Potato Pile by Chip[s] BoardMuseum of Engineering Innovation
Engineers are turning potato peel into sustainable bioplastics for the fashion and interior design industries, tackling tackle food waste and plastic pollution.
In his previous role as a chef, Rowan Minkley noticed the abundance of food waste in the industry. He had studied design at university and so began developing prototypes made from food waste with a housemate, hoping to create sustainable materials for use in des
Glasses made from potato bioplastics by Chip[s] BoardMuseum of Engineering Innovation
Rowan and his housemate wanted to find value in it and create a true circular economy bioplastic.
Bioplastic samples by Chip[s] BoardMuseum of Engineering Innovation
Together, Rowan Minkley and Rob Nicoll founded Chip[s] Board. They discovered that they could make materials from food waste that were easily disposable as well as more durable.
Chip[s] Board has developed a process that transforms potato waste into Parblex: plastic from potato waste. They get their potatoes supplied from McCain, known for their oven ready chips.
The bioplastic is made from the raw materials before fibre fillers, such as walnut shells and wood flour, are added to strengthen the plastic and give it qualities such as colour and texture.
Potato laboratory by Chip[s] BoardMuseum of Engineering Innovation
In its simplest form, Chip[s] Board is converting sugars and starches from food waste into a biopolymer without the use of chemical strippers or any toxic by-products.
One of the key challenges that the team faced was creating its own laboratory facility for the entire process. The process is complex biochemistry involving fermentation, purification and then polymerisation.
But building a lab allowed the team to make sure that each part of the process had a minimal environmental impact: reducing energy consumption, removing chemicals, recycling heat, energy or water between the processes.
3D printing by Axial MedicalMuseum of Engineering Innovation
Once manufactured, the bioplastic is sold as pellets, which can be injection moulded, 3D printed, or spun into fibres for textiles.
The bioplastics are mechanically and chemically recyclable, so can be reused as plastic, as well as broken down into organic matter in industrial composting.
Isabel Fletcher Offcut One Collection by Chip[s] BoardMuseum of Engineering Innovation
From buttons to bookcases and spectacles to school chairs, there’s a huge range of durable items that need to be brought into a circular economy through using sustainable materials.
The Chip[s] Board team is hoping to expand into bio-based plasticisers, which will help make the material more flexible. Their engineers are producing beautiful bio-plastics that perform the same as normal plastics, while being biodegradable and recyclable post use.
The potato plastics have been used to make glasses frames and in Isabel Fletcher’s Offcut One clothing collection.
https://www.ingenia.org.uk/getattachment/Ingenia/Issue-86/From-food-waste-to-fashion/Chips-board.pdf
