Key Concepts
- Biosynthetic spider silk
- Protein-based glue
- Mars bio-concrete
- Human waste utilization (skin, urine, snot)
- Food-based binders (gluten, starch)
- Low-carbon ceramic alternatives
- Waste material upcycling
- Circular economy
Spider Silk Glue and the Accidental Discovery
The speaker's journey began in 2017 after a challenging PhD. He aimed to create spider silk fibers biosynthetically, a strong and tough material, as an alternative to farming spiders. This project was initially unsuccessful. The team pivoted to creating spider silk glue, which proved easier to produce and test.
A pivotal moment occurred when testing a random protein from cow's blood as a baseline. Surprisingly, the cow blood protein exhibited significantly stronger adhesive properties than the engineered spider silk glue. This unexpected result led to a shift in focus towards exploring the potential of readily available proteins as adhesives.
Mars Bio-Concrete: From Cow Blood to Human Waste
The speaker's research led to the idea of using the cow blood protein to bind sand, creating a concrete-like material. While this "cow-crete" was inferior to regular concrete on Earth, the speaker realized that Mars dust, being 50% sand, could potentially be bound using the same protein. This concept of "Mars bio-concrete" emerged as a solution to the challenge of building structures on Mars, where traditional concrete production is not feasible.
The initial proposal involved taking a cow to Mars for blood donation, which was deemed impractical. The speaker then explored the possibility of using human blood proteins. Experiments showed that human blood could indeed bind Mars dust. Furthermore, the addition of urea, a component of urine, increased the concrete's strength by 50%, making it comparable to regular concrete.
Ethical and practical concerns regarding the use of human blood and urine led to further exploration of alternative binders. The speaker investigated historical glues, including those made from horse skin and cheese.
Human Skin, Snot, and the Quest for Sustainable Binders
The speaker proposed using human skin shed naturally as a source of glue. While each person sheds about one gram of skin per day, this amount was insufficient for large-scale concrete production.
The speaker then humorously suggested using mucus (snot) as a binder, given its natural adhesive properties for capturing dust. This idea, dubbed "sement," was not well-received.
Food-Based Binders: Gluten and Starch
The speaker shifted focus to food-based binders, recognizing that astronauts would need to be fed on Mars. Gluten, derived from wheat flour, and starch, extracted from potatoes, cassava, or rice, emerged as viable options.
A "starcrete" or starch concrete was developed using Mars dust, starch, water, salt, and optionally, a small amount of human saliva to activate the starch. This material proved to be twice as strong as ordinary concrete.
Earth-Based Applications: Low-Carbon Ceramic Alternatives
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown forced the speaker to experiment with readily available materials in his cellar. This led to the development of low-carbon ceramic alternatives using waste materials and kitchen ingredients.
- Farlith: A material resembling ceramic tile made from chalk dust and aquafaba (chickpea water).
- Scaleith: A material using a blue version of chlorophyll called phycocyanin, a byproduct of algae biofuel production.
- Iith: A material composed of over 98% waste gypsum plaster and a plant-based binder.
These materials offer a sustainable alternative to traditional ceramic tiles, as they do not require firing in kilns, significantly reducing carbon emissions.
Scaling Up and Commercialization
The speaker founded a startup to scale up and commercialize the low-carbon ceramic alternatives. The company is currently working to license the technology to established ceramic tile producers, enabling them to manufacture sustainable materials without the need for energy-intensive kilns.
Key Takeaways
- Challenges and constraints can drive innovation.
- Thinking about the challenges of living on Mars led to the exploration of novel materials and processes.
- Unexpected discoveries can lead to significant breakthroughs.
- Waste materials can be upcycled to create valuable products.
- Sustainable solutions can be developed by considering the entire lifecycle of materials and processes.
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