agarfoil.md



AGAR FOIL

Tactility & sound impression


Description
A vegan flexible, transparent foil that can resist water and moderate heat (up to 85 degrees C) quite well without transforming.

Physical form
Surfaces
Color without additives: transparent, slightly yellow/beige when folded

Fabrication time
Preparation time: 1 Hour
Processing time: 7 days
Need attention: N/A, let dry in place with lots of airflow
Final form achieved after: 10 days

Ingredients


Agar - 5 g

Polymer (makes it hard)


Glycerine - 15 g

Plasticizer


Water - 250 ml/g

Solvent, to dissolve and heat the agar


Tools

Spoon
Scale

Bowls to weigh ingredients

Cooker (ideally temperature controlled)

Thermometer (optional) if you don't have a temperature controlled cooker

Mold of about 20 cm diameter (or equivalent). Optional: you can also cast on a surface like an acrylic sheet but your sheet will be thinner


Yield before processing/drying/curing
Approx. 200 ml

Method


Preparation

Weigh your ingredients
Prepare the casting surface and find a place where you can leave it for a while, ideally near an open window where there's air flow.


Mixing and dissolving the ingredients

bring the water to the boil
optional: substitute part of the water with natural dye if you wish to use color
add the glycerine
add the agar
bring the mixture to the boil while stirring gently, to dissolve the agar.


Cooking the ingredients

when the agar is dissolve completely, lower the temperature to 60-80 degrees (make sure it doesn't bubble), and let it simmer and evaporate water for 40 mins while stirring slowly and continuously.
the agar should have the consistency of a light syrup, you should be able to leave a "trace" with you trace your spoon across the pot.
If your mixture is thicker it will spread slowly resulting in a thicker foil, if it's more liquid, it will spread wider, resulting in a thinner foil.


Casting

Cast onto the surface
Pour from the middle and hold still, let the liquid distribute itself, it cures quickly if it is thick.


Drying/curing/growth process
Allow the foil to dry for a week for best results (or 3 days minimum). If you don't peel it off the surface it will shrink much less in width/length.

Mold depth: 					1.5-2.5 mm
Shrinkage thickness       30-50 %
Shrinkage width/length    10-20 %

Shrinkage and deformation control
Agar foil shrinks quite a lot, especially in thickness. The amount depends on the amount of water that has been evaporated/cooking time.
Curing agents and release agents
None
Minimum wait time before releasing from mold
3 days
Post-processing
None, store dry and flat.
Further research needed on drying/curing/growth?
Not sure

Process
Dissolving the agar, Loes Bogers, 2020
Making a trace with the spoon, consistency of syrup, Loes Bogers, 2020
Filling up a mould with detachable botton, 2-3 mm filled, Loes Bogers, 2020

Variations on this recipe

Substitute part of the water with a dye
Add less glycerine for a more rigid, stiff foil
Add fillers (debris, coffee waste) or fibres to make a composite, see also the agar composite recipe).


Cultural origins of this recipe
Legends say that agar was discovered in Japan in 1658 by Mino Tarōzaemon (美濃 太郎左衞門), an innkeeper in current Fushimi-ku, Kyoto. The story goes that he noticed that discarded seaweed soup he'd made had gelled after a winter night's freezing.
The word "agar" comes from agar-agar, the Malay name for red algae (Gigartina, Gracilaria) from which the jelly is produced. Agar is a common gelling agent, originally primarily in Asian cuisines, before traveling to other kitchens in the world. It is used to create jellies, jams and desserts, but also more generally as a binder, and clarifying agent in beer brewing. It is a stronger than gelatine.
In the late 19th century, its properties were found to be useful in microbiology and it became a popular medium for growing microbes because it has a higher melting point than gelatine media.
Agar-based bioplastics are promising candidates for food packaging and have been used as packaging for dried goods and can be heat sealed (rather than glue sealed). Margarita Talep's packaging designs are a beautiful example.
Needs further research?   Yes, on the history of uses of agar as a biopolymer and the people developing the processes for it	.

This recipe draws together information from these other recipes
This is an adaptation of Flexible bio-foil by Cecilia Raspanti, Textile Lab, Waag Amsterdam for Fabricademy 2019-2020, Class pages, link. A longer cooking time is recommended to create a thicker foil.

Known concerns and contestations*
In cooking, agar is known as the vegan and halal alternative to animal-based gelatine as it is obtained by boiling red algae into a gel. Although it is hailed as a renewable and vegan option to make bioplastics - you also need less grams of agar to create a solid compared to gelatine - its popularity as a medium in microbiology has already led to shortages and over-utilized seaweed populations in the past. It may be renewable, but it's not infinite.

Sustainability tags

Renewable ingredients: yes
Vegan: yes
Made of by-products or waste: no
Biocompostable final product:  yes, in 2-4 months
Re-use: yes, the agar can be melted by reheating it with a little water

Needs further research?:  Not sure
Should not be recycled as part of PET-plastics waste: this causes contamination of the waste stream. Compost bioplastics in a warm environment with sufficient airflow.

Material properties

Comparative qualities
This foil feels rubbery and flexible, and can remain a little sticky (more than e.g. the alginate and gelatine-based foil). It's not as sticky as cling film or cellophane, it's more comparable to a transparent PVC foil for example.

Technical and sensory properties


Strength: medium

Hardness: flexible

Transparency: transparent

Glossiness: glossy

Weight: medium

Structure: closed

Texture: smooth

Temperature: cool

Shape memory: low

Odor: none

Stickiness: high

Weather resistance: needs further research

Acoustic properties: needs further research

Anti-bacterial: needs further research

Non-allergenic: nneeds further research

Electrical properties: needs further research

Heat resistance: medium

Water resistance: water resistant

Chemical resistance: needs further research

Scratch resistance: poor

Surface friction: braking

PH modifiers: none


About this entry

Maker of this sample

Name: Loes Bogers
Affiliation: Fabricademy student at Waag Textile Lab Amsterdam
Location:  Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Date: 16-03-2020 – 24-03-2020


Environmental conditions

Humidity:  not sure
Outside temp:  5-11 degrees Celcius
Room temp:  18 – 22 degrees Celcius
PH tap water:  7-8


Recipe validation
Has recipe been validated?
Yes
By Cecilia Raspanti, Textile Lab, Waag Amsterdam, 9 March 2020

Estimated cost (consumables) in local currency
0,50 Euros, for a yield of approx. 200 ml

Copyright information
This is an adaptation of Flexible bio-foil by Cecilia Raspanti, Textile Lab, Waag Amsterdam for Fabricademy 2019-2020, Class pages, link.
It is published under an Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial licence.
##References


Lab Staple Agar hit by Seaweed Shortage by Ewen Callaway, in Nature, 528, 8 December 2015: link


Agar on Wikipedia: link


Agar biofoil by Cecilia Raspanti, Textile Lab, Waag Amsterdam for Fabricademy 2019-2020, Class pages, link.

Margarita Talep Algae Bioplastic Packaging Design by Natashah Hitti for Dezeen, 18 January 2019: link


Desintegra.me by Margarita Talep, 2017: link


Images of final product
Agar foil, Loes Bogers, 2020
Agar foil, Loes Bogers, 2020
Agar foil, Loes Bogers, 2020