From Peels to Casein
Ob je k nig es tD
Jun nji Eu
Author
Eunji Jun Steinhofstrasse 15g 6005 Luzern +41 (0)76 683 84 34 +82 (0)10 9346 3373 iecq1817@gmail.com
With the support of
Illustration : Halin Lee +82 (0)10 5634 5558 harleen@naver.com Proofreading, German : Patrick GrĂźtter +41 (0)78 896 31 59 info@patografx.com
Tutor
Florian Hauswirth, Lecturer, HOCHSCHULE LUZERN DESIGN & KUNST
Major
Bachelor of arts objektdesign (Object Design)
Location, Date
Lucerne, June 12, 2019
Table of contents 1 Cartoon '' From peels to casein''
Process of creating casein-based bioplastic
2 Materials
2.1 Plant-based food waste 2.2 Dairy industry surplus 2.2.1 Casein 2.2.2 Whey protein
3 Material experiments - (casein) 3.1 Color
3.2 Consistency 3.3 Method 3.4 Coating
4 Cartoon ''Whey better than plastic''
Process of creating whey protein-based bioplastic sheet
5 Material experiments - (whey protein) 5.1 Consistency 5.2 Method
Acknowledgments Appendix
Cartoons in German
1 Cartoon "From peels to casein"
1.3 billion tons per year (food waste) + 116 million tons per year (dairy waste)
6.3 billion metric tons out of 8.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste. 8 million metric tons ends up in the ocean every year.
Yes! What if I can turn food wastes into BIOPLASTICS ?!
CASEIN
LACTOSE
CH2OH O OH OH OH
CH2OH O
O OH OH OH
MILK FAT
CASEIN / LACTOSE / MILK FAT milk contains casein protein which is the raw material of this project.
Unspecified Dairy Powder
Unspecified dairy powder These are production hatches, which are the result of overproduction. Normally these end up being pig food or piled up in storage unit.
H2O
=
+ Unspecified Dairy Powder
â‘ First, mix the powder with water.
60°C ~ 80°C
② Then, to turn casein inside dairy waste (surplus) into casein curd, heat the mixture and add acid.
F
L
L F
③ Rinse the casein curd with warm water. This removes all the fat and sugar (lactose).
â‘Ł Time to add some colors !
Fruits and vegetables make you healthy! Vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants... At the same time, they have the highest wastage rates which is 50% among all the wasted food.
Ugly shaped? Aged? Peels? DUMPED!!
And they have stunning colors that we easily forget about.
⑤ After drying the fruits, veggies and their peels, put them in water and boil them with a pinch of salt.
Time to dye the casein !
CASEIN
DYE
Same color as me! 1 DAY
â‘Ľ Let food waste dye do its work for one day.
100°C
â‘Ś Cook the casein curd to turn it into BIOPLASTIC!
By boilling the casein curd, all the things that you don't need such as water, sugar, and fat can be removed.
⑧ Drain cooked casein, make a round form and press it.
Finally, it is ready to turn into actual products!
⑨ Laser Cutting
⑩ Press molding
⑪ Woodturning
⑫ Hand shaping
â‘Ź Naturally drying
â‘ Molding
Now we have sustainable, completely biodegradable products, made with renewable raw materials, which suggest a solution for both food and plastic waste problems.
Beyond food, beyond plastic THE END
2 Materials
2.1 Plant-based food waste To create natural dye, I focused on plantbased food waste. They contains pigments from the nature which are suitable for dying. I collected fruit peels, vegetable peels, aged vegetables and fruits from my own kitchen, food markets, and local restaurants. Carefully separated by color, dried and boiled in water with a pinch of salt to follow traditional, zero-toxic way to extract colors.
Dried plant-based food waste
RED Beetroot peel Aged strawberry Rhubarb peel PINK Raspberry Avocado peel and seed Onion peel Orange / Yellow Yellow onion peel Carrot peel Citrus peel Green Artichoke Mint Spinach Blue Butterflypea flower tea
Green Red cabbage Purple onion peel
2.2 Dairy industry surplus To effectively store surplus, dairy industry collects and drys all the left over product or losses which caused by production process. After the surpluses get dried, which now called as unspecified dairy powder, they are being packed in sacks and stored in factories’ warehouses waiting there until someone buys it to use as pig food. It contains high level of protein which make it valuable for making casein bioplastic. In my case, I get two batches of unspecified dairy powder from HOCHDORF, which contain 35% of protein inside. Casein is a type of proteins which contained in milk. From the past, from early 20 century, chemists and businessman used casein to make fake ivory and Jewelry. They used formaldehyde to make it denser and stable which makes it noneco-friendly. Also, it had some problems. First, it took 2 months to dry 4 mm board. Second, it damaged slowly by water which makes it less valuable. Also, beside industrial surpluses, there is a huge about of byproduct which is called whey. Whey is a greenish yellow water which contains lactose, milk fat and protein. It is a one of the main byproducts of dairy industry because massive amount of it is produced while making cheese. Most of them are just thrown away due to the economical inefficiency.
