Biodegradable Plastic from Potato Starch

This experiment was conducted to observe the effect of a certain amount of sucrose in a solution on white potato cylinders. About five or six pieces of potato went into six different solutions that were in increments of 2 m and were labeled by color. The point of this experiment was to see which solutions were hypertonic, hypotonic, or isotonic to a piece of potato.

Hypothesis: I think that the potato will absorb more starch than the sweet potato and they will both absorb relatively similar amounts of water.

(2012). Retrieved October 8, 2014, from The uses of Starch: http://www.aaf-eu.org/the-uses-of-starch/ Goodfellow, D., Hocking, S., Rhodes, P., & Musa, I. (2012). BTEC Application of Science: STudent Book. In BTEC Application of Science (1st Edition ed. , pp.

The problem with plastic ending up in the ocean is that marine life is being harmed by the presence of it. A study done on the harbor seals in the Netherlands found that more than 12% had plastic in the digestive system (California Coastal Commission). The list of affected species indicates that marine debris is affecting a significant number of species. It affects at least 267 species worldwide, including 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species, and 43% of all marine mammal species (Save our shores). The problem is underestimated because the marine life that ingests plastic or dies from entanglement often goes undiscovered due to the vastness of the ocean, as they either sink or are eaten by predators before they are discovered (Plastic Debris). The potential harm from ingestion of plastics is not restricted to seabirds. Plastic bags drifting on ocean currents resemble the prey of turtles. There is evidence that their survival is being hindered by plastic debris with young sea turtles being vulnerable (Ocean pollution). Over the past 20 years polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have polluted marine food webs at an increasing rate, and are prevalent in seabirds. Though their adverse effects may not always be apparent, PCBs lead to reproductive disorders, increase the risk of disease and alter hormone levels. These chemicals have a detrimental effect on marine organisms even at very low levels and plastic pellets could be a route for PCBs into marine food

According to ecowatch.com, all the plastic humans added up thrown away added up can circle the Earth four times. This is around 500 billion plastic bags, and most of them end up on landfill sites. The plastic bags in landfills usually lay there for over 300 years until they are completely photodegraded, or decomposed by the light, especially sunlight. During the process of being photodegraded, the plastic bags break down into small toxic particles that are either released into the air, or into the soil. These small toxic particles contaminate many different things such as soil and waterways. Since it is in the soil and waterways, animals often come and end up eating these dangerous toxic particles. Some supermarkets use biodegradable bags that are said to be “environment friendly,” but that is a total lie. According to an article about plastic bag pollution by Sharon Jacobsen, it says, “...the truth is that the process of breaking down these petrol based bags causes carbon to become methane which is a greenhouse gas.” Greenhouse gases are very dangerous to the environment since it causes temperature increase around the whole entire globe. Therefore, in conclusion, neither plastic bags or so-called “environment friendly” bags are good for the environment all around us, and we should not use them. Instead, we should use reusable

Since plastic bags have also negatively impacted marine life, many bags are now biodegradable plastic (Balestri, Menicalgi, Vallerini, and Lardicci, 2017). The change was to address the accumulation of plastic bags in the environment. The biodegradable bags, however, are not biodegrading in marine sediments. Some bags were placed in marine sediments where some cellulose was being broken down. Despite six months passing, the biodegradable bags still weighed 85% their initial weight. The sediment was normoxic prior to the addition of the biodegradable bag, but after the bag was added, the sediment was nearing hypoxic conditions. The physical barrier of the bag between the sediment and the water could have interfered with the diffusion of oxygen. The bag was also a thermal insulator; the sediment was cooler with the presence of the bag. Seagrass do not thrive in hypoxic conditions, which may imply that the presence of biodegradable bags in the sediment are detrimental for the proliferation of seagrass. The presence of the bag also resulted

In conclusion, it should have been learned that the issue of plastic pollution has become ruinous. The cost of repair and the inconvenience of lifestyle changes cannot compare to the frightful future this planet is headed. At current rates, hazards are not just inflicted on Earth's oceans but individual human health and the other creatures that rightly inhabit this land. With this concern

In this experiment we estimated the osmolarity of potato tuber tissue by submersing different potato cores into sucrose solutions of 0.0-0.6M, and weighing the potato. We concluded that the osmolarity of the potato was about 0.4M since the weight of the potato did not change after it was incubated in the solution

Potatoes are an essential part of any person’s diet in today's society, they are cost efficient and can be used and stretched in many different ways to ensure consumers get the most 'bang for their buck.' Potatoes are an easily obtainable product now but it originated high in the Andes Mountains of South America. The Andes are ideal for potatoes because they flourish and grow in a cool environment with elevations exceeding 12,000 feet. The Inca of Peru were the first to cultivate the potato around 4,500 years ago; they often worshiped them and even buried them with their dead.

