Improved material strength and production process for a low carbon synthetic leather produced from brewers' spent grain

该应用侧重于开发可持续生产的皮革替代品。我们今天消费的皮革是与动物农业相关的一长串碳密集型步骤的最终结果，包括动物饲养、皮革收获、制革和加工。一种可持续的皮革替代品，消除了对动物农业的需求，除了对动物福利产生明显影响外，还将对气候变化做出重大贡献。阿尔达生物材料公司（Arda Biomaterials）是一家新成立的公司，该公司正在将一项令人兴奋的研究商业化。这项研究表明，有可能从啤酒酿造过程中产生的废料（一种通常用作低价值动物饲料的副产品）中生产合成革。这实际上是从现有的和无处不在的工业过程（即啤酒酿造者的废谷物）中提取废料，省略“动物生长阶段”，生产合成皮革。通过省略动物生长阶段，这种合成皮革的碳足迹估计只有传统皮革的0.3%。Arda生物材料公司可以通过铸造生产少量的这种合成皮革，但这种材料缺乏传统皮革的强度和韧性。Arda正在寻求快速启动创新资金，使企业能够试验使用桶加热挤压仪器作为生产手段和强化材料的方法。如果企业能够以这种方式加强合成革并扩大材料生产规模，Arda已经有啤酒厂供应商和时尚客户等着成为这种新材料供应链的一部分。所附资金申请的重点是可行性研究和测试方案，以证明与生态上最昂贵的传统替代品相比，合成革是等效的。

This application is focused on the development of a sustainably produced leather alternative. The leather we consume today is the net result of a long chain of carbon intensive steps associated with animal agriculture, including animal rearing, leather harvesting, tanning, and processing. A sustainable leather alternative that removes the need for animal agriculture would make a significant contribution to climate change in addition to having a clear impact on animal welfare.The applicants, Arda Biomaterials, are a recently formed company that is commercialising exciting research that has shown that it is possible to produce synthetic leather from the waste grain produced from beer brewing --- a by-product that is typically used as low value animal feed. This in effect takes a waste material from an existing and ubiquitous industrial process (i.e. the brewer's spent grain), omits the 'growing of the animal stage' and produces a synthetic leather. By omitting the animal growth phase this synthetic leather is estimated to have only 0.3% of the carbon footprint than conventional leathers have.Arda Biomaterials can produce small quantities of this synthetic leather in sheets via casting, but the material lacks the strength and toughness of conventional leather. Arda is seeking Fast Start Innovation funding to enable the business to experiment with using barrel heated extrusion instruments as a means of production and as a method for strengthening the material. If the business is able to strengthen the synthetic leather in this way and scale for greater material production, Arda already has brewery suppliers and fashion customers waiting to be part of the supply chain for this new material.The enclosed funding application is focused on a programme of feasibility studies and testing needed to demonstrate the equivalence of the synthetic leather compared to the most ecologically costly conventional alternative.