2.2.1 Casein Creating casein polymer (raw material of the casein bioplastic) from the surplus is like this : First, liquidating the powder, simply mix the powder into warm water. Second, heat it up and then put acid. Third, rinse the casein curd with clear water to remove fat, lactose and other unwanted stuffs. (Check 1 Cartoon '' From peels to casein'' for the detail.)
Batche of unspecified dairy powder Š Handelszeitung, 2016.
2.2.2 Whey From the whey, I am going to separate milk sugar (lactose) solution and whey protein by using the ion separation technique. From the whey protein, by adding nontoxic alkaline substance, whey protein polymer forms a longer chain which makes it able to use to create whey protein-based sheets which can be used as food packaging or single-use-plastics. (Check 4 Cartoon ''Whey better than plastic'' for the detail.)
Whey
3 Material experiments (casein)
3.1 Color To color casein with food waste dye is really simple and easy. After rinsing casein curd, drain the water as much as you can and put dye into the curd and mix well. Dying takes time especially when you use completely natural dye, so I put the mixture in cool area for 1 day. To let casein absorb the dye fully.
Coloring process Colored sampels
Color measurement test using Q-SUN tester to test light resistance Scaned sample after being in the tester for 100 hours
3.2 Consistency To figure out the right consistency, I experimented with several substances such as CH(OH)2, NaOH, and baking soda. Adding alkaline substance to the casein curd, it makes the casein polymer forms the chain so it allows the bioplastic can have more density. Also, I experimented with the cooking time. When you cook (boil) the casein curd again, you can give more density due to the fact that casein is heat soluble. Finally, I decided to use the method of adding CH(OH)2 and cooking for 3 minutes, and the basic material, plain casein curd.
Plain casein curd Casein curd + CH(OH)2 Cooked casein curd
3.3 Method Aim to find an effective way to produce product out of casein bioplastic, I tried several methods from traditional way to more modernized one. As a conclusion, I decided to use laser cutting, hand shaping, press molding, turning, drying naturally, and molding. I also tried to print out some small objects with ceramic 3D printer, and it worked while printing but due to the less viscosity, it collapsed while drying.
3D printed object Objects made by using different methods
Laser cutted object Hand shaped object Press molded object Turned object Casted object Object which naturally dried under the sun
3.4 Coating All of my products are connected with food and nutrition, they somehow need to be waterproof. To achieve this, I tried non-toxic natural materials to glaze the product.
Samples coated with schellack, casein glue, milk glue, and oil
4 Cartoon "Whey better than plastic"
After you add acid, there will be left over called “whey�.
Inside this whey, there are also some proteins called whey protein.
CH(OH)2
+ WHEY
① By adding alkaline substances into whey, whey protein starts getting separated.
② DRYING
CH(OH)2
+
③ So after drying it, add more CH(OH)2 ! Now, you have “dissolved” whey protein.
④ To give some flexibility, I am adding glycerol.
⑤ DRY AGAIN !!
whey protein + glycerol
Fantastic news! This transparent bioplastic sheet is heat- soluble!
Which means you can seal with heat like petroleum - based plastic sheets!
So now, we have biodegradable, non-toxic bioplastic sheet which can be used for packaging!
Whey better than plastic THE END
5 Material experiments (whey protein)
5.1 Consistency 5.2 Methods Whey protein dissolves in alkaline substances which can make the protein gooey. I used CH(OH)2 because it is edible and non-toxic material. After adding CH(OH)2, I also put 10% amount of the whole solution of glycerin to give some flexibility. When it is dried, it becomes semi transparent plastic-like sheet. Then it can be used as single-use-plastic and transform into food packaging. Also, it is heat soluble, so it can be sealed with normal heat-sealer.
Whey protein bioplastic sheet
Whey protein bioplastic sheet Heat sealed whey protein bioplastic samples
Acknowledgments
I have to start by thanking to the most important person in my life. Non of this would not have been done without not only the best mom, but also, the best painter in the whole world, Ms Junghee Lim. She supported me in every kind of form. I am so lucky to have her as my mom. And for my dad, Mr. Kai Jun. He is a wonderful professor and painter, and because he inherited the interests in science to me, I could have successfully finished the whole project without struggling with chemical knowledges which were essential to have for the project. Also, special thanks to your advice and support. I am eternally grateful to Patrick. For taking care of me while I was driven by work, so I was not living like a healthy human being sometimes but with his help I could maintain my pysical and mental health. Thank you for understanding me when I was under a pressure and stressed out, even though I was sometimes acted like a grumpy old cat. Also, he helped me a lot from reading early drafts to giving me advice and helping me out with German, so I could finish my written work, he was as important to this documentation getting done as I was. Thank you so much. To my lovely friends, Kiran, Jungeun, Jeevan, Alex, Bigna, Melina, Seulmi. For listening to me when I have some downs and being patient while I was working like a mad scientist. Also, giving me advice and helping me out when I had no idea with German or tools at school.
