6. BioFabricating Materials

INDEX IMAGE ~ Bacterial cellulose synthase

Lecture and Research

This week we are studying and creating biobased materials (everything with a bacterial, fungal, vegetal, mineral, biosynthetic or animal source) There are ways of crafting (most traditional fabrication: knitting, cooking, 3d printing, etc) and growing (innoculating and setting up bioreactors) to produce different results like foils, plastics, leathers, yarns and fabrics. For the most sustainable practice we want to look for local, abundant or waste-stream resources.

More biodesign definitions by my research group back in NYC: BioGlossary

We started out the week with a trip to Materfad Barcelona, a material library and consulting agency. They act as an “observatory of the future, conducting technological research and surveillance focused on innovation, sustainability and creativity through materials.” We got to speak with Robert Thomson who inspired us to think outside of the box with our material dreams.

One take away of mine was to think of materials as

"systems rather than things"
Essentially examining the entire lifecycle (inputs, outputs, it’s environment, properties, degradation and more). I was also similarly inspired by this quote from a book on Gaudi that I am reading. It describes the beautiful potential of biomimicry and biomateriality to represent themes beyond our sometimes limited human scope.

“Everything is presented, essentially, as the original mass, the raw material into which the artist breathes form, or better yet the principle of form which amorphous matter necessarily tends, that matter desires. The celebration of nature is the celebration of the myths it contains, myths of the origin and of truth: the cave is the maternal womb of the earth; the sea is the medium in which everything emerges in the beginning.”
~ Juan Jose Lahuerta Antoni Gaudi: Ornament, Fire and Ashes

References & Inspiration

Craft Inspiration
The designer Mad by Mad has a beautiful use of biomaterials in her pieces. The collections are fun with a couture feel because of the attention to detail and craftsmanship. The transparent bioplastic and upcycled safty pins create cool shapes and textures.

Documentation Inpiration
This project Mycotextiles, by some of my friends at Parsons studies how mycelium interacts with different textiles. Their study is very organised, documenting woven structures with diagrams, and research with graphics, maps and daily photo updates.

Research Inspiration
Japanese bio-artist and researcher Yoko Shimizu recently had an exhibition in NYC that I wish I could have attended. Her work explores "the dynamism, agency, and expressive potential of living systems. Working with plants, microbial organisms, and natural phenomena as subject matter, material, and artistic collaborators, Shimizu's work reveals the invisible intra-acting forces that animate processes of creation, adaptation, growth, and transformation in all organic matter." (source) It is inspiring to see how her research and science based projects are included in the art world, and displayed so beautifully in gallery settings. Exhibitions like this are a great way to connect more people to biology and chemistry and make science look more inviting and colorful rather than sterile and cold.

Resources

• Fabricademy Slides
• Food waste recipes - Remix el Barrio
• Aalto Chemarts Cook Book
• Materfad BCN
• Materiom

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Mycelium

Mycelium is a fascinating substance with fire-resistant, light and strong properties. It can be used as a bonding agent, and grow to any form you innoculate it in using a "substrate." Substrate is an underlyng substance that acts as food and a scaffold for the hyphae. Often wood chips, hay, paper, cardboard, or fabric are used for this, but opportunities for experimentation are endless! and often waste streams can be used as a resource. It can also be grown in a liquid culture to make a softer and more leathery sheet (see this research). And here is research on 3d printing mycelium. Here is the base recipe for innoculating a form with mycelium:

Mycelium and Substrate ¹

IngredientsToolsDirections

* Substrate amount dependent on size of your piece 
* 60% WOS (weight of substrate) of sculpting mix 
* Water
* Mother mycelium block

* Bowl
* Plastic wrap
* Alcohol, gloves, mask 
* Mold

* Measure out your substrate in grams - measure 60% of that amount of sculpting mix
* Add those two toegther with some water and mix untl it is chunky and pasty
* In a sterile environment, take a piece from your "mother" mycelium block and add it to the mix 
* Prep your mold by covering it in sterile plastic wrap or sterilizing it well
* Press your mix into the mold and cover the entire thing with plastic wrap 
* Poke some holes with a needle to allow some air flow 
* Leave it in a clean place and wait for it to grow

TIPS

• Mycelium can be pressed with a heat press to make more of a leather

For our experiments we used yellow oyster (Pleurotus citrinopileatus) mushrooms and straw substrate.

Mycelium Mannequin

In Week 2 - Digital Bodies I proposed the plan to inoculate my mannequin with mycelium and I was able to get started on the process this week! Because I was working at a larger scale I wanted to use some waste material for the substrate. I ripped up egg cartons and used that cardboard mixed with straw to make a large amount of substrate. We had another bag of small hay pieces and used that mixed with sculpting mix on the outside of the mannequin because it created a more compact and smoother surface.

