Hemp window frames and plastics made by microbes? Not so far-fetched. Two
of UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering grad students are working
on these projects with the aim of transforming parts of our fossil-fuel-based, throw-it-away society.
Gillian Cutter, a structural engineer, is sowing the seeds for a greener construction industry—with hemp. Meanwhile, bioengineer Adam Feist, M.S. ’05, is creating microorganisms that might, one day, make plastic.
Using the long fibers from the bark of hemp plants, and plant-based resins, Cutter has produced strong, durable construction boards that are biodegradable and almost completely free of fossil fuels.
Hemp grows quickly in a wide range of conditions, which makes it a popular renewable plant fiber for environmentally friendly bags, socks and other textiles. Contrary to previous findings, Cutter’s research—funded by UCSD and The San Diego Foundation—suggests that aligned hemp fibers and plant-based resins can be pressed and heated to make high performance construction materials. Technically called “biocomposites,” these are strong enough to be used as door and window frames, roof panels, decking and wallboards. Such biodegradable materials could replace many wood, metal and fiberglass products currently used in the construction industry.
While hemp may keep some construction debris out of landfills, microbes may be the makers of the next generation of landfill-free biodegradable plastics.
Adam Feist, a UCSD bioengineering Ph.D. student, tinkers with microbe
metabolisms in the hope that one day they will be able to churn out biopolymer building blocks for plastics, as well as amino acids and other products for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Today, most plastics are made directly from petroleum—and those that are made from corn are not petroleum-free because today’s large-scale agricultural practices consume significant amounts of oil.
Feist and his colleagues are using systems biology to metabolically engineer E. coli— the “lab rats” of microbiology. With a combined computational and experimental approach,
the researchers are genetically programming—and reprogramming—microbes in an effort to find the right genetic recipe for biopolymers
in renewable plastics.
Both Feist and Cutter hope that their work will encourage further research on renewable
materials.
— Daniel Kane
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