Category: Incomplete

Fungi obtained from tissues of mycelia and storing them in a jar. In three to seven days, the mixture expands and forms into clumps of material, which is then used to create products like handbags, purses, etc. According to co-founder Phil Ross, production of this material is similar to making ravioli from scratch, and the final product is more resilient than cementing.

[1 to 3 Paragraphs: Overview (material / process, properties, inspiring uses, recent breakthroughs etc.)]

Uses

• [Historical and contemporary]

Potential Uses

• [Research, Exploratory/student projects, Ideas…]

Processes

• [Overview; need not be detailed.]

More Information

• [Links to the most relevant projects, organisations, research, suppliers etc.]
• [e.g. ExampleOrg – Organisation which researches this material]

Mycelium is a mass of long, branching, thread-like hyphae which grow through voids, usually in the soil. Mycelium can be grown around a food source such as agricultural by-products in a mould, creating a durable material similar to polystyrene of the desired shape.

Uses

• Packaging – Since 2007, a company called Ecovative Design has been developing alternatives to polystyrene and plastic packaging using this technique. Depending on the strain of mycelium used, they make many different varieties of the material including water absorbent, flame retardant, and dielectric.
• Lampshades –  Ecovative offer a ‘Grow-it-yourself’ kit allowing people to create mushroom materials themselves, used to create products including lamp shades.
• Building Construction

Potential Uses

• Insulation – Trials of ‘Greensulate’, a former Ecovative product, were conducted in Vermont in 2009, but the product was later dropped when the company switched focus to the manufacture of protective packaging.
• Acoustic panels – Ecovative research
• Core of composite panel -Ecovative Research and see Kadagaya.org 
• Aquatic products

Processes

Summarised from instructions available at giy.ecovativedesign.com:

• Use gloves, and sanitise gloves, working area and mold with rubbing alcohol, to avoid competing organisms such as common mold species
• Mix mycelium with food source such as agricultural waste
• Place into mold for 3–5 days
• Remove from mold and deactivate the fungus to stop further growth by drying at 93 degrees C, checking planter every 30 mins until the weight is about 35% of the original weight.

More Information

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycelium
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecovative_Design
• http://www.kadagaya.org/index.php/en/technology/technical-materials
• https://shop.ecovativedesign.com/collections/grow-it-yourself
• MycoMedica – a leading independent EU producer and supplier of (mainly medicinal) mushrooms and food supplements

Toxicodendron vernicifluum (commonly known as Chinese lacquer tree, Japanese lacquer tree, Japanese sumac, or varnish tree) is tapped for its sap which is used as a durable lacquer and sometimes an adhesive.

The trees grow up to 20 m tall and are native to China and the Indian subcontinent, and cultivated in regions of China, Korea and Japan.

The sap contains the toxic, allergenic compound urushiol (from the Japanese name for the tree Urushi, which is also used in English as a collective term for all kinds of Asian lacquerware, as opposed to European “lacquer” or Japanning made from other materials. Urushiol is the oil found in poison ivy that causes a rash.

Natural lacquers have been used for centuries to produce beautiful, durable finishes to materials, typically woodwork.

There are many different processes for creating lacquer, each unique to their region and source. For instance, China perfected a technique using dried resin from the Toxicodendron vernicifluum (also known as Chinese lacquer) whilst in India an insect lac is used. Lacquer trees in South East Asia such as Thailand, Vietnam, Burma are different to the Chinese lacquer tree and produce a softer lacquer.

Uses

• Decorative and protective finish on furniture, accessories (e.g. leather bags) and other decorative items
• Shellac,

Potential Uses

None as yet identified. Your ideas welcome!

Processes

tapped from the trunk of the Chinese lacquer tree to produce lacquer. This is done , and then collecting the greyish yellow sap that exudes. The sap is then filtered, heat-treated, or coloured before applying onto a base material that is to be lacquered. Curing the applied sap requires “drying” it in a warm, humid chamber or closet for 12 to 24 hours where the urushiol polymerizes to form a clear, hard, and waterproof surface. In its liquid state, urushiol can cause extreme rashes, even from vapours. Once hardened, reactions are possible but less common.

• ‘Tap’ the yellowish sap from trunk by cutting 5 to 10 horizontal lines on the trunk of a 10 plus-year-old tree.
• Filter for impurities
• Treat with low heat to render it hypoallergenic [details of process such as temperature /time unknown – please comment below if you do]
• Apply colouring as required: traditional in China and Japan is mixing in powdered iron (black pigment) or powdered rust or cinnabar (red pigment).
• Rub or brush on to substrate (e.g. wood or steel) [if anyone knows which materials the lacquer adheres particularly well or poorly to please comment below]
• Cure in warm, humid chamber for for 12-24 hours
• Continue to apply several layers [if anyone knows ow many, or how to tell when it’s enough etc. please comment below]
• Be warned that certain saps, in particular from the Chinese lacquer, contain toxic elements when in liquid or vaporised form. Any skin contact will cause rashes and can even damage to the respiratory system if inhaled! A lot of care must be taken when undertaken this delicate process.