RECIPE

- about 300g egg cartoons and straw (inside)   
- about 180g sculpting mix (inside)   
- about 60g small hay (outside)    
- about 36g sculpting mix (outside)   
- water   
- piece of mycellium mother

Working on a sanitized table with gloves and a mask, I stuffed the mannequin with the chunky "inside" mix and then covered it with the smooth "outside" mix. I chose to only fill certain holes in the mannequin because I did not want to waste a bunch of material in case the experiment fails. I then wrapped the mannequin in plastic wrap, poked holes in it and left it to grow.

MYCELIUM UPDATE
The mannequin ended up growing mold :( I should have been more sterile with the substrate and innoculation process (serilizing substrate? using camping gas to create a sterility bublle, applying alcohol more often, etc.) In order to continue, I removed all of the substrate and wrapped the mannequin in a trash bag and tape to ensure any mold stays inside. I learned later from Jessica Diaz that is better to pasteurize subtrate rather than sterilize it - also watch for too high of water content in the material

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Printing Biomaterials

Thanks to the lecture and workshop by Petra we learned about extruging biomaterials into 3d forms. She presented the basic componants of pastes that can be printed by syringe in hand, a 3d printer, or even a hand held gun (like this).

Here are the base recipes which we then expanded on:

Sodium Alginate Biomaterial Paste ²

IngredientsToolsDirections

* 4g sodium alginate
* 5g carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)
* 200ml water
* 1 tbsp glycerin
* 5 spoons of filler (adjustable)

* hand held blender 
* syringe, squeeze bottle, air pump or 3D printer 
* electric scale 
* cups

* Measure out ingredients 
* Mix the CMC and sodium alginate together in a cup with the mixer 
* Add the filler and adjust amount to create a printable viscosity 
* Put the paste in a syringe or whatever device you are using to print 
* Tap on the table to avoid air bubbles 
* Press out the paste into whatever geometry you want 
* Leave to dry

Guar Gum Biomaterial Paste ³

IngredientsToolsDirections

* 8g guar gum
* 200 ml water
* 7 spoons of filler (adjustable)

* hand held blender 
* syringe, squeeze bottle, air pump or 3D printer 
* electric scale 
* cups

* Measure out ingredients 
* Sift the quar gum into the water to avoid clumps and mix this together 
* Add the filler and adjust amount to create a printable viscosity 
* Put the paste in a syringe or whatever device you are using to print 
* Tap on the table to avoid air bubbles 
* Press out the paste into whatever geometry you want 
* Leave to dry

TIPS

• Create a single shape to test a range of materials to see their properties and how they each hold the shape
• Grind fillers as small as possible because big chunks can disrupt the flow
• If you want to keep the mix for later, close the syringes completely so the material doesn’t dry out
• Tap the syringe on the table to get rid of bubbles
• Keep the syringe fully vertical when extruding
• Shapes with cross sections are more stable

We experimented with making biomaterial pastes from food waste, some left over from our biochromes projects. Some fillers like the citrus peels have very nice smells and it made me think of the possibilities of aromatherapy materials.

By Hand

Extruding my hand takes physical effort but its nice to have that tactile element of working with the material, and it uses less energy

By Machine

To print by machine, there are more componants to check in with before the printing begins. Make your paste as smooth as possible to void bubbles or chunks in the print. Once connecting the material solution container to the 3d printer and the air compressor, test the level of air pressure. Slowly bring up the level to avoid an accidental mess. The level of air pressure is controlled by two knobs, one for large increments and one for smaller adjustments. Prepare the print in grasshopper (we will learn this more next week). Adjust the speed on the software depending on your material. Then you can send to print and continue adjusting things depending on how it turns out.

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Bacterial Cellulose from Scoby

We learned a lot about scobys thanks to our lecture with Vivien Roussel (here) Bacterial cellulose is a natural nanofiber that results from the fermentation process of making kombucha. LABs (lactic acid bacteria) lower the ph and AABs (acietic acid bacteria) take the ethinol produced by the yeast and futher oxidise it to vinegar. In this process the fructose and sucrose and transformed to biomass and cellulose.
Plant cellulose is usually about 10x bigger than bacterial cellulose. As you can see in Roussel's chart, it also has amazing tensile strength. Unfortunatly though, it can rip easily and does not hold up well after that.

