China3D printingNet, March 16th, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed laboratory-grown wood cells that can form a new, more sustainable3D printingThe basis of biological materials.
By cultivating plant-based tissue, researchers have been able to adjust its shape and eliminate the wasteful logging that normally requires obtaining wood.Although the team’s research is still in its early stages, they believe that it can be deployed as a3D printingMeans of environmentally friendly furniture, or the production of synthetic wood that can alleviate the growing deforestation crisis.
The lead author of the study, Ashley Beckwith (Ashley Beckwith) commented on China3D printingWang said: “When we use only a small part of the plant, we will invest a lot of resources to grow the entire plant. Copying materials that are not so dependent on the land.”
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A kind of researcher3D bioprintingThe culture contains lignin cells. The picture comes from “Clean Production Magazine”.
Replacing wood in production
Compared with fossil fuels, wood and other plant-based materials are widely praised for their renewability, so they are often used in the manufacture of consumer goods and power generation. However, our over-reliance on wood is increasingly leading to large-scale deforestation, which may have a lasting impact on the environment.
Essentially, the way wood is grown and collected has not changed for hundreds of years, because the entire plant is cultivated before harvesting useful wood chips, and the rest is burned as natural waste. This method has resulted in many trees being discarded, and considering the cost of land, fertilizer and transportation, it is also quite expensive.
In contrast, laboratory-grown materials have the potential to relieve agricultural pressure because they can be grown to specifications, eliminating the need to discard unwanted debris. In other places, as part of the custom of “micropropagation”, small plant samples are planted into large areas of seeds and redistributed, but this method is highly selective and is usually only used to preserve the rarest species.
However, if it is applied to a wider range of wood growth, micro-propagation may have a wider impact, thereby greatly reducing the time for planting plant materials.By combining these methods, the MIT team has therefore developed a new type of biomaterial with tunable properties and tried to combine it3D printingIt is a scalable and complex structure.
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Researcher’s3D bioprintingThe method allows them to produce bio-based structures with more than 70% cell viability. The picture comes from “Clean Production Magazine”.
Planting new biological materials
For the test, the scientists extracted living cells from well-studied Zinnia nematode plant species, cultured them with nutrients, and suspended them in a gel scaffold. By doing so, the research team allowed plant cells to grow into the scaffold without sunlight or soil, and only produce harvestable elements.
As the cells grow, researchers can adjust their hormone concentration, pH, density, and overall function to ensure that they produce biomaterials with the best performance. After extensive repairs, the research team managed to align the cells so that they formed lignin-enhanced secondary walls, which were effectively transformed into wood gel.
Once their new material was ready, the scientists used the combined3D bioprintingAnd injection molding methods to make a series of thin tree-shaped test structures. Although printed matter shows a high cell survival rate of more than 70% within ten days, their mechanical strength is also very low, which currently limits their use in load-bearing structures such as furniture.
Therefore, the MIT team viewed their research as a proof of concept, proving the feasibility of growing wood more efficiently than current agricultural methods.With the further development of training parameters, the researchers believe that in the future, their method may also produce other various3D printingHousehold products, and these products hardly cause damage to the natural world.
Beckwith concluded: “I didn’t know that I would plant a fully assembled table because it does not make good use of space, but it has potential. This is a good vision, and people really accept this concept. So I hope we arouse more interest and attract more people to participate in order to achieve this goal.”
Bio-based printing materials
As the race to prevent global warming has intensified, scientists are now developing synthetic biomaterials as more sustainable alternatives to natural raw materials.
Researchers at the University of Freiburg took a different approach to the MIT team and created their own novel wood3D printingMaterial. The German team used composite cellulose balls to produce a biosynthetic polymer that can be used in light construction or industrial applications.
Similarly, as part of the NOVUM project supported by the European Union, researchers are currently3D printingCellulose-based parts used in the automotive, marine or electrical insulation industries. Overall, the plan aims to improve global resource efficiency as a means to combat climate change and build a more circular economy.
In more experimental studies, scientists at the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing are trying to3D printingThe termite waste is transformed into an environmentally friendly structure. Although the new biomaterial initially showed lower mechanical strength, it can also spray adhesives without polymer additives.
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