Done by Genius group at Omar bin AbdulAziz Secondary Independent School for boys, Under supervision from AL-Bairaq

1. AL-Bairaq
I am Discovering Materials
Biodegradable
Genius
Fahad Haji Hamood Aldosari
Hamad Fadel Abdullah Alahmadi

2. Outline
Introduction
Activity 1: Comparing Packing Materials.
Activity 2: Hunting for Biodegradable Objects.
Activity 3: Processing Biodegradable Materials and Comparing
Their Mechanical Properties.
Activity 4: Measuring the Degradation Rates of Biodegradable
Materials.
Design project: Designing a Medicine-Delivery Device.
• Product Idea

3. Introduction
• Biodegradation is the disintegration of
materials by bacteria, fungi, or other
biological means.

4. Activity 1: Part A:
Comparing Packing Materials
• Steps: Put white peanut and green peanut in water
• Results: White peanut degraded
• Conclusion:
• White peanut is a biodegradable material made from
starch
• Green peanut is a non-biodegradable material made
from Polystyrene

5. Activity 1: Part B
Comparing Packing Materials
• Steps: Protect an egg using
white peanuts and green
peanuts
• Results: Both give the same
protection
• Conclusion: We should use the
biodegradable packing
materials as it’s better for the
environment

6. Activity 2: Hunting for Biodegradable
Object
What is a biodegradable object?
• It is an object that has the ability to break
down safely and quickly into the raw material
of nature and disappear into the environment.
What is a non biodegradable object?
• It is an object made of components that will
not break down over time nor safely.

7. Activity 3: Processing Biodegradable
Materials and Comparing their
Mechanical Properties
• Steps:
• Dissolve 5 capsules in 10 ml HCL to make 5% film
• Dissolve 10 capsules in 10 ml HCL to make 10% film
• Dissolve 20 capsules in 10 ml HCL to make 20% gel

8. Activity 4: Measuring the degradation rate
of biodegradable materials
• Prepare 4 samples:
1. 0.1 gram of Peanut starch
2. 0.1 gram of 5 % film
3. 0.1 gram of 20% gel
4. 1 gelatin capsule (0.1 g)
• Test degradation in 3 media:
1. Boiling water
2. Acid (HCL)
3. Base (NaOH)

9. • Results:
 All materials degraded faster in boiling water
 5 % film degraded faster (as concentration decrease, degradation rate
increase)
 Starch degrade the same in HCL and NaOH (Not all media affect the
degradation rate)

10. Design Project: Designing a Medicine
Delivery Device
• Steps:
Drop Na Alginate in Calcium Chloride
Represents beads capsules
 Soak in colors
Represents medicine
 Put in Sodium Citrate
Represents human body

11. • Results:
1. Medicine release in human body (Sodium
Citrate)
2. Capsules biodegraded

12. Final Project
Title: Eco-Friendly Cans
Introduction and Rationale:
All over the world, People consume millions of iron and aluminum cans every
day. The cans themselves don’t present a problem as aluminum can be recycled
infinitely without loss in quality. The problem is in the large amount of cans that end
up in streets , sea , sidewalks and in fields. People’s ignorance when it comes to
recycling negativity impacts the world environment and human health, resulting in
wasted energy and pollution generated from mining and other process used to
produce new aluminum. Every can thrown in the bin must be replaced with a new can
made from virgin materials.
Our team has taken it as our mission to solve this sad equation. We worked on making
containers that we hope that our concept will replace aluminum cans in the future.

13. Eco-Friendly Cans
We designed an Eco-Friendly Can that is made from biodegradable materials
extracted from corn, it has the same properties of petroleum plastic but
without the negative effects. Most importantly, it’s biodegradable and
becomes soil after 180 days in a compost system.
Eco-friendly cans have doubled-layered walls, making them resistant to high
heat and able to keep cold drinks chilled for long periods of time.

14. Eco-Friendly Cans
Aim of the work (objectives)
• Minimize using aluminum and iron cans
• Minimize mining and processing aluminum
• Save virgin materials
• Protect the environment from harm

15. Eco-Friendly Cans
Hypothesis:
• Assume the cost of eco-friendly cans is less than the cost of metallic cans
• Assume that the used materials are totally biodegradable after processing

16. Eco-Friendly Cans
Materials
Poly (Lactic Acid)
It is a biodegradable thermoplastic derived from renewable resources such as corn
starch or sugarcane.
Poly (Lactic Acid) has the second highest consumption volume of any bioplastic of the
world.

17. Eco-Friendly Cans
Methods
– 3.0 grams (1 tsp) starch
– 45 mg salt
– 160 ml (2/3 cup) of 1% glycerol solution
• Mix all of the ingredients together in the amounts
above, and stir. Keep mixing until there are no
clumps, and heat the mixture to 95 C. Stir the
mixture while you are heating it, and once it is at
the right temperature, remove the heat and keep
stirring.
• Pour the mixture directly into the mold. How long
it will take to dry will depend on the temperature
and humidity in the room, and how thick the final
product is.

18. Eco-Friendly Cans
Results:
• Reduced pollution
• Produce new eco-friendly product that help saving the environment and
human health.
• Reduce the use of aluminum and iron

19. Eco-Friendly Cans
Recommendations:
• Increase people awareness of usage of biodegradable materials to protect
our environment
• The project needs more fund and support
• Discover other biodegradable materials to use for eco-friendly cans
• Further research is needed for the project to be more developed

20. Conclusions
(Overall of the whole module)
Write your overall conclusions and the general
benefits that you gained through your
participation in AL-Bairaq project.

21. Acknowledgment
Many thanks to 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, and Shell.