The vision of the future of materials perceived by scientists in the 1950s – that time of technological optimism – was always centred on the high-tech, and I am sure that few, if any, considered that a future material might be as dull as a simple organism like algae. However, in the future we may see algae farms based offshore to harvest oil from this plant, from which a new breed of plastic can be produced.
Over many years, French designer François Azambourg has produced some visionary experiments within the world of design. These range from explorations into alternative methods of constructing furniture to a new solution for packaging materials, which is based on algae, that he developed with Professor Donald Ingber of Harvard University. Algae are one of the newest raw materials that are being looked at as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. In simple terms, algae is a seaweed, but this simple, highly abundant organism has incredibly diverse forms, running into hundreds of thousands of species.
Algae are a crucial plant type, which contribute a large amount of oxygen to the planet, apart from which it’s also a great carbon dioxide muncher. Apart from its versatility and ability to grow in many environments, one of the reasons for algae’s suitability as an alternative to traditional fuels and plastics is that it has an incredibly high growth rate.
Image: Bottle by François Azambourg
Key features
The process of polymerization from algae is still in an exploratory phase; therefore, no tangible data regarding the properties of plastics produced from algae is currently available.
As explained above, the major issue with algae is not its availability, as clearly this is a rapidly renewable plant abundantly available on the planet – it is generally found in shallow, fresh seawater and even waste water. But in fact, the worry is that it is going to disappear, not because of over-harvesting, as is the case with many natural materials, but as a result of its own natural depletion.
Cost/Sources
Still in the development stage.
Sustainability issues
Unlike traditional plant-based plastics, many of which are derived from cornstarch, algae plastic would not affect food crops. Phytoplankton, one of the basics of algae, have declined substantially in the world’s oceans over the past century.
Production
Details not available.
Typical applications
Apart from its potential applications as a biofuel, and to replace petroleum-based products, its more common application is as a food, which takes a number of forms depending on the culture using it, such as nori in Japan, or as a lettuce in parts of Europe. Algae have many other applications, which include their use as a pigment in natural dyes, and as a treatment for sewage, replacing artificial and potentially harmful chemicals. It has also been used as a fertilizer and as a source of biofuel.
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–Potential alternative to petroleum-based fuels and plastics –Biodegradable –Sustainable |
–Still in development so not yet commercially available |