3D printing of bioplastics for agricultural mulch and disposable food packaging products

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Historically, before the plastic revolution, biopolymers were the dominant material for many consumer level products. Our shifting focus on the environment and climate change makes the use of biopolymers a significantly planet friendly choice over traditional fossil based and other non-renewable materials. To address this, we have developed a platform to manufacture papermaking fibre-polysaccharide composite films rapidly using 3D printing technology. The core of the platform is patented, with the rights licensed to our industrial partner Bioform Solution. In addition, we have recently filed a provisional patent to insert our printing platform into a multilayered headbox in papermaking. Our vision is to commercialize this printer to create products for immediate entry into the agricultural mulches and take-away food packaging markets. Our interdisciplinary team of experts in carbohydrate and polymer chemistry, fluid and solid mechanics, mathematics, materials science and characterization, and food and land systems will work together with our industry partner Bioform Technologies Inc. to address the urgent commercial need for a single-use plastic replacement. This two-year program will support 3 post-doctoral fellows and a MSc student at the University of British Columbia.