BioFabricating Materials¶
RESEARCH¶
Biofabrication world opened for me with the doors of Fab Lab Armenia (Dilijan). In the lab, one of the Fabric Academy instructors, Erik Mirzoyan, had an interesting cardholder made from biomaterial. It was really functional and inspiring. It immediately raised curiosity — what is it and how is it made? Based on this interest, in the third week of Fabric Academy I created a biomaterial, cut it, used it in my project, and this week I returned to experiment again and try something new. It is great that this week gives us a chance to create our own biomaterials — learning from the lab, Fabric Academy lectures, and my own research.
Biomaterials are the future of the industrial world. Today the world has a lot of problems related to plastic and other kinds of waste. In the future, biofabrication may help solve these problems, or at least create the first important steps toward it.
What is biofabrication?¶
Biofabrication is a new and advanced technique that allows us to create biomaterials, fabrics, organs, 3D bioprinting structures, and many other types of materials. It is especially important for the development of medicine and engineering.
Biofabrication materials
Biofabrication materials are innovative materials that can be grown by living organisms such as bacteria, fungi, yeast, or algae. People create alternatives to traditional materials, but using only biological resources. These include bio-leather, eco-friendly materials, and biodegradable substances. Production of such materials is usually low-energy and low-waste, and in many cases they can be reused or biodegrade naturally.
Examples of biofabrication materials:
- Mycelium — fungal networks grown into strong but lightweight structural forms.
- Bacterial cellulose — materials grown by bacteria; they are strong and flexible, often used in textiles or wearable electronics.
- Algae-based materials — made using alginate; biodegradable and commonly used for packaging.
- Lab-grown leather — created from cell cultures to reduce animal farming and environmental impact.
INSPARITION¶
Insparition: Argo¶
Agro is one of the four multidisciplinary projects of the Food Design group formed between Elisava and Espai Sucre. In this project two really different fields are mixed together — gastronomy and design, bio-design.
As I mentioned in the previous part, the main focus of this project is the use of market products and food waste. Instead of using usual plastic bags, they created unique, interesting, and bio-based materials — biobags for everyday use.
The Agro project focuses on supporting traditional markets through the consumption of local and seasonal products. It also addresses the problem of the limited visibility and marketing of locally sourced goods, as well as the underutilization of food resources.
For this project, the participants worked with local products and used them to make bags. The bags are local, made from organic waste within a recycling-based system. The project developed a collection of bags made from bioplastics and a collection of tableware made from bioceramics.
You can find more information on their Behance page.
Other Inspiring Projects¶
Projects by Studioevaporer
Projects by:
IT'S TIME TO DIVE INTO PROCESS¶
SCOBY¶
The first biomaterial we wanted to use was scoby. We wanted to grow it in different ways and make bio-leather.
Now we need to understand what SCOBY is.
A SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria And Yeast) is a thick, rubbery, cellulose-based film that acts as the living starter culture for fermenting sweet tea into kombucha.
Photo by Svetlana Khachatryan.
We took several pieces of SCOBY and started washing them in water. One time we also added a bit of washing soda. After that, we washed each piece 3–4 times again, then left them in water for a few minutes and washed once more. After cleaning, we dried them or just placed them on a clean surface and began preparing them for the next steps.
For people who are so sensotive in smells or to visual sensotive, scoby is not the perfetc not visual not in the smell. during working time I became painfully calm towards these, but anyway if you are too sensetive thing twice.
Growing Kombucha Leather¶
For the first experiment, we made two liquids — one with tea and one with beer.
Tea
For the tea version, we used the following ingredients:
We boiled the water and added both types of tea in separate bottles, letting them release all the color. Then we mixed the teas together and added sugar, stirring until the sugar fully dissolved.
After that, we let the liquid cool down and added the vinegar. The vinegar is important — it creates an environment that prevents mold from growing.
We poured the mixture into a container and let it cool to about 24°C, then gently placed the cleaned SCOBY on top (we chose the most healthy and even-looking one). Finally, we covered the container with clean fabric and placed it in a warm, dark room to grow.
Beer
For the beer version, we used the following ingredients:
- 500ml water
- 500ml beer
- 100g sugar
- 20ml vinegar
- scoby
Take water, beer, and sugar, mix them, and put the mixture on low heat. Warm it up to around 80°C and then turn off the fire (we boiled it, which was still okay, but it’s better not to boil the liquid). Let it cool down a little and then add the vinegar. Remove the beer foam and leave it to cool until about 24°C. After that, add the cleaned SCOBY, close the container with a clean fabric, and place it in a dark and warm room for several weeks (about 10 weeks in Armenia, and less in warmer climates like Mexico).
Results of beer and tea experiments
Sadly, after one week we checked how the SCOBY bio-leather was growing and realized that the tea recipe was completely covered in mold. It had started to form some leather layers, but the experiment still failed.
The next week we checked the beer experiment — and the result was the same. It also molded. Both mixtures began to create leather, but that was all the progress we could get.
Even though both experiments failed, it was still very interesting to observe the process and learn from it. Hopefully, if you try to grow SCOBY bio-leather yourself, your experiment will be more successful.
Scoby Biocomposite¶
It is my favorite experiment, and spoiler: the result is really interesting.
What ingredients we need:
- 180l water
- 720g scoby
- one tablespoon of vinegar
- 12g alginate
- 80g glycerine
- 10g calcium chloride
I look at the size and take one big or one and half, because we have some small and damaged pieces. Vinegar is the same as in the previous experiment — it creates an environment that prevents mold from growing.