In part II of the lab, potato slices (of approximately the same mass) were placed in cups of varying sucrose concentrations. All seven cups contained approximately 50 mL of sucrose (0.0M to 0.6M, in 0.1M increments). After the potato slices were incubated for about 24 hours, they were removed, blotted dry, and weighed. A graph was created by the effect of sucrose concentration on the percentage change of mass of the potato slices.

Recycling is a great attempt to preserve our natural resources, but it does not even come close to saving the living creatures of Mother Earth herself. The build up of plastic bags and other unnecessary items in our oceans is a greater cause of ecosystem disruption. An estimated 100,000 marine animals die each year due to suffocating on or ingesting plastic bags. Increased levels of man-made pollutants show up in areas like the Arctic, affecting Polar bears, other arctic mammals, melting polar ice caps and adding to the stress of all climate change and global warming. All plastic bags ever thrown away are stored in landfills, which only some of actually properly dispose

The ends were trimmed of each core to 3 centimeters in length. The cores were blotted dry and weighed each to the nearest one hundredth of a gram and results were recorded. 20 ml of each sucrose solution were poured in the labeled, 50 ml beakers (0.0m-0.8). Placed one white potato and one sweet potato core in each beaker. The potato cores were left in sucrose solution for one hour.

When citizens discard plastic bags in the outdoors, they unknowingly contribute to the spreading of powerful illnesses. Through the pooling of rainwater, thrown away bags contribute to the transmission of mosquito born illnesses, such as Malaria (Trilling). Given the wet, warm environment that a littered plastic bag provides, mosquitoes receive the ideal setting they need to breed. With increased mosquito breeding, American’s are left more susceptible to harmful illnesses. One simple way to reduce the littering of plastic bags, is to make plastic bags harder to access in the first place. Additionally, the creation of plastic bags commonly involves many harmful chemicals that in turn play a role in causing detrimental health effects and conditions. Substances in plastic products designed to enhance performance, and make them desirable to consumers, often contain harmful ingredients (Ecology Center). Plastic bags are a commonly overlooked destructive item that might contribute to health problems. When foods are packaged alongside plastic, “chemicals migrate from the plastic packaging to the foods,” one example being the chemical Polyethylene, a substance suspected to be a carcinogen (Ecology Center). The government has a duty to protect its citizens and one form of protection is keeping people away from especially harmful chemicals and substances. The only way to ensure citizens do not come into contact with these harmful substances on a daily basis through plastic bags is to ban them

In other words, in this era of high oil prices and energy scarcity, petroleum-based bags are costing considerable natural resources, and ultimately turn them into a huge pile of useless garbage. Actually, significant energies like fuel, from which ethylene gas is obtained and plastic bags are made, are nonrenewable, while human beings are still consuming these precious treasures recklessly. What's more, the plastic bags easily catch wind and blow, causing the difficulty of confining it to where disposed of (Borrud, 2007, p.75). This leads to the difficulty in recycling, which hinders the circulation and reuse of the material to a large extent. Moreover, Ross Mirkarimi, the author of the ban, also notes that the only 1% of the plastic bags in San Francisco is recycled, in spite of the city's perfect local recycling system ("100 Billion Reasons," 2007, p.77). People's poor awareness on energy-saving has brought the oil-shortage crisis one step further. A prohibitory edict on petroleum-based bags might be a right way out before we ultimately realize that the last calorie on the earth comes from our body temperature.

Scientists all over the world have been widely researching to find out ways in which the ozone layer is being destroyed through human actions. The ozone layer is gradually being destroyed by ozone depleting chemicals. These chemicals include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydroflourocarbons (HFCs), methyl bromide, halons, methyl chloroform and carbon tetrachloride among others (Ryding 173). These chemicals are used locally in coolants, fire extinguishers, solvents, pesticides, aerosol propellants and foaming agents.