Biomass Processing Laboratory I OWA S TATE U NIVERSITY Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Flexibility Testing of Biobased vs. Conventional Disposable Cutlery Name: Brian Demmer Title: Master’s Student Rank: 2 nd Year
Biomass Processing Laboratory I OWA S TATE U NIVERSITY Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Presentation Outline Objectives Experimental Results Conclusions Impacts
Biomass Processing Laboratory I OWA S TATE U NIVERSITY Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Objectives Determine if biobased cutlery meets flexibility specifications set in the Commercial Item Description. Determine how biobased cutlery flexibility compares to conventional disposable cutlery.
Biomass Processing Laboratory I OWA S TATE U NIVERSITY Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Experiment Materials PLA, Polystyrene, Polypropylene Procedure Testing of flexibility will be measured using a Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) Fifteen iterations of each fork, knife and spoon 1.0 lb weight will be placed on a precise location of each utensil.
Biomass Processing Laboratory I OWA S TATE U NIVERSITY Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Results
Biomass Processing Laboratory I OWA S TATE U NIVERSITY Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Conclusions Biobased spoons met the test requirements. Biobased knives and forks did not meet the test requirements. Biobased spoons and forks outperformed conventional spoons and forks. Biobased forks had equal performance to conventional forks. Insufficient evidence to say if biobased is better, equal or worse than conventional utensils.
Biomass Processing Laboratory I OWA S TATE U NIVERSITY Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Impacts What are the impacts: Reduced landfill usage Less dependence on foreign oil