Biodegradable Plastic Bags

Cornstarch was the next powder experiment on. Cornstarch is a white, soft powder generally used as a thickening agent in liquid-based foods such as soups or sauces. When mixed with lower temperature liquids, it forms a past/slurry. As the starch is heated, the molecular chains unravel, allowing them to collide with other starch chains to form a mesh, thickening the liquid (Starch gelatinization). When mixed with a fluid, cornstarch can make a non-Newtonian fluid, for example, adding water creates Oobleck while adding oil creates an Electro rheological fluid (a suspension of extremely fine non-conducting particles which can be up to 50 micrometers in diameter) (Cornstarch).

Proteins are polymers made by joining up small molecules called amino acids. Amino acids and proteins are made mainly of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.

Carbohydrates have two functions which is, provides short term energy and structure in some organisms. They have an atomic makeup of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen, with a 2:1 ratio of Hydrogen to Oxygen. The monomer is a monosaccharide which contains a single sugar. A couple examples of this would be glucose, fructose, and deoxyribose which is found in DNA. Yet, foods with this monomer in it would be mostly fruits, candy, and soda. Carbohydrates also have a polysaccharide which is a polymer made of many monosaccharides strung together. Some examples of these are starch, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin. A starch is storage from glucose in plants(potatoes, pasta, waffles, and toast). Glycogen is storage from glucose in animals. Cellous is structure in plants (cell wall). Chitin is structure in animals (exoskeleton).

A final example of a polysaccharide is cellulose which is the main constituent of plant cell walls. It has adjacent chains of long, unbranched polymers of glucose which bond together to form micro fibrils. These layers are orientated in different directions and interwoven providing rigid cell wall with gaps in layers to provide permeability. The carbohydrate glucose is formed in the light-independent reaction which occurs in the stroma. Carbon dioxide combines with RuBP to form a highly unstable 6-carbon compound which splits in to two glycerate-3-phosphates which is then reduced to form two trios phosphate. This can either be recycled back to RuBP or go on to synthesise glucose. In conclusion, carbohydrates are essential for the storage of energy, structural support for example as the backbone of DNA and are an intermediate in respiration e.g. glyceraldehydes.

(Driskell 29) These simple carbohydrates are easily broken down, converted into glucose for the body and easily flow into the blood stream. The downside to this form of carbohydrates is that they are most common in the form of refined sugars or refined flours which retain very few vitamins after being processed. (“HealthStyle Fitness”) As the body uses this form of glucose a cycle begins which involves fluctuations of high and low blood sugar. This cycle works when blood sugar rises after the consumption of simple carbs and then as the blood sugar begins to drop the body demands more simple carbs to bring blood sugar levels back to up. The cycle that is formed essentially keeps the body from burning body fat because there is a continuous demand and consumption of simple carbohydrates. The second form of carbohydrates is that of complex carbohydrates which consist of polysaccharides, three or more monosaccharides. These complex carbs are found in the form of starch, fiber and glycogen (animal starch). Those complex carbohydrates consumed in the form of starch are found in plant foods like corn, wheat, potatoes, cereals, pastas, and beans. When they are broken down these carbs allow for the slow production and release of glucose into the blood stream and allowing for a consistent blood sugar level. (Guthrie 27) Dietary fiber is another form of complex carbs which are present in plant foods because fiber is

In the United States of America, corn ethanol is the main raw material we use to move our vehicles to accomplish our daily goals. Obviously, corn ethanol is presenting ethanol by corn. The biomass in the ethanol adds fermentation, a system that breaks down any chemicals or other substance in any liquid. Additionally, it is added distillation, the action of purifying the process of heating and cooling. This is how corn ethanol is made.