 

More Information

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacquer
  
• Institute of the History of Natural Sciences and Chinese Academy of Sciences, ed. (1983). Ancient China’s technology and science. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-8351-1001
  
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac
  
• https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/34480/Derry-Master.pdf
  
• http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infpai/shellac.html
  
• http://www.industryofallnations.com/home.aspx
  

 

Natural composites can be made by combining the tensile strength of leaf phloem fibres with a bonding matrix from plant-derived tannins.

An example with properties comparable to sheet plastic (strong, flexible, water-resistant) is made with Mulberry leaf fibres bonded with Persimmon based glue, for Katagami, the traditional Japanese craft of making paper stencils for dyeing textiles.

Uses

• Kategami stencils

Potential Uses

Although we are not aware of contemporary usage of this material, we wonder whether this or similarly created natural composites could replace materials such as plastic sheet in any contemporary contexts:

• Bags? (particularly that need to be water-resistant)
• Laptop / Pad / Phone sleeve?
• Document folders?
• Book covers?
• Shoes?

Additionally, perhaps the leaf fibres/washi paper could be used as a bulk material, as discussed in this article

Processes

Washi paper (fibres)

The paper is commonly made using fibers from the bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (Edgeworthia chrysantha), or the paper mulberry, but can also be made using bamboo, hemp, rice, and wheat. For example, a DIY process for obtaining fibres from Mulberry bark:

1. Harvest branches ~3cm diameter, cut into lengths that will fit into steaming pot.
2. Steam for 1 to 2 hours, causing the bark to shrink so it is easy to strip from the Xylem. Peel off in strips then scrape off the outer bark as much as possible using a dull knife. The Inner Bark that is composed of the Phloem fibers.
3. If the branches were dried, soak the fibers in water for 12 hours to help remove chlorophyll.
4. Boil fibres for 1-2 hours in baking soda solution to separate the fibers by dissolving the calcium pectates within the middle lamella.
5. The fibers should pull apart in your hands. Rinse thoroughly.
6. Pound into a pulp e.g. with rolling-pin for 1-20 minutes.
7. This can then be used to make paper (many descriptions online; basically distribute fibers in water and use a mesh rectangle to lift out a paper-thin layer, then dry.)

Kakishibu (Persimmon Tannin Juice glue):

The glue (composite matrix) is traditionally made by fermentation of the tannin-rich juice of astringent (not sweet) varieties of persimmon; such as (in Japan) Ten’nou, Tsurunoko, and Hourenbou:

1. Harvest unripe fruit (containing abundant tannin) in middle to late August.
2. Juice by pressing, including the peel.
3. Filter.
4. Ferment for ‘a few years’ to make persimmon tannin. The colour darkens as it matures. It must be stored at an appropriate temperature.

‘Katagami’ composite:

The stencil material is made by bonding three sheets of thin washi paper together using kakishibu paste.

Luffa (loofah, sponge gourd, Egyptian cucumber), are a sponge-like network of xylem fibres from the fruit of Luffa aegyptiaca, a genus of tropical and subtropical annual vines in the cucumber family. The sponge The fruit of L. aegyptiaca and related L. acutangula are also cultivated and eaten as a vegetable.

Tropical and subtropical regions. Can be grown in temperate regions in walled microclimates / greenhouses. Luffa are not frost-hardy, and require 150 to 200 warm days to mature.

Uses

• Bath or kitchen sponge (often marketed as ‘luffa’ or ‘loofah’)
• Mats
• Slippers / Insoles

  

• Structural panels, for furniture or house construction, have been made of luffa combined with other vegetable matter and molten recycled plastic in Paraguay. (rolexawards.com; Recyclable homes, Rolex Awards 2008)

Potential Uses

• Idea: Luffa sponge as the reinforcement matrix in a composite with a natural binder
• Idea: Packaging
• Idea: Sound / vibration absorption

Processes

• Luffa sponge: left to fully ripen and then dry out on the vine, the flesh quickly rots away. The seeds are then shaken out, leaving only the fibrous skeleton network of xylem fibres which is the ‘luffa’.

More Information

• Luffa.info – Info includes how to grow
• Floridata.com entry