Analysis of BioCera Super Wash Ball
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Analysis of the BioCera Super Wash Laundry Ball Jason Ostrum, Mike Finocchi, Ryan Tomaine, Sean Cunningham Chemistry 457 - Fall 2012, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 Figure 1, Black Pellet with FT-IR spectroscopy Figure 2, Black Pellet with Microscope Fourier Transform Infa Red Spectrometer Figure 3, Red Pellet with FT-IR spectroscopy Figure 4, Red Pellet with Microscope Fourier Transform Infa Red Spectrometer Figure 5, White Pellet with FT-IR spectroscopy Figure 6, White Pellet with Microscope Fourier Transform Infa Red Spectrometer The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of the super wash ball by BioCera. BioCera claims that their product cleans laundry just as effectively as detergent. This project tested this claim by finding the composition of the three different types of ceramic balls contained within the super wash ball as well as their ability to absorb water. Three different experiments were performed: A gravimetric method of determining the water absorbed by the balls, an absorption infrared spectroscopy, and a microscopic infrared spectroscopy. The gravimetric absorption found for the white, brown, and black balls were 11.62%, 6.07%, and 4.60% by weight of water respectively. Several ceramic compounds were discovered through IR examination. It was determined that these compounds were likely to not clean clothes efficiently. It was likely that “alkaline water” or water that contains bicarbonates of several metals such as magnesium and calcium was formed. However it was very unlikely that hydrogen peroxide was formed as BioCera claims, which would significantly reduce its ability to clean clothes effectively. Biocera claims the wash balls can can be used to wash clothes as effectively as detergent through the generation of hydrogen peroxide and alkaline water during the washing cycle. Hydrogen peroxide contains cleaning and antibacterial properties to clean the laundry. Alkaline water, or water that contains bicarbonates of several metals such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium raises the pH of the water to help facilitate the formation of hydrogen peroxide in the water. A few different experiments were used to gather more information in regards to Biocera’s claims about their product. The absorption of the individual balls was tested by leaving them immersed in water for a 2 week period. Additionally, infrared spectra were taken on the inside material of the balls in an effort to identify their respective compositions. Similarly, an infrared microscope that uses reflection to generate an infrared spectrum was used in further analysis. The ability of the microscope to pick an exact point of the sample proved to be a useful tool to determine if the shell, inside and core of the balls were similar in composition. For the infrared spectrum gathering, the first step was to crush the balls to make potassium bromide pellets. This was accomplished by weighing out 100 mg of potassium bromide and 1 mg of the sample powder to be pressurized into a pellet. These pellets were then ran on the IR spectrometer, which uses the absorption of the infrared waves to determine the chemical composition of the sample. Additionally the samples were run on the SensIR Microscope Fourier Transform Infa Red Spectrometer. For the pellets samples, a background pellet of potassium bromide was run to subtract from the sample pellet. This was a necessary step to ensure the observed peaks were from the sample and not the potassium bromide. The SensIR Microscope Fourier Transform Infa Red Spectrometer the shell, inside powder and core of each different colored ball were analyzed for compositional differences. The ability of the ceramic balls to absorb water was done gravimetrically by first taking the tare mass of a beaker and then adding the pellets to the beaker. The balls were placed on a vacuum line for a half hour in order to remove any surface water the balls may have absorbed. The balls were then massed and placed in beakers filled with water for two weeks to allow for them to absorb as much water as possible. The balls were then removed from the beakers and the excess water on the surface of the balls was removed with kim wipes. The balls were then re-massed and the difference between the masses of the balls before and after soaking was used to determine how much water was absorbed over the two-week period. Calcium carbonate was identified in the black ball and is often used in ceramics. Calcium carbonate is known to cause hard water, which would actually be bad for washing fabric. Silicon monoxide was found in the black ball and is commonly used as a protective coating. Also, sodium phosphate was identified and is commonly used as a food additive. Sodium phosphate has interesting properties that increases the shelf life of food and can even change the texture of food. Most importantly, trisodium phosphate is used as a cleaning agent to saponify soaps and greases. Finally, magnesium phosphate was identified and is another food additive. Albite, commercially known as soda spar, was identified in the red pellet. Albite, sodium aluminosilicate, is used in manufacturing of ceramics. Also, silicon monoxide was present. The silicon monoxide is commonly used as a protective coating and was present in the red ball, mostly likely in the shell. Chromium (III) Oxide, which is used a pigment and is derived from the mineral chromite, was also