SPN Sludge Experiment

The purpose of my lab was to observe the effects of the SPN Sludge on a banana peel; see how the banana peel would deteriorate when the sludge was mixed with three different liquids. At first, my idea was to try and propose my experiment as a means of composting, but after carrying out the experiment, I'm not exactly sure what it could be used for. I sort of went outside of the whole composting idea, and I ended up with more of a petrified banana peel.

Materials:
         Two 500 mL beakers
        Two 200 mL beakers
        600 mL of SPN Sludge
        3 plastic bowls
        150 mL water
        150 mL Ethanol 
        Plastic Wrap
        Scale
        One Banana Peel
Procedure: 

1. Wash all beakers and bowls if necessary
2. Tear banana peel into three pieces (getting then as equal as possible)
3. Place the banana pieces into the three bowls
4. Put 150 mL water in 200 mL beaker; put 150 mL Ethanol in 200 mL beaker
5. Fill up 500 mL beakers with 300 mL Sludge
6. In one beaker of sludge, pour in water, making sure to dampen all fibers (IMPORTANT: There will be excess water in the beaker, DO NOT pour out the extra water!)
7. In the other beaker of sludge, pour in the Ethanol, making sure to dampen all fibers (IMPORTANT: There will be excess Ethanol, DO NOT pour out the extra Ethanol!)
8. One piece of banana peel will be the control group; leave it in the bowl by itself, and wrap with plastic wrap
9. In second bowl, pour in water-sludge mix, and cover with plastic wrap (Try to get as much of the left over water into the bowl, just so you know that it was as close to 150 mL as you could get)
10. In third bowl, pour in Ethanol-sludge mix, and cover with plastic wrap (Try to get as much of the left over Ethanol into the bowl, just so you know that it was as close to 150 mL as you could get)
11. Clean around lab area, wash out beakers and return then to their cupboards

Observations: 

        My "Control Group" banana looked like a regular rotted banana. It was a blackish-yellow color, and still had some give to the skin. 

This is what each piece of banana peel looked like right before I added the mixed sludge.

 The peel that I mixed with water and sludge was a lot more yellow than the control banana. It was more moist, and the texture was that of a banana that had been left in water.

The piece of banana peel that I mixed with Ethanol and sludge is the one that interests me most. Ethanol not only evaporates quickly, but it also sucks the moisture out of what it is near. The banana peel that was doused in Ethanol was, not crunchy, but stiff. It was completely black, and almost rubbery. 

From top to bottom: Control Banana Peel; Water and Sludge banana peel; Ethanol and sludge banana peel

There is a liquid produced by fruits called "fruit enzyme," which is made by adding lemon and sugar to a fruit, and letting it sit for 2-3 weeks, fermenting. This liquid has a high alcohol and juice residue content. There is no other evidence of any additional ingredients. Many people will keep this enzyme in their homes and drink it before meals, with hope that it will aid in their maladies.
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_enzyme )

Enzymes are linked to the ripeness of fruits, because after a food has been taken from the whole of the plant it grows from, the chemistry of its enzymes change, which I just learned. (Using bananas as examples, they undergo a chemical change as they rot, they change in color and appearance; this change cannot be reversed or altered.) many foods will keep ripening after they have been harvested, and many will not. A banana, if chosen while still green, will seem to ripen for a few days after it has been removed from the tree (or the store). But I wonder, is the banana actually ripening, or is it just rotting? Have we titled the rot, ripe? Do we call a yellow banana ripe because that is when it is sweet? I believe that as soon as we remove a banana from its tree, it begins to rot, not ripen.
( http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=newtip&dbid=42 )

The enzyme that turns bananas brown is called polyphenol oxidase. This enzyme reacts with the oxygen in the air to coat the banana in a "rust," thus, a brown banana. Putting lemon on the banana, heating it, and/or using an air-tight container to keep it in.
( http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4570380_why-do-bananas-turn-brown.html )

When carrying out my lab, I failed to have this epiphany sooner. Instead of having only three separate bowls with banana peel in them, I should have had seven. Branching off from the Water/Sludge and Ethanol/Sludge bowls, I should have had one bowl with just water on the banana, and one with just sludge. I also should have had one bowl with just ethanol on the banana, and one with just sludge. I also did not weigh my banana peel, which I should have done. I then could have found the molar mass.