Lino is a natural composite of linseed oil, pine rosin, natural fillers and natural fibre, commonly used for flooring, wall covering and print-making
In 1855, Englishman Frederick Walton noticed the rubbery, flexible skin of solidified linseed oil (linoxyn) on an old can of oil-based paint and thought that it might form a substitute for India rubber. After many trials and tribulations he developed Linoleum floor covering by mixing the linoxyn with pine rosin, ground cork dust, wood flour, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, on a burlap or canvas backing.
Uses
Floor coverings
Wall coverings
Printmaking: as a substitute for wood in wood cuts
Potential Uses
Lino is a natural composite with oxidised linseed oil as the binder, and demonstrates that such composites can have very useful properties; being stable over time, in sunlight, in contact with cleaning products, having a reasonable smell, being flexible and hardwearing and so on. Could such composites, perhaps with other natural fillers, be used as a replacement for plastics such as for furniture, casings and containers?
Processes
Raw linseed oil oxidizes into linoxyn very slowly, but Walton accelerated the process by heating it with lead acetate and zinc sulfate.
Fillers are mixed in to make it less tacky and have hardwearing properties.
The oil is dripped down cotton canvas until sufficiently thick flat sheets are created.
Biofabricated leather is created from small samples of living animal skin cells, multiplied in bioreactors and 'printed' into sheets, which can be tanned and used like normal leather, grown to larger sizes, or even bioengineered for new properties
Biotechnologists have been improving processes for growing living tissues in vitro (outside the body, in the lab) for many years. Several organisations are now developing ‘biofabricated’ (or ‘bioprinted’) products using these techniques, such as in vitro liver and skin culturing for medical procedures, slaughter free meat and, in this case, leather.
The claimed benefit over existing ‘fake’ leathers is that it is almost the same tissue and structure as real animal leather so has similar properties and performance. The claimed benefits over both fake leather which is usually made of petroleum products, and animal leather, are ethical considerations and sustainability. A study found that cultured meat could use 99% less land, 96% less water, 45% less energy and with 96% less greenhouse gas production than conventional animal farming, for example.
Startup Modern Meadow is pioneering with it’s first product ‘Zoa‘ (swatches pictured above and T-Shirt using it pictured below) a ‘bioleather’ that is “designed and grown from animal free collagen, which can be combined with other natural or manmade materials offering new aesthetic and performance properties.” Unlike animal grown leather, the material is “able to be any density,” “hold to any mold” and “take on any texture”, with genetic engineering potentially widening the range of properties even further. See founder Andras Forgacs’ TEDx talk.
zoa.is (Modern Meadow)
Other pioneers include VitroLabs (incubated at Future Tech Lab; “a disruptive movement of innovators bridging together fashion and science to create a sustainable future.”) which uses stem-cell technology and tissue engineering to create ethical leather from cow, ostrich and crocodile cells.
Vitro Labs Inc.
Note that the technology is in its infancy, so large ranges of refined products and production-scale supply chains are not yet established.
Uses
Fashion: the Zoa-leather detailed T-shirt pictured above, and exhibited at MOMA is the only finished product we have found, and not for sale as far as we know.
Potential Uses
Anywhere that conventional leather is used; clothing, accessories, furniture etc.
If properties and sizes are developed beyond those available in conventional leather then new use cases may arise; building facades / roofs? tents? aeroplane ‘skin’? bedding? lorry tarpaulins? curtains? room dividers? geo-textiles?…
Any other ideas or exploratory projects you are aware of please do comment below.
Process
Source cells: currently harmless ‘punch biopsies’ (cylindrical cores of skin tissue removed with a small circular blade) are taken from living donor animals such as livestock or exotic animals.
Isolate cells, and potentially make beneficial genetic modifications.
Grow the millions of extracted cells into many billions in a bioreactor or other growth apparatus.
Centrifuge (spin quickly) the products to remove the growth medium and clump the cells together.
Bioassembly: put the cell clumps together into layers and allow them to fuse. A number of techniques could potentially be used, including ‘3D bioprinting’.
Mature the fused cells in a bioreactor for several weeks to stimulate collagen production.
Stop food supply to the cells, causing the ‘skin’ tissue to turn to hide.
As the hides do not have hair or tough outer skin, a simpler than usual tanning process is used that decreases the amount of chemicals needed.