identified. Tungsten trioxide, which is often used as a pigment in ceramics and paints, was also identified in the sample of the red ball. None of these compounds possess any characteristics that would lead to confirmation of the claims by Biocera of their product. Absorption spectroscopy was performed on the white ball’s shell , inside, and core in addition to the ball as a whole. This was done to see if the composition was uniform throughout. Like the red ball, albite was also present in the white ball’s shell and core. In addition, magnesium carbonate was also present. This is a chemical that contributes to water hardness, but this would have nothing to do with the ball’s ability to clean clothes. The only differences noted between the inside and the rest was an unidentified peak in the 3000 wavenumber region. The lab group would like to thank their Chemistry 457 teaching assistants for helping with all parts of this experiment including data gathering and analysis. In addition, the author thanks Dr. Milosavljevic, the instructor, for instructional lab material and guidance. The three laundry balls were found to contain several different components and were capable of absorbing a considerable amount of water. The gravimetric absorption from the white balls was 11.62% by mass of water, and they contained silicon oxide, albite, magnesium carbonate, and magnesium oxide. The brown balls absorbed 6.07% by mass of water, and they contained chromium (II) oxide, silicon oxide, tungsten trioxide, and sodium aluminosilicate. The gravimetric absorption from the black balls was 4.60% by mass of water, and they contained magnesium phosphate, calcium carbonate, sodium phosphate, and silicon oxide. It was possible that there were more components of the laundry balls that were left undiscovered because many of the peaks were determined in the fingerprint range of the IR spectrum. With respect to the ceramic balls’ ability to clean laundry, there was little evidence to show that they would be effective. The components of the balls showed that they had the ability to make the water slightly basic, but that in itself does not clean the clothes well. Basic water was needed to create the peroxides in the water proposed by the mechanism BioCera provided online. However, it was unlikely that peroxide was formed through that mechanism because none of the listed compounds would facilitate that process. 1.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/13031/albite 2.http://www.reade.com/contact/697 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten_trioxide 4. http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/chem_background/exsumpdf/tungstenoxides.pdf 5. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ba-1971-0101.ch016 6. http://webbook.nist.gov/chemistry
Transcript of Analysis of BioCera Super Wash Ball
Analysis of the BioCera Super Wash Laundry Ball Jason Ostrum, Mike Finocchi, Ryan Tomaine, Sean Cunningham
Chemistry 457 - Fall 2012, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
Figure 1, Black Pellet with FT-IR spectroscopy Figure 2, Black Pellet with Microscope Fourier Transform Infa Red Spectrometer
Figure 3, Red Pellet with FT-IR spectroscopy Figure 4, Red Pellet with Microscope Fourier Transform Infa Red Spectrometer
Figure 5, White Pellet with FT-IR spectroscopy Figure 6, White Pellet with Microscope Fourier Transform Infa Red Spectrometer
The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of the super wash ball by BioCera. BioCera claims that their product cleans laundry just as effectively as detergent. This project tested this claim by finding the composition of the three different types of ceramic balls contained within the super wash ball as well as their ability to absorb water. Three different experiments were performed: A gravimetric method of determining the water absorbed by the balls, an absorption infrared spectroscopy, and a microscopic infrared spectroscopy. The gravimetric absorption found for the white, brown, and black balls were 11.62%, 6.07%, and 4.60% by weight of water respectively. Several ceramic compounds were discovered through IR examination. It was determined that these compounds were likely to not clean clothes efficiently. It was likely that “alkaline water” or water that contains bicarbonates of several metals such as magnesium and calcium was formed. However it was very unlikely that hydrogen peroxide was formed as BioCera claims, which would significantly reduce its ability to clean clothes effectively. Biocera claims the wash balls can can be used to wash clothes as effectively as detergent through the generation of hydrogen peroxide and alkaline water during the washing cycle. Hydrogen peroxide contains cleaning and antibacterial properties to clean the laundry. Alkaline water, or water that contains bicarbonates of several metals such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium raises the pH of the water to help facilitate the formation of hydrogen peroxide in the water. A few different experiments were used to gather more information in regards to Biocera’s claims about their product. The absorption of the individual balls was tested by leaving them immersed in water for a 2 week period. Additionally, infrared spectra were taken on the inside material of the balls in an effort to identify their respective compositions. Similarly, an infrared microscope that uses reflection to generate an infrared spectrum was used in further analysis. The ability of the microscope to pick an exact point of the sample