What instruments we need:
- blender (hand blender is perfect)
- scales
- measuring cups
- blending tools
- containers
Put all ingredients in the blender and start mixing. Our mixer is small, so we divide the mixture into two parts and blend it separately.
We made it three times, every one of our participants made one scoby mix, and each mix is unique in color. This difference comes from the kombucha variations we used.
Let’s see what we have:
Under one part Svetlana put wool pieces, and it became the most interesting part.
After a few days, when it fully dried, we got this result:
BIOMATERIALS¶
Basic Ones With Gelatin¶
First one
It wasn’t my first experiment with this kind of biomaterials, because I already have a small experience with it from Circular Open Source Fashion Week, where I made an interesting biomaterial, cut it, and used it in my object. You can check that week’s work, and we continue from this point.
The easiest gelatin recipe that we have is with water, gelatin, and glycerin.
Recipe:
- 60 ml water
- 12 g gelatin
- 72 g glycerin
We put the pot with water on the fire and started to increase the temperature, added the gelatin and mixed it with water very thoroughly, then added the glycerin. We made it well mixed and didn’t boil the substance. After that we turned off the fire and drained the liquid into the container — it could be a silicone container or a fabric surface (look for smoother fabrics to be sure that later you can remove the biomaterial).
You are free to add any kind of additives. In my first experiment I added coffee grounds and tangerine peel. Additions could be for Design, color, smell, or even with useful properties.
After it dried (after 12–24 hours) we removed the fabric (or, if it is silicone, we took it off and turned it around) and left it to dry for some days.
How I dry my biomaterials:
The result we have:
After drying, the material cracked in the middle. I guess it happened because the surface area was large and the liquid amount was small. But in any case, this can also happen because the material shrinks and stretches during the drying process, so sometimes cracks appear naturally.
Second one
The second one I made using the same recipe, but I added a bit of soap (around two pieces). The added materials were green dry paint pigment and sand. The sand settled at the bottom, and I didn’t mix the colors for too long, so we got interesting color variations. I really love this result, and I think it is a great outcome.
Gelatin can be reheated and reused if you don’t like the result or want to create something else. Just add a bit of water, heat it again, and pour it onto another surface.
Third one
For the third one, I used the same recipe as the second, but added a bit of clay. Instead of fabric, I placed bubble film under it and chose a smaller surface, so it formed a thicker layer. I also added some mixed color.
Result of all three biomaterials together after they were fully dried:
Agar Agar Recipes¶
First one
Agar agar is harder to work with, and it has a high chance of getting moldy.
Recipe:
- 240 ml water
- 1 tbsp gelatin
- ½ tsp agar agar
- 1 tbsp glycerin
You can add a bit of vinegar to help prevent mold, but I didn’t add it this time. I made the mixture and poured it into a container. For this first sample, I added brown color and chose an interesting printed fabric, hoping that the material would take the pattern.
How it looked while wet and after 24 hours:
After 24 hours, I tried to flip it over, and it divided into parts.
Second one
For the second one I added:
- wax
- dry rose color
- lavender
Lavender has an anti-mold effect. I added wax for more plastic movement, so the material would not break into parts. I made the substance x2 thicker, and also added some scented oils to make it smell interesting, almost like a perfume. I poured it onto a 3D-texture fabric.
Here is what we have in the moment and after 1 day:
After a week, when it fully dried:
Agar-Agar and Gelatin Mix¶
After all these experiments, I started thinking about mixing these two recipes. I was inspired by what we could make. First experiment In the first experiment, I took the second recipe of agar-agar and the gelatin. First, I made the gelatin recipe, added regular color, and poured it into the fabric. Then I put flower parts on it and let it dry for 15–20 minutes. After that, I made the agar-agar recipe and poured it on the gelatin part (at that moment the gelatin was dry enough to not fully mix with the agar-agar).
I let it dry for 3–5 days and looked at the result:
Second experiment
I did something similar to the first experiment but layered the gelatin and agar-agar 5 or 6 times. I let each layer dry for a shorter time (around 5 minutes), and in the last layer I added yellow color and tangerine shavings. I poured it into a box with small compartments.
How it was:
How both experiments looked together after drying:
After that, I had two failed experiments with ChatGPT recipes. Both of them didn’t dry properly and got moldy. I didn’t see a reason to share the recipes because they didn’t work at all, but the results right after pouring are here:
Alginate Yarn¶
This is a really interesting way to make yarns. I heard about this method for the first time and was looking forward to trying it.
Recipe:
- 400 ml water
- 8 g alginate
- 25 g glycerine
- 1 l water
- 10 g calcium chloride
Step 1: Make a 10% calcium chloride solution by mixing calcium chloride with water. Put it aside and move on to the next steps.
Step 2: Take water and 8 g of alginate. Mix them gently — don’t mix too long because alginate can foam, but mix enough until it’s mostly uniform.
Step 3: Add glycerine and mix until smooth.
Step 4: We wanted to make the yarn colored and decided to use the pigment that Fatmeh Mollaie made in last year’s Fabric Academy. But lumps of pigment formed in the mixture — we think it happened because of some ingredients in the pigment (like citric acid or vinegar) that reacted with our alginate. We removed some of the lumps and continued the yarn-making process.
Step 5: Once the alginate mixture is ready, take a syringe and slowly press the alginate into the calcium chloride solution to form the yarn.
Step 6: Let it sit for a few minutes until it sets.
Step 7:Wash it under cold water, take it to a clean surface, and let it dry.
Step 8: After 4–5 days, the yarn is ready.
Final resalt: