
Investigation of Impulse Voltage on the Thermally-Aged Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) Fiber Paper Immersed in Transformer Oil (the aging process increases the tensile strength of kraft paper slightly above 70 MPa)
High-barrier, strong, and antibacterial paper fabricated by coating acetylated cellulose and cinnamaldehyde for food packaging | Request PDF (kraft paper also maintained a tensile strength around 70 to 80 MPa)
Make Your Own Biodegradable Flower Pot | Season 3 | Science Max
List of glues - Wikipedia (Casein glue reaches maximum 20 MPa of tensile strength)
Molding of wood powder with a natural binder - ScienceDirect (it doesn’t show the tensile strength of the resulting material, only the process of making it)
Fabrication of Naturally Derived Wood Products by Thermal Flow Molding of Wood Powder with Sucrose and Citric Acid (this other paper from one of the authors says that the bending strength is around 28 to 37 MPa, but it uses citric acid, while the previous one doesn’t)
Natural Binders for Natural Pigments: Top 9 Mediums for Eco-Friendly Painting
Methyl cellulose - Wikipedia. (normally used as a binder)
“Methyl cellulose does not occur naturally and is synthetically produced by heating cellulose with caustic solution (e.g. a solution of sodium hydroxide) and treating it with methyl chloride. In the substitution reaction that follows, the hydroxyl residues (-OH functional groups) are replaced by methoxide (-OCH3 groups).
Different methyl cellulose preparations can also differ in the average length of their polymer backbones.”
(PDF) Thermal, mechanical and water adsorption properties of corn starch–carboxymethylcellulose/methylcellulose biodegradable films (composites of Methyl Cellulose achieved maximum 30 MPa)
Properties and potential medical applications of regenerated casein fibers crosslinked with citric acid - PubMed (fibers achieved 110 to 130 MPa of tensile strength by themselves, maybe you could make something completely solid?)
Preparation and characterization of milk protein films and their application for packaging of Cheddar cheese - PMC. (less than 10 MPa of tensile strength)
Thermal extrusion of cellulose using hydroxypropyl methylcellulose | Request PDF (2 to 35 MPa depending on the composition)
Effect of Nano-Fillers on Tensile Properties of Biopolymer Films | Request PDF (Composites achieved 120 to 150 MPa of tensile strength depending on the composition, but the materials can be expensive to buy)
Bioinspired Construction of Micronano Lignocellulose into an Impact Resistance “Wooden Armor” With Bouligand Structure | Request PDF (this is actually a ballistic armor made out of lignocellulose, but that would be a good structural bio-material too. Unfortunately it isn’t accessible anywhere, not even on sci-hub, so I hope the authors can send a pdf copy to me)
(PDF) A review on natural fiber reinforced polymer composite for bullet proof and ballistic applications (another natural fiber bulletproof material, but it is only used as fiber vest, like kevlar)
I was also wondering about the possibility of using crystallized hard sugar as a composite material, I mean, that crap is hard as hell.
https://sci-hub.ru/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2014.11.028 (I don’t know if I’m reading this incorrectly, but there is a graph saying that the crystallized caramel reached 1000 MPa of tensile strength?)
I probably am, in the figure 6, the symbol is “(g)”, I don’t know what the hell “g” means, but it isn’t MPa.
Yes, I was reading it incorrectly.
And the proper characteristic that i should be looking for is adhesion:
Caramel stickiness: Effects of composition, rheology, and surface energy - ScienceDirect
Application of a Tensile Test Method to Identify the Ductile-Brittle Transition of Caramel
10^6 = 1,000,000 So, it has around 1 to 2 MPa of adhesion?