proved to be a useful tool to determine if the shell, inside and core of the balls were similar in composition. For the infrared spectrum gathering, the first step was to crush the balls to make potassium bromide pellets. This was accomplished by weighing out 100 mg of potassium bromide and 1 mg of the sample powder to be pressurized into a pellet. These pellets were then ran on the IR spectrometer, which uses the absorption of the infrared waves to determine the chemical composition of the sample. Additionally the samples were run on the SensIR Microscope Fourier Transform Infa Red Spectrometer. For the pellets samples, a background pellet of potassium bromide was run to subtract from the sample pellet. This was a necessary step to ensure the observed peaks were from the sample and not the potassium bromide. The SensIR Microscope Fourier Transform Infa Red Spectrometer the shell, inside powder and core of each different colored ball were analyzed for compositional differences. The ability of the ceramic balls to absorb water was done gravimetrically by first taking the tare mass of a beaker and then adding the pellets to the beaker. The balls were placed on a vacuum line for a half hour in order to remove any surface water the balls may have absorbed. The balls were then massed and placed in beakers filled with water for two weeks to allow for them to absorb as much water as possible. The balls were then removed from the beakers and the excess water on the surface of the balls was removed with kim wipes. The balls were then re-massed and the difference between the masses of the balls before and after soaking was used to determine how much water was absorbed over the two-week period.
Calcium carbonate was identified in the black ball and is often used in ceramics. Calcium carbonate is known to cause hard water, which would actually be bad for washing fabric. Silicon monoxide was found in the black ball and is commonly used as a protective coating. Also, sodium phosphate was identified and is commonly used as a food additive. Sodium phosphate has interesting properties that increases the shelf life of food and can even change the texture of food. Most importantly, trisodium phosphate is used as a cleaning agent to saponify soaps and greases. Finally, magnesium phosphate was identified and is another food additive. Albite, commercially known as soda spar, was identified in the red pellet. Albite, sodium aluminosilicate, is used in manufacturing of ceramics. Also, silicon monoxide was present. The silicon monoxide is commonly used as a protective coating and was present in the red ball, mostly likely in the shell. Chromium (III) Oxide, which is used a pigment and is derived from the mineral chromite, was also identified. Tungsten trioxide, which is often used as a pigment in ceramics and paints, was also identified in the sample of the red ball. None of these compounds possess any characteristics that would lead to confirmation of the claims by Biocera of their product. Absorption spectroscopy was performed on the white ball’s shell , inside, and core in addition to the ball as a whole. This was done to see if the composition was uniform throughout. Like the red ball, albite was also present in the white ball’s shell and core. In addition, magnesium carbonate was also present. This is a chemical that contributes to water hardness, but this would have nothing to do with the ball’s ability to clean clothes. The only differences noted between the inside and the rest was an unidentified peak in the 3000 wavenumber region.
The lab group would like to thank their Chemistry 457 teaching assistants for helping with all parts of this experiment including data gathering and analysis. In addition, the author thanks Dr. Milosavljevic, the instructor, for instructional lab material and guidance.
The three laundry balls were found to contain several different components and were capable of absorbing a considerable amount of water. The gravimetric absorption from the white balls was 11.62% by mass of water, and they contained silicon oxide, albite, magnesium carbonate, and magnesium oxide. The brown balls absorbed 6.07% by mass of water, and they contained chromium (II) oxide, silicon oxide, tungsten trioxide, and sodium aluminosilicate. The gravimetric absorption from the black balls was 4.60% by mass of water, and they contained magnesium phosphate, calcium carbonate, sodium phosphate, and silicon oxide. It was possible that there were more components of the laundry balls that were left undiscovered because many of the peaks were determined in the fingerprint range of the IR spectrum. With respect to the ceramic balls’ ability to clean laundry, there was little evidence to show that they would be effective. The components of the balls showed that they had the ability to make the water slightly basic, but that in itself does not clean the clothes well. Basic water was needed to create the peroxides in the water proposed by the mechanism BioCera provided online. However, it was unlikely that peroxide was formed through that mechanism because none of the listed compounds would facilitate that process.
1.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/13031/albite 2.http://www.reade.com/contact/697 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten_trioxide 4. http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/chem_background/exsumpdf/tungstenoxides.pdf 5. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ba-1971-0101.ch016 6. http://webbook.nist.gov/chemistry