A fully degradable bioplastic laminate of shrimp shell chitosan and silk fibroin protein, heralded as an exceptionally strong, biocompatible, cheap, environmentally safe alternative to plastic.
A fully degradable bioplastic can be created by isolating chitosan from shrimp shells and forming a laminate with silk fibroin protein in a structure that mimics the microarchitecture of natural insect cuticle. It is an alternative to plastic, similar in strength and toughness to an aluminium alloy but half the weight, and can be made into complex shapes with varying stiffness.
Uses
As a new material no widespread uses are yet known
Potential Uses
Alternative to plastic in bags, packaging, and disposable nappies
Suture for wounds that bear high loads, such as in hernia repair
Scaffold for tissue regeneration
Processes
Wide variations in stiffness, from elastic to rigid, can be achieved by controlling water content in the fabrication process.
Bioengineered yeast is fermented to create proteins like those found in spider or silkworm ‘silks’, which can be spun into ‘soft yet durable’, biodegradable fibres
Uses
So far a developer of the technology, Bolt Threads has produced fibres which have been used to create a hat.
Potential Uses
Anything that uses fibres… including woven fabrics and non-woven (composites etc)?
Please comment below with any research, exploratory/student projects or ideas…
Processes
Need more information
More Information
Bolt Threads – US company pioneering the technology
Polyhydroxyalkanoates are biodegradeable polymers produced by microorganisms such as bacteria, and can used in the production of bioplastics for industrial films, food packaging, toys etc.
PHA’s (Polyhydroxyalkanoates) are fully biodegradable polyester polymers produced in nature by microorganisms, such as bacteria in the fermentation of sugar or lipids from biodegradable matter. They can be used in the production of bioplastics which can be processed on conventional processing equipment for a range of properties and uses. Used products can be used as feedstock to create new PHA.
They are a carbon store, have a low permeability to water and, unlike other bioplastics from polymers such as polylactic acid, are UV stable. Depending on added monomers they can have very different properties; either thermoplastic or elastomeric, with melting points ranging from 40 to 180 °C. The mechanical properties and biocompatibility can also be changed by blending, modifying the surface or combining with other polymers, enzymes and inorganic materials.
Uses
Industrial films
Food packaging
Caps and closures
Personal care products
Supply chain assets (e.g. crates)
Potential Uses
All other plastic uses: toys, electronic goods, vehicle interiors, airline food containers etc.
Processes
To produce PHA, a culture of a micro-organisms such as Cupriavidus necator are placed in a suitable medium and fed appropriate nutrients so that it multiplies rapidly. The nutrient composition is then changed usually to create deficiency conditions which force the micro-organism to synthesize PHA. The yield can be as high as 80% of the organism’s dry weight. Larger scale synthesis can use soil organisms such as certain strains of Bacillus subtilis bacteria, which when lacking nitrogen and phosphorus can produce a kilogram of PHA per three kilograms of sugar.
Californian company Full Cycle Bioplastics has developed a process which breaks down inedible food waste, agricultural by-products and used paper and cardboard into feedstock for bacteria which convert it into PHA. This is dried and processed into a finished resin.
DNA is nature's permanent data storage, with woolly mammoth DNA being readable after 60,000 years. It is extremely dense (able to encode the entire internet in a shoebox!) and uses little power to maintain
Nature can manufacture for us: A long term, efficient data storage medium.
Scientists have been demonstrating the storage of digital data in DNA since 2012, with current methods capable of storing 215 petabytes (215 million gigabytes) per gram of DNA (85% of the theoretical limit). However, these approaches aren’t yet ready for mainstream use; it costs $7000 to synthesise 2 megabytes of data, and another $2000 to read it. It is also currently a slow process, both in ‘writing’ through DNA synthesis, and in ‘reading’ which requires the DNA to be sequenced.
High quantity, long-term, low access rate applications (most likely), such as archival storage of large amounts of scientific data.
To make the DNA storage even more reliable could we harness or learn from the way Tardigrades protect/repair their DNA? Theirs stays intact even when they are frozen or dried out, for example, and they can withstand 1,000 times more radiation than other animals.
Clinoptilolite is a white to reddish natural crystal of zeolite, made of silica and alumina tetrahedra, often occuring in volcanic ash rocks.
Clinoptilolite is a white to reddish natural crystal of zeolite (microporous aluminosilicate mineral) made of silica and alumina tetrahedra, often occuring in volcanic ash rocks.
