https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67425538
'From crushed oyster shells to agricultural waste, Celine Sandberg has
experimented with some wacky ingredients to make parts for furniture.
Her aim has been to cut the use of plastic polymers, known as polyurethane, in
furniture making. That meant finding a more environmentally-friendly material
to fill pillows, sofas and chair cushions.
To start with, the founder of Oslo-based Agoprene and her colleagues
experimented with using oyster shells. The shells were ground into a powder and
used to make a foamy material. Agricultural waste and wood fibres were
experimented with in a similar way.
"We tried a bunch of different materials, but most of them turned out as rigid
foam, not flexible," she says.
But eventually Ms Sandberg hit on seaweed, which her team transformed into a
powder and baked in a special oven.
The process creates a foam block, soft enough to be used in seat cushions and
chairs.
"The foam is 100% biodegradable. You can simply leave it in the soil, and it
will naturally degrade over eight months - faster if you cut it into smaller
pieces," says Ms Sandberg.
Agoprene is now looking to scale-up production by moving to a larger
manufacturing facility in the coming year.'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
