Kombucha
Today in the Biomaterial lecture by Maru Carcia, we learned about SCOBY-Kombucha and how it can create usable materials. This really interested me because I love finding new materials to utilize that helps the environment. I especially loved the lecture because I could follow along and it was quite fun.
During the lecture we learned about the many different biomaterials formed from Kombucha, and since my final project group focused on creating environmental things, I decided to research more into it. SCOBY Kombucha is a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. It is a bacteria cellulose that is made of repeating single units. Kombucha forms a gelatinous substance on the surface which consists of strands of cellulose interlocked/woven together. This gelatinous surface is what is known as leather, and the biomaterial made from kombucha.
In today's lecture, Maru also brought up many different ways of how kombucha is used to create materials, designs, and more. One thing was a kombucha biomaterial lab that was done by Maria Viftrup. The purpose of this lab was to investigate the possibilities and practical issues of growing Kombucha scobys. Although on her website she doesn't go into too much detail on her findings, it seems as though she was able to develop many different kinds of SCOBY. Another lab was Parsons' Healthy Materials Lab where he worked with and researched Kombucha Leather. Just like mentioned before, he found that this material was a bio-material alternative to leather that was made of cellulose nanofibrils "spun" by the bacteria and yeast in the SCOBY. The material actually grows thicker over time meaning that by watching it grow, we can control the thickness of the material. This material is definitely beneficial as it replaces animal textiles and impacts the environment.
Leather is a serious ecological problem and sustainability issue. Rearing of livestock has caused severe environmental impacts such as deforestation, water and land overuse, and gas emissions. Around 159 million animals are slaughtered per year for leather industries. Infact, that number only considers cattle, buffaloes, goats, and pigs. That means even more animals are killed since leather is also made from sheep, crocodiles, lizards, kangaroos, and a few more. However, with bio materials made from SCOBY, we can utilize it to make it the "new leather".
It amazes me how something as common as kombucha can create such materials. Seeing the many designs of clothes and others made from SCOBY kombucha is really cool. I've learned so much from the past lectures, and I'm grateful for all the new knowledge I have obtained. I can't wait to finalize my workshops and final project, and this was absolutely an amazing experience.