Scoby Leather ⁴

IngredientsToolsDirections

* 1000ml water 
* 2 green or black tea bags (about 5g) 
* 100g sugar 
* Dash of vinegar if not using mother juice
* Piece of scoby mother

* Pot and stovetop 
* Alcohol and gloves 
* Container
* Fabric

* Bring your water amount to a boil in a sanitized pot and add tea bags 
* Dissolve the sugar in the tea and add the vinegar 
* Let the liquid cool 
* Prepare your contaner by sanitizing with alcohol 
* Pour the liquid into container 
* wearing gloves, add a piece of the mother scoby into the bath 
* cover the container with fabric and wait for it to grow!
* remove scoby when ready and clean with soap 
* lay on a mat to dry and choose a post treatment if you want

TIPS

• Add dye into the scoby bath to grow a colored scoby. or dye it like a normal textile in a dye bath later on
• You can make black patterns by oxidizing the scoby with metal
• Save the smaller scoby remnants and blend then to make a 3d printable paste
• Scobys can be layered together during the drying process to connect them or make thicker pieces

We set up a little scoby farm to create some samples over the next few weeks.
Green Tea Scoby
We made a classic green tea sample that we hope to dye with natural pigments once it grows.
Hibiscus Scoby
In this sample we replaced the green tea with hibiscus blueberry tea bags. We are testing to see if the anthocyanins and flavonols from this tea will effect the color of the scoby as it grows.

RECIPE

- 10l water
- 10 tea bags
- 1kg sugar
- 1 vinegar

Beer Scoby
For this version we used beer instead of tea. Apparently this recipe has grown large scobys in the past.

RECIPE

- 300ml beer
- 300ml water
- 60g sugar
- 60g vinegar
- mother scoby

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Bioplastics

Bioplastics have the same basic componants of plastics, just with biodegradable ingredients.

Gelatin Based ⁵

IngredientsToolsDirections

* 48g Gelatine 
* 240ml water
* 0g, 24g, 48g glycerin (depending on rigidity/flexibility)

* Molds (embroidery hoops, textured paper, 3D printed molds) 
* Pots and stovetop 
* Mixing tools 
* Spatula or squeegee

* Measure out your ingredients 
* Add the water and gelatin together in the pot and mix well 
* Add the glycerin and heat mixture until it starts bubbling, stirring constantly 
* Pour mixture into a mold (let it cool for a bit if the mold is not heat resistant)
* Let the material dry in the mold for a few days

Agar Based ⁶

IngredientsToolsDirections

* 10g agar
* 300ml water 
* 4g, 16g, 32g glycerin (depending on rigidity/flexibility)

* Molds (embroidery hoops, textured paper, 3D printed molds) 
* Pots and stovetop 
* Mixing tools 
* Spatula or squeegee

* Measure out your ingredients 
* Add all in a pot and mix well 
* Heat mixture until it starts bubbling, stirring constantly 
* Pour mixture into a mold (let it cool for a bit if the mold is not heat resistant)
* Let the material dry in the mold for a few days

Sodium Alginate Cast ⁷

IngredientsToolsDirections

* 4g Sodium alginate
* 200 ml Water
* 10g - 30g glycerin (depending on rigidity/flexibility)
* 30g Calcium chloride
* 300ml water

* Mold that is breathable (wood, fabric, etc.)
* Syringe, spoon, etc. 
* Cups 
* Mixing tools

* Measure the Sodium alginate and water and mix 
* Measure the Calcium chloride and water and mix and put in a spray bottle 
* Put the Sodium alginate into your mold and press into the shape you desire  
* Spray with CaCl2 solution and wait for it to dry 
* After a day, flip and spray the other side, repeat this process until it hardens

Sodium Alginate Extrusions ⁸

IngredientsToolsDirections

* 4g Sodium alginate
* 200 ml Water
* 10g - 30g glycerin (depending on rigidity/flexibility)
* 30g Calcium chloride
* 300ml water
* Another container of water

* Syringe, spoon, etc. 
* Cups 
* Mixing tools

* Measure the Sodium alginate and water and mix 
* Measure the Calcium chloride and water and mix 
* Pour water into a cup 
* Put the Sodium alginate mix into a syringe or another extruding tool 
* Press it into the Calcium chloride solution and then move it into the cup of water to rinse 
* Dry in a way that it touches the most air as possible, like hanging

TIPS

• Use a left over dye bath instead of water to add color, or add powder pigment while cooking
• Textures can be created by adding filler materials or casting on textures surfaces
• To make a transparent gelatin, mix the water and gelatin and add the glycerin later
• Use cinnamon or tannins to prevent molding
• Add alum to make bioplastics more water resistant
• Cast on a 'holographic' sheet to add a structural color element
• Use a spatula or squeegee to make flat sheets

extruding charcoal pigmented sodium alginate

Sodium Alginate Beads

Playing around with what shapes could be extruded, I worked on making beads by dropping the solution in with a spoon. It was a bit hard to control the shape with this method. I imagine a machine could be set up to push out the same amount of liquid each time and create equal drops. The beads shrunk a lot with drying. I tracked their size over three days until completely dry. For most of them i used spirulina and cochineal to color, making a blue/green speckly shade and for a few I used just gold mica powder making a yellow color.