Carbohydrates are macromolecules which and contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (C,H,O). There are also two types of sugars, sweet soluble and starches which are non-soluble. Sugars can also be single or simple sugars.Carbohydrates can be found in a wide variety of foods such as pasta, wheat and grains, rice, potatoes, fruits and sugars. Carbohydrates are broken down into

Also by using the molecular weight of glucose (342.3) it can be determined that the average degree of polymerization of the corn syrup solids is 2.669. These numbers were calculated based on boiling point data. A freezing point experiment was not conducted. This data makes sense, for corn syrup solids are created via hydrolysis of starch and consist of a mixture of glucose, maltose, and small glucose oligomers. The molecular weight/average degree of polymerization determined via this experiment directly correlates with that

The major storage polysaccharide in plants is starch. These molecules would be found in abundance in the stroma in the plant tubers where it is found as granules. Glucose is stored mainly in the form of starch granules, in plastids like chloroplasts and amyloplasts. Plant starch starts out as glucose, but glucose is very hard for plants to store, so it is converted to starch through polymerization. Amyoplasts turn the glucose into starch and move it to the stroma, and in tubers the stroma is a place to store the food (starch), and when plants need the energy in the starch, it converts the starch back into glucose.

An enzyme also known as a protein, is a biological catalyst which speeds up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy to increase the rate in which the reaction occurs. The enzyme used was amylase, which breaks down starch molecules into maltose. PH, substrate concentration, salt concentration, and temperature. When enzymes reach a low temperature, the activity is slowed down of molecule movement, but the enzyme is not destroyed. Once enzymes are placed in optimal temperatures once again, it will restore its activity to a normal rate. When enzymes reach too high above optimal temperature, the enzyme is denatured and cannot be restored. In the experiment performed the activity of breaking down starch in fungal and bacterial amylase was being tested at a range of temperatures and time. The fungal and bacterial amylase work best at optimal temperature. Amylase will function best at sixty degrees Celsius at 10 minutes when starch had been one hundred percent hydrolyzed. Hydrolyzed is the breakdown of molecules through addition of water. The experiments independent variables were the time, temperature and enzyme used. The dependent variable was the enzyme activity that broke down the starch into maltose. The controlled variables were the temperature baths, the iodine drop amount, the mixture drop amount, and location of experiment. The control group was the zero minutes without amylase at

As corn will naturally ferment, it is bathed in water containing sulfur dioxide. The water is kept at an elevated temperature at about 120 Fahrenheit for the 40 hour duration of the steeping process. George Inglett indicates that during that time, the corn absorbs water, swelling to its maximum size, and starches are “loosened from the protein matrix” (79). Soluble components in the corn are also removed during steeping. The steepwater is often recovered, allowed to ferment, and used to make antibiotics in its fermented form. The second major step is milling. After the steepwater is drained, the kernels are sent to degerminating mills. Here, the kernels are torn apart and the oil-containing germ is freed in centrifuges. The oil-containing germs are ground to separate the starch and gluten from the coarser particles. These two elements are separated with centrifuges, and the extraction of water completes the process of recovery. Finally, the starch and gluten are refined to make pure corn syrup. By extracting different portions of the corn at different times, other products can be produced from basic corn like corn oil, feeds, starches, antibiotics, and other sweeteners.

Sweetener made from corn starch that has been processed by glucose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose.

First of all, let’s discuss the carbohydrate molecule, which contains carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms. Carbohydrates are the most important source of energy for our body and our digestive system changes carbohydrates into glucose (sugar). Carbohydrates contain monosaccharides (one simple sugar), disaccharides (two simple sugars), and polysaccharides (many simple sugars). These simple sugars are joined by glycosidic bonds to form

Macromolecules BCM 261 10/13/2014 Caroline Venter 13019865 Introduction Background Many of the molecules that are crucial in living organisms and systems are very large and are usually made up of macromolecules. Macromolecules are organic molecules with a large molecular mass and consist of repeating units called monomers. These repeating monomers are formed via condensation or dehydration reactions (loss of water or other small molecules in order to join two molecules) and usually each have a small molecular mass which contributes to the overall large molecular mass of macromolecules (Jenkins, Kratochvíl, Stepto, & Suter, 2009).

Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store. It is the most common carbohydrate in the human diet and is contained in large amounts in such staple foods as potatoes, wheat, maize (corn), rice, and cassava.