#plastics
Material sciences have long influenced decision-making in the design and engineering of products. From vernacular architecture that sources local materials to the revolutionary introduction of plastics in the mid-20th century, there is no mistake that material properties guide building and manufacturing processes.
What if it also works the other way around? Eli Block (Brown Biology & RISD Industrial Design ’17) is a current student that thinks of material sciences and design as a two-way street. Having taken a few classes with him, I’ve witnessed his diverse range of geekery from alchemy to geology, and it’s awesome.
“I think the capabilities, functionality, and certainly aesthetics of designed objects are always influenced by the materials from which they’re made,” Eli said. “Still, the water can flow in the other direction and design can influence the creation of new materials.”
It’s a great point that man-made and natural materials are no longer as separate as we think. Because we have designed objects that force foreign materials together in new, unique combinations, this may give rise to novel sediments in the future. However, today we understand that this process can often be disruptive to natural processes and ecosystems.
One project that addresses this is the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition, for which Eli teamed up with other students to compete in 2014. Their goal was to create a biologically-produced industrial plastic material that could be used in a number of applications, which they hoped to achieve by producing cellulose acetate (a hard, durable plastic) from cellulose (commonly produced by various bacteria and plants).
“We wanted to be able to produce desirable materials as organisms do without traditional, harsh manufacturing,” Eli said. “And since our team was sponsored by the exobiology department at the NASA Ames Research Center, we were interested to see if it would be possible to produce bioplastic in space without a lot of equipment.”
Because everything is better in space! His team engaged in a complex process to achieve a fairly simple objective, aiming to transfer genes for cellulose acetylation into bacteria that could produce a high volume of bacterial cellulose. From there, they sought a high bioplastic output. Though they encountered hurdles along the way, Eli thought it was interesting to learn and experiment as they went.
Just as biology and design can form a nearly symbiotic relationship, so can geology and design. Ceramics is an age-old practice deeply tied to material properties, from mixing the clay to firing to the right temperature to applying glaze. Eli put his own spin to it when he 3D printed a series of strange, lumpy rocks and cast them in porcelain. These cast bowls are now being used as a canvas for glaze experimentation.
“I wanted to make something that mashed up result and process and randomness, kind of like Earth systems,” Eli said. “I wanted to explore texture and color at the same time that I learned about firing minerals and mixing functional glazes.”
If you’ve ever glazed ceramics, you would agree that it takes experience to understand what colors you’re going to end up with when your work is fired. Eli plans to make use of the wide range of pigments, fluxes, and fillers in the RISD glaze room to explore the possibilities. Next, he’d like to experiment with clay and mix his own blends with his collection of rocks and minerals.
When we’re so tied in the realistic constraints of materials, it’s also helpful to take a step back to be inspired by fictitious materials. Rhino is a 3D modeling and rendering program that can create images of impossible objects, so Eli employed it to create a series of strange artifacts in a number of unrealistic material combinations. Some of the composites included chrome metal with glass, or plastic with porcelain.
“The results were super weird. It’s something I’d like to pursue further.”
Yeah, the results were pretty strange, but millions of years of natural processes have given rise to much stranger creatures and formations. Yet as Eli said and many scientists and designers would agree, “many biological structures are an ideal marriage of material form and function.” So perhaps we can all take some biophilic inspiration and do something a little weird. We might just discover something new.
Like him? Stalk him!
Eli Block: Website (http://www.eli-block.com/)
Image - Ricardo Bernardo (flickr)
Reports suggest that the UK could copy Norway and adopt a deposit-based system for recycling bottles, in an effort to reduce the amount of plastic waste.
In Norway, consumers pay a deposit on every bottle they buy (from 10p-25p), before putting it into a deposit return machine, which reads the barcode and produces a coupon for the deposit. It is viewed as one of the most successful recycling methods.
Kjell Olav Maldum, chief executive of Infinitum, which runs the Norway scheme, said, ‘There are other recycling schemes, but we believe ours is the most cost-efficient. We think it could be copied in the UK, or anywhere.
‘Our principle is that if drinks firms can get bottles to shops to sell their products, they can also collect those same bottles.’
Back in December 2017, the UK government’s Environmental Audit Committee outlined the benefits of a deposit scheme. ‘Around 700,000 plastic bottles are littered in the UK every day,’ said Mary Creagh MP, chair of the committee. ‘The introduction of a small charge to encourage the return of plastic bottles will result in less littering, more recycling and reduction in the impact of plastic packaging on our natural environment.’
