Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello Science Community,

I need a bit of help here.

I am trying to make my own heat resistant lunch box.

I was wondering if your team would be able to provide a list of non toxic polymers and co-polymers with both organic and inorganic additives (preferably liquid so mixing will be easy)? Additionally some that include borates/heat resistant ceramic/special barrier ingredients would be appreciated.

My goal is to make a lunch box that is a perfect insulator and resists heat. So for example if I have chilled food in my lunch box and left it in the sun for an 2 hours my food would still be cold.

This will also get me an A+ in my class this semester!!!!

I just need to know where to look.

Thanks for the help!

Hi bs82350n,

Thanks for posting!

I think your question is better suited for the "Physical Science" sub-forum, since you're asking about polymer chemistry. Here's an idea though, why not line your box with styrofoam?

Hope this helps,

Peter S.

I was thinking that but I want to see if I can make my own insulator with using known polymers to create a sort of super insulator to keep my food cold for 2+ hours.. Thanks for the reply! I will move my post

Hello Science Community,

I need a bit of help here.

I am trying to make my own heat resistant lunch box.

I was wondering if your team would be able to provide a list of non toxic polymers and co-polymers with both organic and inorganic additives (preferably liquid so mixing will be easy)? Additionally some that include borates/heat resistant ceramic/special barrier ingredients would be appreciated. I want to cast the entire box to be made of this material.

My goal is to make a lunch box that is a perfect insulator and resists heat. So for example if I have chilled food in my lunch box and left it in the sun for an 2 hours my food would still be cold.

This will also get me an A+ in my class this semester!!!!

I just need to know where to look.

Thanks for the help!

Hi,
I agree with the previous expert that this thread seem better suited to Physical Science. However, it's best to keep all the posts together so I'm going to move these posts to the new thread. That way, everyone can see all of the suggestions!

So sorry! I thought I moved this!!

Is there anyone that is able to help out with this?

Yes, you moved your questions! I moved the answers to your questions, so now the entire thread is indeed in the Grade 9-12: Physical Sciences.

I apologize for any confusion.

Hey Madeline,

How do I add more visibility to my post to get more help?

Hi,

You have a fantastic project idea I don’t believe I have even seen a science project on this topic, so it definitely is unique. And the results should be very useful.

There are several non-toxic polymers that you could consider using. Polyethylene and polypropylene are two common polymers that are non-toxic.

Here is a project idea from this website that describes how to make a polymer out of milk protein. This would definitely be non-toxic. You would need to evaluate the polymer for lunchbox qualities.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p101.shtml

Here is a reference with open access that describes a non-toxic thermochromic polymer. Thermochromic polymers change color with a change in temperature, so might be useful for your lunchbox.

Unfortunately, the procedure for making the polymer is not included in the article; you will need to send an e-mail message to the authors asking for those details. The paper includes a complete analysis procedure, so that might give you some ideas for evaluation of your lunchbox.

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlep ... c3tc30094c

One of the best insulators is air, so you could consider a bi-layer polymer with an layer of trapped air to improve the insulating properties of the lunchbox.

I recommend that you do a literature search for non-toxic polymers and also find out about the thermal conducting qualities of each polymer. And, find out how much the raw materials would cost. You should also consider the weight, as you don’t want to design a lunchbox that is too heavy to carry or too expensive to make.

Let me know what you find out and if you have any other questions.

Donna Hardy

Hi,

Here are some additional suggestions to help you get started.

Since you are beginning your project, you need to do as much background reading as possible. Find out everything about your topic and what others have done before you. Then you will be able to pick a solution that will be unique, and that hopefully will solve the problem.

Here’s some additional information that should help you identify suitable non-toxic polymers for your lunchbox.
Here’s a list of synthetic polymers. All of the polymers used for toys and food applications will be non-toxic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_s ... c_polymers

Here’s a website that includes a list of thermal insulation materials. You would need to do additional investigation to determine toxicity:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y5013e/y5013e08.htm

Here’s a report on an interesting cellulose polymer:

https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/in ... tract/7461

Here’s a company that offers an interesting thermal insulating product. I don’t see any information on toxicity, so you would have to send an inquiry to the company. Perhaps you could also ask for a sample if it meets your non-toxicity requirements.

http://www.polytechinc.com/thermal

I hope this gives you an idea of what type of information to look for. I’m sure you will be able to find more information on your topic. Do try to find scientific research papers for your bibliography if you can.

I have a question. What are you going to use for a control to compare results of your lunchbox with? Is there already a good, insulating, non-toxic lunchbox available? If so, you will want to compare performance of your lunchbox with what is currently available.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Donna