Thanks to Halin for her cute and lovely illustration. She is such a wonderful graphic designer and my best friend who I can see myself hanging out with her in the far future. I hope you think as the same way as I do, I can picture us raising dogs and cats and traveling all around the world together even in our 80s, like Grace and Frankie. To Lukas, thank you for your cool pictures and coming all the way from Basel to Luzern. And thank you for your SWISS PASSPORT worthy face (haha). To my school professors and instructors who helped me out during this whole project. This whole project is like my brainchild, but at the same time, I could not have been done it without so many wonderful people's help. Finally, to all those who have been a part of my journey : Aunt Lim, who always loves me and gives me positive energy. Grandfather Lim, I am always so grateful towards you and it is so wonderful to had such a nice childhood, thanks to you. My lovely grandmother Kim, always thank you for praying for me. Mr. Thomas Grütter and Mr. Urs Böhlen, sincerely thank you for helping me to make my written work can be shown to people. Also, thanks to Prof. Dr. Dagmar Johanna Steffen, professor Florian Hauswirth, Mr. Raphael Stephan Gyr, Dr. Thomas Volkmer, Mr. Reto Guyer, Prof. Dr. Jürg De Pietro, HOCHDORF Swiss Nutrition AG.
Appendix
From Peels to Casein
1,3 Milliarden Tonnen pro Jahr (Lebensmittelabfälle) + 116 Millionen Tonnen pro Jahr (Milchabfälle)
Aus 8,3 Milliarden Tonnen werden 6,3 Milliarden Tonnen zu Plastikmüll. Jedes Jahr landen 8 Millionen Tonnen im Meer.
Ja! Was wäre, wenn ich Lebensmittelabfälle in BIOKUNSTSTOFF verwandeln könnte?!?!
KASEIN
LAKTOSE
CH2OH O OH OH OH
CH2OH O
O OH OH OH
MILCHFETT
KASEIN / LAKTOSE / MILCHFETT Milch enthält Kaseinprotein, was das Grundmaterial für dieses Projekt ist.
Nicht spezifiziertes Milchpulver
Nicht spezifiziertes Milchpulver Das sind Produktionsluken, welche durch Ăœberproduktion entstehen. Normalerweise enden sie als Schweinefutter oder werden eingesammelt und gelagert.
H2O
=
+ Nicht spezifiziertes Milchpulver
â‘ Zuerst mische das Pulver mit Wasser.
60°C ~ 80°C
② Stelle anschliessend Kaseinbruch aus dem Kasein im Milchabfall (Überschuss) her, indem Du die Mischung erhitzt und Säure hinzufügst.
F
L
L F
③ Spüle den Kaseinbruch mit warmem Wasser, so dass Fett und Zucker (Laktose) entfernt wird.
â‘Ł Nun wird es Zeit, Farbe hinenzubringen!
Hässliche Form? Schale? Veraltet? WEGGEWORFEN!!
Auch haben sie atemberaubende Farben, was wir leicht vergessen.
⑤ Nachdem die Früchte, Gemüse und deren Schalen getrocknet sind, lege sie in Wasser und kochen sie mit einer Prise Salz.
Zeit, Kasein zu färben !
KASEIN
FÄRBEMITTEL
Die gleiche Farbe wie ich! 1 TAG
⑥ Lass die Lebensmittelabfälle einen Tag stehen und die Färbung ihre Arbeit tun.
100°C
⑦ Koche den Kaseinbruch, um ihn in BIOKUNSTSTOFF zu verwandeln!
Das Kochen fördert die Reinigung von Dingen, die nicht nötig sind. Dinge wie z.B. Wasser, Zucker oder Fett.
⑧ Entwässere das gekochte Kasein, forme es rund und presse es anschliessend.
Endlich kann nun daraus ein echtes Produkt hergestellt werden!
⑨ Laserschneiden
⑩ Heisspressen
⑪ Drechseln
⑫ Handarbeiten
⑬ Natürlich trocknen
⑭ Giessen
Jetzt haben wir nachhaltige, vollständig biologisch abbaubare Produkte aus wiederverwendbaren
bfallprobleme darstellen kĂśnnen.
Beyond food, beyond plastic ENDE
Whey besser als Plastik
Nach dem Hinzufßgen von Säure, bleibt "Molke" ßbrig.
In dieser Molke gibt es ein Protein namens Molkeprotein.
CH(OH)2
+ MOLKE
â‘ Durch die Zugabe von alkalischen Substanzen in die Molke,beginnen die Molkenproteine sich zu trennen.
â‘Ą Trocknen
CH(OH)2
+
③ Füge nach dem Trocknen mehr CH(OH)2 hinzu! Somit haben sich die Molkenproteine „aufgelöst“.
④ Um dem etwas Flexibilität zu geben, füge ich Glycerin hinzu.
⑤ WIEDER TROCKNEN!!
Molkeprotein + Glycerin
Fantastische Neuigkeiten! ist wärmelöslich!
Das heisst, sie kÜnnen mit Wärme versiegelt werden, genau
Whey better than plastic ENDE