At the recent International Conference on Robotics and Automation, MIT researchers presented a printable origami robot that folds itself up from a flat sheet of plastic when heated and measures about a centimeter from front to back. The MIT researchers’ centimeter-long origami…
Week in brief (15–19 January)
Credit: shutterstock/speedphoto
Researchers at Binghamton and Rutgers Universities, USA, have developed a self-healing fungi concrete mix that could help solve the issue of crumbling infrastructure – caused by cracks in the structure’s concrete. The team received support from the Research Foundation for the State University of New York’s Sustainable Community Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence Program.
Assistant Professor Congrui Jin, Binghamton University, commented, ‘Without proper treatment, cracks tend to progress further and eventually require costly repair […] If micro-cracks expand and reach the steel reinforcement, not only the concrete will be attacked, but also the reinforcement will be corroded, as it is exposed to water, oxygen, possibly CO2 and chlorides, leading to structural failure.’
The team found that mixing Trichoderma reesei – a fungus – with the concrete could solve this issue. The fungus lies dormant in the mix until water and oxygen reach it through cracks in the concrete.
‘With enough water and oxygen, the dormant fungal spores will germinate, grow and precipitate calcium carbonate to heal the cracks,’ commented Jin. ‘When the cracks are completely filled and ultimately no more water or oxygen can enter inside, the fungi will again form spores. As the environmental conditions become favorable in later stages, the spores could be wakened again.’
Further research is needed to ensure the fungus can survive in the concrete mix.
To find out more visit, bit.ly/2FTIbwI
To read Interactions of fungi with concrete: Significant importance for bio-based self-healing concrete, visit bit.ly/2rmBQGR
In other news:
–An Iranian oil tanker carrying 136,000 tonnes of crude oil has sunk off the coast of China
–UK supermarkets are under pressure to reveal the amount of plastic they create
–The Committee on Climate Change has told ministers that most new cars must be electric by 2030
To find out more on materials science, packaging and engineering news, visit our website IOM3 at or follow us on Twitter @MaterialsWorld for regular news updates.
hello yes i want to talk about plastic but i’ve bored everyone i know irl away so if you want to talk about plastic or are ok with me infodumping hmu please.
we can talk about glass transition and heat transfer and vitrification and warpage. i am willing to talk about any plastic. PLA, ABS, PVA, any plastic in the PE family including PET, nylons. I’ll even go oldschool and talk bakelite.
Video: Is Plastic Sustainable? - By The British Plastics Federation
By Shardell Joseph
The British Plastics Federation (BPF) has released two videos to to help tackle some of the public misunderstandings around plastic, addressing its role in society and the best ways to prevent plastic waste.
The video’s were released after an international debate on plastic waste at the World Economic Forum last week, in support of the BPF’s recent document Understanding the Debate about Plastic, which outlines why plastic is important for modern life and the evidence on effective ways to reduce waste.
Video: Improving Plastic Recycling in the UK - By The British Plastics Federation
YouGov findings recently revealed over two-thirds of the public believe that plastic packaging is the most damaging material for producing carbon emissions during its lifecycle. Research into the environmental impact of plastic, however, disproved this, and indicated that that replacing plastic with other materials is not necessarily better for the environment. Academics have also cautioned against swapping plastic for other materials due to the unforeseen negative consequences it may have for the planet.
‘We hope that through widely sharing content such as these videos, we can help clear up public misunderstanding about plastic,’ said British Plastics Federation Director General, Philip Law. ‘The recent YouGov poll results show the issue clearly - most do not appreciate plastic’s role in helping us reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
‘Policymakers and the media need to take note. By turning away from plastics we may do a lot more harm to our environment than good. We must ensure we work together to make the best choices for our planet, and plastic has an important role to play in fighting climate change.’
Credit: MORE
By Idha Valeur
A new tool for monitoring how much of recycled polymers get used in new products has been launched in the UK.
The recycling tool, called MOnitoring Recyclates for Europe (MORE), aims to track how much of recycled polymers become new products, as well as making a record of what the industry is doing to reach the 10 million tonnes of recycled polymers being used every year between 2025-2030 target set by the European Union (EU). This monitoring tool is now available for UK plastic converting companies.
By using MORE, UK companies can record and submit information on to what extent recycled polymers have been used in their new products.
On Monday 11 November, British Plastics Federation Director General, Philip Law, and European Plastics Converters Managing Director, Alexandre Dangis, signed a contract in London, making the UK – officially – the 13th country in the EU to supply the industry with the platform.
‘The plastics industry in the UK has been working to integrate more recycled content into its products and we are very happy to be making MORE available within the UK. Participation in the platform is key to its success and we urge companies to help us develop this valuable data so we can understand and communicate the UK’s progress,’ Law said.
For more information about MORE visit their website athttps://bit.ly/33TP2SF