RECIPE

- 4g sodium alginate  
- 200ml water  
- 30g glycerin   
- 30g Calcium chloride  
- water   
- pinch of spirulina
- pinch of cochineal 
- gold mica powder

The final shrink rate is going to be around 40-50%



I then tested the beads out by sewing them on to a sample:

Tea Waste Biomaterial

At home, I wanted to see what food waste I had around that I could use for a biomaterial. I have been drinking a lot of tea and decided to play with a gelatin-tea bioplastic. I followed the standard recipe (at a quarter of the amount) and added 2g of used and dried tea.

RECIPE

- 12g gelatin
- 60 ml Water
- 2g glycerin 
- 2g mint tea

Here are the final results:

Final Sample Collection

Material pic	Material name	polymer	plastifier	filler	emulsifier
	cochineal olive string	sodium alginate	glycerol and olive oil	cochineal	x
	pomegranate string	sodium alginate	glycerol	pomegranate bath and chitosan	x
	black string	sodium alginate	glycerol	charcoal	x
	burnt rose string	sodium alginate	glycerol	rose gold mica + charcoal	x
	fibrous string	sodium alginate	glycerol	paper mass	x
	double string	double amount sodium alginate	glycerol	x	x
	clear string 2mm	sodium alginate	glycerol	x	x
	clear string 1.3mm	sodium alginate	glycerol	x	x
	rose string	sodium alginate	glycerol	rose gold mica	x
	cochineal string	sodium alginate	glycerol	cochineal	x
	twisted clear string	sodium alginate	glycerol	x	x
	spiru bubble	gelatin	glycerol	spirulina	x
	coch wave	gelatin	glycerol	coch dye bath	x
	cab bubble	gelatin	glycerol	cabbage iron dye bath	x
	coch zig zag	gelatin	glycerol	cohineal	x
	minty	gelatin	glycerol	mint tea	x
	lava	gelatin	glycerol	cochineal dye bath, turmeric, gold mica	x
	spirucabbage	agar	glycerol	spirulina + cabbage pig.	x
	spiru diamond	agar	glycerol	spirulina + mica	x
	tea resin	pine resin	x	hibiscus and green tea	x
	cochineal speckle	sodium alginate cast	glycerol	cochineal pieces	x
		gelatin	glycerol	mussel shell	soap
	shell resin	pine resin	x	egg shells	x
	golden sea	gelatin	glycerol	gold mica powder	x
	cabbage wood	gelatin	glycerol	blue cabbage pigment + logwood bath drops	x
	mussel stone	sodium alginate cast	glycerol	mussel shell	x
	smooth cochineal	gelatin	glycerol	cochineal dye bath	x
	shimmery rose cast	sodium alginate cast	glycerol	rose gold mica	x
	cochineal cast	sodium alginate cast	glycerol	cochineal	x
	turmeric sunrise	agar	glycerol	turmeric	x
	transparent wave	gelatin	glycerol	x	x
	golden crumble	sodium alginate	glycerol and olive oil	gold mica + turmeric + eggshells	x
	lichen foam	gelatin	glycerol	fresh lichen	soap
	treated lichen foam	gelatin	glycerol	treated lichen	soap
	apple peel leather	gelatin	glycerol	apple peels, cinnamon, lemon	x

To see the exact sodium alginate recipes: Alve's pdf
To see more pine resin experiments: Emma's Page.
To see more about our sodium alginate string process: Alve's Page and Dinesh's Page

Next Steps

After all of our biomaterials are dry we will test and document their properties more using some of these promps:

Recipes

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1. recipe: Mycelium and Substrate ↩

2. recipe: Sodium Alginate Biomaterial Paste ↩

3. recipe: Guar Gum Biomaterial Paste ↩

4. recipe: Bacterial Cellulose from Scoby ↩

5. recipe: Gelatin Based Bioplastic ↩

6. recipe: Agar Based Bioplastic ↩

7. recipe: Sodium Alginate Cast Bioplastic ↩

8. recipe: Sodium Alginate Extrusion Bioplastic ↩

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Last update: 2022-12-13