Puzzle cell nutshell waste for sustainable material solutions

Introduction

In 2025 around 11 billion tonnes of plastic waste will pollute the environment. Therefore, a circular economy with biotransformation and biodegradation of oil-based plastics is as crucial as implementing biobased and biodegradable materials.

Background

Transforming lignocellulosic waste biomass into commercially valuable green materials is an emerging and promising way to minimize waste, substitute plastic, and reduce our carbon footprint. As a waste resource, we suggest walnut shells, in which we discovered the interlocked 3-D puzzle cells.

Properties of Walnut Shells

The homogeneity, high surface area, and channels make these cells interesting for transformation into biodegradable bioplastic. We plan to dissolve the walnut shells in deep eutectic solvent to separate the cells, add water to regenerate lignin, and recycle the solvent. The result of this closed process circle is a NUT slurry as a basis for our materials.

Material Development

To tailor and functionalize the composite for different applications, we propose to add bacterial cellulose pellicles, a waste from kombucha fermentation or produced in bioreactors. The pure cellulose fibrils with high tensile strength are an exciting counterpart to the high lignin content pressure-optimized puzzle cells.

Tuning Material Properties

With different ratios of the two agri-residues, we will tune the material properties for NUTplastic and NUTleather. Sustainable, energy and resource-efficient, biodegradable NUTmaterials with a low carbon and environmental footprint are envisaged for the packaging and textile sector.

Project Activities

The project activities comprise:

1. Development and characterization of NUTleather and NUTplastic products at the demonstration level.
2. Life cycle analysis, cost of goods, and carbon footprint.
3. Define end-users, market analysis, potential industrial partners, business plan, and IP strategy.

Project Team

We have a strong project team with highly motivated and experienced members with complementary backgrounds and a solid wish to prove the puzzle cell performance in sustainable materials.