I mean, epoxy has just 1 MPa of adhesion (I searched other sources and it varies heavily, some even say it is around 40 MPa). Sources: Typical Properties of Epoxy Adhesive | Download Table Strongest Adhesives for Bonding Metal, Glass & Plastic
Performance of Gelatin Films Reinforced with Cloisite Na + and Black Pepper Essential Oil Loaded Nanoemulsion (achieved around 70 MPa to 150 MPa of tensile strength by adding Cloisite +Na, a nano montmorillonite clay with sodium carbonate. I have no idea what a montmorillonite clay is, but it is a type of phyllosilicate clay, which I also don’t know what it is. But accordingly to ChatGPT, it is most of the composition of Bentonite clays)
(PDF) Improving Degradation Ability of Composite Starch/Chitosan by Additional Pineapple Leaf Microfibers for Food Packaging Applications (achieved 60 MPa)
Surface Properties of Concrete and Bonding Strength of Pine Resin‐Based Adhesives to Concrete Surfaces - Park - 2023 - Advances in Civil Engineering - Wiley Online Library (binding strength around 1.41 to 2.34 MPa)
(PDF) Composites from Brazilian natural fibers with polypropylene: Mechanical and thermal properties (30 MPa of tensile strength)
Transforming wood as next‐generation structural and functional materials for a sustainable future (densified delignified bamboo wood, 600 MPa)
Delignified Wood from Understanding the Hierarchically Aligned Cellulosic Structures to Creating Novel Functional Materials: A Review (also delignified densified biofibers 100 MPa, 600 MPa to 900 MPa depending on the process)
Mechanical properties of transparent high strength biocomposites from delignified wood veneer - ScienceDirect (compressed transparent wood 270 MPa)
Density, hardness and strength properties of densified fir and aspen woods pretreated with water repellents (it says “hardness”, but uses N/mm², which is 1 to 1 to MPa, so I will assume that this is talking about tensile strength, which went from 15 MPa to 100 MPa depending on the composition)
(PDF) Optically Transparent Wood: Recent Progress, Opportunities, and Challenges (40 MPa)
(PDF) Fabrication and Design of Wood-Based High-Performance Composites (also densified delignified wood, from 60 to 250 MPa)
Characteristics of Fiber Treatments on Tensile and Impact Strengths of Pine Resin/Areca Husk Fiber Biocomposites (Pine resin and Areca Husk Fibers untreated and treated with sodium hydroxide reached 148 to 164 MPa, but I don’t know if it is a solid object or a flexible fiber-like composite, since there is no compressive strength, I’d suppose it is the latter)
Tensile strength of pine needles and their feasibility as reinforcement in composite materials (maximum 64 MPa)
A Sticky Situation: Comparing the Adhesive Strength of Pine Resin to Commercial Glues
Effect of pine resin derivatives on the structural, thermal, and mechanical properties of Mater‐Bi type bioplastic | Request PDF (less than 10 MPa tensile strength)
(PDF) Resinous Wood of Pinus pinaster Ait.: Physico- mechanical Properties (tensile strength below 3 MPa)
Study of mechanical, enzymatic degradation and antimicrobial properties of poly(butylene succinate)/pine-resin blends | Request PDF (maximum 30 MPa)
Mechanical Properties of Low-Stiffness Out-of-Grade Hybrid Pine—Effects of Knots, Resin and Pith (maximum 40 MPa)
(PDF) Physical and Mechanical Properties of Loblolly and Slash Pine Wood from Uruguayan Plantations
Tensile and Impact Bending Properties of Chemically Modified Scots Pine (maximum 70 MPa)
Study of Mechanical Properties of Waste Biomass Reinforced Urea-Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Composites (maximum 30 MPa)
Delignified Wood–Polymer Interpenetrating Composites Exceeding the Rule of Mixtures | ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (500 MPa depending on the method)
Mechanical behaviour and damage mechanisms analysis of a flax-fibre reinforced composite by acoustic emission (200 to 300 MPa depending on the method)
Damage Analysis of Flax Fibre/Elium Composite Under Static and Fatigue Testing (studies the fatigue strength of biofiber composites, it seems to keep it around 100 MPa up to 1 million cycles, the rated tensile strength of the material is around 150 MPa to 250 MPa)
Compressive and tensile behaviour of unidirectional composites reinforced by natural fibres: influence of fibres (flax and jute), matrix and fibre volume fraction (this one is a little bit confusing [or I’m just sleepy], in the table 3 it says that the tensile strength of the bio-fiber composites ranges from 190 MPa to 400 MPa, but none of the other graphs says as such, at the abstract, it says that the achieved tensile strength is 140 MPa)
What should I do to avoid all of it from rotting?
By the way, some wall plaster brands come with anti-fugal and anti-bacterial additives, you could add a little bit of that too to the mixture.
I forgot to add: pure copper and copper sulfate is used as an antimicrobial by the way.
ChatGPT suggestion:
“1. Use of Natural Antimicrobials
Incorporating natural antimicrobial agents can significantly enhance the shelf life of bioplastics. These agents can inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi, which are primary contributors to spoilage. Common natural antimicrobials include:
Essential oils (e.g., thyme, oregano, and clove oil)
Plant extracts (e.g., rosemary extract)
Chitosan, derived from crustacean shells, which has inherent antimicrobial properties.
2. Incorporation of Antioxidants
Adding antioxidants can help prevent oxidative degradation, which can lead to the deterioration of both the bioplastic and the food it protects. Some effective antioxidants include:
Tocopherols (Vitamin E)
Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)
Polyphenols from various plant sources [1].
3. pH-Sensitive Materials
Utilizing pH-sensitive substances can create smart packaging that responds to changes in the environment. These materials can help maintain the integrity of the bioplastic and the food it encases by altering their properties based on pH changes, which often occur during spoilage [1].
4. Biocomposites from Agro-Waste
Creating biocomposites from agricultural waste can enhance the properties of bioplastics. These materials can be rich in natural polymers like cellulose and pectin, which not only provide structural integrity but also contribute to the active protection of packaged food against oxidation and microbial growth [1].
5. Controlled Moisture and Temperature
Designing bioplastics that can regulate moisture and temperature can also help extend shelf life. This can be achieved through:
Breathable films that allow for gas exchange while preventing moisture accumulation.
Active packaging systems that can absorb excess moisture or release preservatives as needed.”
I guess you could use the same preservatives used in taxidermy?
Best Dry Preservative For A Beginner To Use? | Taxidermy.net Forum
FR2694478A1 - Chemical solution and its method of use for taxidermy operations. - Google Patents.
Supplement to the methodology for risk evaluation of biocides
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