What are Water Bubbles? |
Why are these necessary? |
The "water Bubble" as we call them are a biodegradable and edible water bottle composed of sodium alginate and calcium lactate. They are formed through a process called reverse spherification that causes calcium lactate in the presence of sodium alginate to form a gel shell around the water to encapsulate it.
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The main necessity for why these biodegradable/edible water bottles are so important is because they will greatly reduce plastic waste on our earth. Currently there are 315 billion pounds of plastic waste in the ocean. This not only affects the environments of those living in the polluted areas but it puts a strain on wildlife and kills thousands of marine life each year. This strain on wildlife and ecosystems around our world not only directly affects marine life, but it also indirectly affects us as humans as we rely on many resources that these ecosystems produce. By switching to biodegradable water bottles we will be greatly reducing the amount of plastic put out into the world each year.
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Current Solutions:
Currently, there are already biodegradable/edible water bubbles made by a company called Ooho. Their product consists of an entirely biodegradable outside packaging that holds the water and have already patented this but it is still in the idea stage. This company has already been able to market its product for marathons and replace the cups of water for their biodegradable alternative.
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Our Idea:
Our goal is to create a biodegradable water bubble that has added electrolytes for runners. We sent out a survey to a wide selection of high school students and found the results favored the creation of an edible water bottle that contained a type of sports drink or added electrolyte liquid that could be distributed during sports game. To make ours different from Ohio, we want to produce a water bubble containing propel so that it tastes good and has added electrolytes to help fuel the body.