Photo by Esa Kapila
UTENSTRAW
Replacing single-use plastics with a straw waste monomaterial
JUN - JUL 2022 // TEAM PROJECT (UNIVERSITY)
UTENSTRAW are biodegradable, single-use utensils made from straw. The straw is a side stream from the biorefining of wheat: wheat biomass is separated by size and the smallest particles—called fines—are filtered out. The fines lack any useful fibers and are considered waste. The energy company Fortum approached CHEMARTS in the summer of 2022 with the challenge to find an application for the straw waste.
The utensils were formed by compressing straw fines into a mold at high temperatures and pressures (120°C, 12 kg/cm²). The heat evaporated the excess water and allowed the straw particles to bond together tightly enough to produce a hard, plastic-like material. The material was tested in water, and it was discovered to be water resistant long enough to function as utensils. As the material is only straw, it is also biodegradable. Fortum aims to scale up its wheat processing by 2028, and this novel application for the growing straw waste could therefore have an enormous positive impact.
EXHIBITIONS
Oct 2023
Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, NL
Sep 2023
Helsinki Design Week, Helsinki, FI
CREDITS
Tiina Otala — Documentation, Design, Sample Production
Tuomas Laakkonen — Sample Production
Tam Nguyen — Sample Production