Traditional production fosters a linear economy that neglects recycling systems, resulting in adverse environmental effects. Today, numerous scholars propose a biorefinery system to recycle unavoidable food waste into chemical and functional products, advocating for both a sustainable economy and environment.

Instructor: Laia Mogas Soldevila

Teammate: Yuanyuan Lin, Hedi Mao, Shengnan Gao

BREWED DOME 

Biomaterial Blend Design

Coffee | Tea | Eggshell

  1. Layering undulating sheets onto the given dome structure

2. The sheets can be either concave or convex

3. Providing three-dimensional geometry to the dome layer

Design Goal

  1. Too brittle but could have variation of color

2. Thickness decreased to unexpected level

3. Uneven

4. Too hard to drape

Process of Base Layer

Process of Top Pattern

  1. Too liquid to print; take over one day to dry

  2. Too dark to be visible

  3. Too thin because it shrunk unexpectedly

Result

Guided by the biorefinery concept, our study explores how to design and fabricate printable and castable leather-like skin materials using unavoidable food waste while controlling strength and color. To achieve this goal, we developed different mixtures of chitosan binder, glycerin, and cellulose fiber with waste coffee and tea powders. All materials are non-toxic with natural colorations, resulting in durable strength, aesthetic appearance, and a pleasant odor. Using the same material recipes, the fabrication methodology hybridized two strategies from casting and 3D printing, producing bendable and flexible leather-like sheets hanging onto a dome structure.

Conclusion

Two months later

Evaluation

1.Potential to further design the top motif to have more gradient pattern

  • Top Layer Part:  The previous test includes egg shell, its calcium is diluted out by time-passing

2. Further tests can focus on biorecept, carrying life onto the sheets.

  • Bottom Layer Part: the mound make it possible to biological growth

3. The tea layers are stiffer than coffee layer.

Potential Reasons:

  • a. different cellular structure and chemical composition

  • b. Processing Method: Grinding time affects particle size

  • c.Storage Condition: Refrigerator storage time （days）or temperature

4. Further tests can examine other unavoidable food waste to imbuing the leather with both visual and olfactory appeal