Eco Plastic Formed with Water & Plantsc

By Tom Shelley @ hemp-resource.com

By grinding up natural cellulose-containing materials with water, it is possible to produce a mouldable polymer. It can be made from a wide range of normally waste materials, and spray moulded or formed into commercial products with mechanical properties similar to those of hard wood. The material contains no toxic materials and is completely recyclable, sustainable and biodegradable.

The first commercial factory producing the material in bulk goes on stream this month. The Zelfo process was invented in Europe in 1992 and patented in early 2000 by an Austrian team now based in New South Wales in Australia. The principle inventor was Martin Ernegg, now the company’s technical director.

It relies on the fact that wet cellulose fibres stick to each other, as in the manufacture of paper and papier maché. “The material is cost effective in some specific applications,” says managing director Paul Benhaim. “Our current business model means Zelfo is best suited for objects with runs of 1 to 10,000 – any more than that, and regular plastics usually beat us.”

The material cannot be injection moulded, but can be formed using relatively low cost tooling – hence its suitability for short to medium production runs. The cellulose-containing material is ground up with water and optional natural additives, such as plant-based pigments. The material may then be spray moulded or pressed to shape. Several moulding processes can be used, which may involve pressure and interim drying and reshaping, according to the product being manufactured. A pre-coating may be applied after which the moulding is dried slowly to the required density and stiffness.
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This could be good stuff for my "planet" making. I would like to find something other than the acylic polymers that I use.