If we told you that your car was made of lemons, corn and almonds, would you believe us? We're not surprised if you didn't. But you might have to very soon.
Pushing the boundaries of a
circular economy, European scientists have managed to manufacture high-performance car parts using food and
farm waste such as lemon peels, corn starch, almond shells and pomegranate skins. If that wasn't hard to believe, here's more: these new parts might even be better than traditional ones!
What you're reading about are the fruits of the
BARBARA project, a partnership between the
European Union and the private sector. Using 3D printing techniques with biopolymers derived from these food wastes, BARBARA created eight types of materials that can be used in place of existing plastics in automobiles.
These new materials exhibited different colours, aromas, textures and even antimicrobial properties, and were used to print door trims and dashboard panels. Surprisingly, the materials showed better mechanical and thermal quality than their traditional counterparts, which could be used to enhance the final product. It even added a fragrance!
"The most exciting thing from our point of view is that there are no residues, only resources," said Berta Gonzalvo, research director at
Aitiip — one of the companies involved in the project. "Automotive and construction pieces have been successfully validated, demonstrating that a circular economy is possible and contributing to reducing environmental impact.'"
Adopting such techniques helps reduce waste from the product cycle, cutting carbon dioxide emissions and minimising the environmental impact.
As we know, the whole world has a food problem. For instance, Europe produces around six crore tonnes of
food waste, and barely any of it is recycled domestically. This is tragic, but with the global
biopolymer industry growing at 6% a year, this is the opportune time to make the best of the waste.
Participants of the BARBARA express hope that the project could move forward to the demonstration phase within the next four to five years. If things work out great, we could look at large-scale production after that. Then maybe all of our cars will get to be a little fruity.
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These new materials exhibited a plethora of different colours, aromas, textures and even antimicrobial properties, and were used to print door trims and dashboard panels. Surprisingly, the materials showed better mechanical and thermal quality than their traditional counterparts, which could be used to enhance the final product. It even added a fragrance!
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