Uses
Fertiliser
Deodorizer, in the form of pebble-sized chunks contained in a mesh bag
Industry and academia focuses on its ion exchange properties having a strong exchange affinity for ammonium (NH4+), e.g. in enzyme-based urea sensors
Potential Uses
Please suggest Research, Exploratory/student projects and ideas in comments below
Processes
[Overview; need not be detailed.]
More Information
Please suggest links to the most relevant projects, organisations, research, suppliers etc. in comments below
Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in ethanol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and wood finish.
Shellac is contrary to popular belief not made out of a bugs shell. It is a resin uses by the female lac bug, Kerria lacca to create a cocoon. Therefor it is a renewable recourse. It is harvested from the three branches and crushed in preparation for further manufacturing processes.
Uses
Shellac is a bioadhesive polymer that can be moulded under heat and pressure and shows durability and hardness. This is why Shellac is used as an ingredient in furniture polishes and primers.
It is also used to coat pills and candy.
Traditional fabrics in Thailand and India where also dyed with shellac as it varies in color from light yellow over brown to red.
Potential Uses
It can be used to stiffen materials like felt. Maybe there is another practical use for this property.
Could Shellac be 3D Printed?
Processes
Insect lac comes the resin excreted by insects on branches.
Image of shellac bug, courtesy of www.industyofallnations.com
The branches are harvested and crushed to obtain shellac. Crushing can be done using machines or good old pounding between stones. The resulting particulates are then washed in a soda-ash solution, dried and then heat-treated to extract a purer lac. For more comprehensive information on the process see this source.
Amadou is a spongy material from Fomes fomentarius fungi, historically used as fire tinder and for forming a felt-like fabric. It absorbs water and is still used in fly fishing for drying out flies.
Amadou is a spongy material derived from Fomes fomentarius fungi (Europe, Asia, Africa and North America), used by ancient people as fire tinder, and for forming a felt-like fabric for hats and other items. It has good water-absorbing abilities, once used as a medical dressing and by dentists to dry teeth, but still used in fly fishing for drying out flies.
Fomes fomentarius (commonly known as the tinder fungus, false tinder fungus, hoof fungus, tinder conk, tinder polypore or ice man fungus) grow on the bark of coniferous and angiosperm trees. They have the appearance of a horse’s hoof and vary in colour from a silvery grey to almost black, though they are normally brown.
Tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius) on a dead birch. Approximately 10 years old mushroom. Ukraine.
Uses
Ancient: fire tinder (used to catch sparks from flint struck against iron pyrites)
Recent: Medial dressing / cleaning cloth
Recent: Dental drying
Recent: Razor strop (strip rubbed over the edge of a razor blade for final polishing)
No known contemporary research, exploratory/student projects.
We wonder if amadou or a derived material could be used as a leather / felt substitute in contemporary design. However the issue of it’s flammability needs to be considered!
Chop in half: it mostly consists of tube gills running up from the base, with the amadou (a small quantity) sitting on top of these gills (known as the trama layer)
Fomes fomentarius cross section, showing trama and pore tubes. Photo: Paul Kirtley.
Slice this amadou off the top of the fungus
Soak for a week in a solution of washing soda, beating it gently from time to time (alternative processes suggest using urine, or boiling or soaking in a solution of nitre, potassium nitrate, or simply hardwood ash)
Rinse and dry; it will go hard as it dries
Beat out flat to produce a thin, soft sheet of amadou
Mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus or fungus-like bacterial colony, can be mixed with a liquid food source and fed into a 3D printer to create forms which continue to grow, and strengthen, until deactivated through heating or drying.
Mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus or fungus-like bacterial colony, can be mixed with a liquid food source such as liquidised straw and water and fed into a 3D printer to create forms which continue to grow, and strengthen, until deactivated through heating or drying.
Uses
This technique was pioneered in 2014 by Dutch designer Eric Klarenbeek, who used it to create a mycelium chair, working with the University of Aachen.
Potential Uses
Small run packaging or other products, to save on the cost of making a mould (see process at Mycelium Foam).
Processes
We do not know which strains of mushroom work best for this process.
Mix with a liquid food source such as liquidised straw and water
Feed into a 3D printer to create form
These will continue to grow, and strengthen, until deactivated through heating or drying.
