Agar Plasticity

Packing Based On Seaweed – Agar Plasticity is a materials research project exploring agar as an alternative to synthetic plastics. Agar is a traditional Japanese food that is often used to make sweets. However, it is also used worldwide in the scientific and medical fields. It is sold mainly in dried state in the form of blocks, flakes and[...]

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naturesse

Disposable Tableware Made From Organic Raw Materials – With naturesse, Pacovis produces sustainable disposable tableware and packaging that is plastic-free and 100% biodegradable. The materials processed for naturesse are based on renewable raw materials from the agricultural industry or on rapidly renewable plant-based raw materials such as bamboo. The focus is on a sensible appreciation of fossil resources – with the intention[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Naturesse Pacovis

Styrofoam decomposing mealworms

Plastic-Eating Organisms – While mealworms normally feed on wheat bran, biologists at Stanford University and Peking University have given them polystyrene – a form of plastic foam – instead. Mostly, this material is used for polystyrene packaging, yoghurt cups or cable insulation. In a test experiment, the worms ate the material completely – approx. 40 mg per[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Mehlwürmer Frauenhofer Institut

Brill Food Printer

Culinary Products From the Printer – The Brill Food Printer enables a variety of culinary shapes and colors with its food-grade 3D printing technology. Using this innovative technology, chefs can produce visually unusual creations for confectionery, garnishes or figurines in different sizes. The result of cooperation between the companies Brill Inc. and 3D Systems, as well as various chefs, focuses[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Brill Food printer 3DSystems

MonoSol

Water Soluble Film – The material of MonoSol, which is mainly used for the production of detergent pods, can be described as a water-soluble film. The application of the film with these pods offers on the one hand the advantage of easy dosage and on the other hand a dissolving of the film in a short time without[...]

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MILK MaterialLab MonoSol MonoSol

Cartamela Apple Paper

Paper From Apple Scraps – Since 2003, the South Tyrolean company FRUMAT has been drying and grinding the cellulose-containing fruit residues from apple juice production (so-called apple pomace) in order to produce natural paper from them. Nearly half a million tons of these fruit wastes accumulate in the European region every year and, due to their fungal hazard, have[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Car

Bio-Flex

Bioplastic For Flexible Film Applications – Bio-Flex bioplastic is based partly, sometimes entirely, on natural raw materials (e.g. corn, sugar cane or castor oil) and therefore serves various film applications in the food industry. The certified biodegradability allows it to be used in the agricultural industry. Decomposable plant clips are thus a way to plow under the bioplastics without having[...]

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NACHHÄLTER

Wood Cellulose Compostable Packaging – NACHHÄLTER are 100% recyclable and fully compostable packaging solutions whose raw material is created from forestry cuttings. For material recovery, viscose (soluble) is first extracted from the pulp, which is filtered through a pouring nozzle and runs into a precipitation bath, after which a transparent film of pure regenerated cellulose is produced. The Grünkunft[...]

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Chicory Plastic

Plastic From Chicory Waste – Chicory is known as a salad, not so much as a raw material for plastics. The root of the plant usually ends up in the composting plant. Only a fraction is used to produce biogas from it. Researchers at the University of Hohenheim have discovered the chicory root as a resource for obtaining hydroxymethylfurfural[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Chicorée Hochschule Hohenheim

Sulapac

Packages From Wood Chips and Biopolymers – Sulapac biodegradable packaging is based on a mixture of wood chips and bio-polymer. The material is increasingly used in the cosmetics industry. Sulapac is produced by means of industrial composting, which does not require the use of any water or chemicals and is therefore a particularly environmentally friendly recycling process. With this innovation, Sulapac[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Sulapac Sulapac

Bio-Lutions

Tableware From Natural Fibers – BIO-LUTIONS uses only non-consumable raw materials such as banana stems, bagasse and rice straw in their products. By using such bi-products, they are able to abstain from the need for agricultural land. The disposable tableware and packaging solution are manufactured using a mechanical process that eliminates pulp extractions and bleaching. This process is aimed[...]

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VEIO

Textile Shells – The scarf series VEIO, processed by turning, was created by Kathin Morawietz‘s idea of pressing the layers of old textiles together by a thin layer of glue. In the process, these become a dense block that retains the feel of the fabric and makes it a visually unique piece. Once the material is strong[...]

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MILK MaterialLab Veio Kathrin