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DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2025-12-14 · 21:57 UTC

Here we go... From 2023! This article mentions #ArtificialSilk, which is made from mostly water, silica and cellulose, and is biodegradable -- unlike most #syntheticfibers

RPI Researchers To Develop New Market for #FarmWaste

Waste #wool to be combined with #hemp [and artificial silk] to create high-performance yarns

May 4, 2023

"Thanks to a $100,000 grant from the New York Farm Viability Institute, the research team will combine waste wool with hemp and incorporate artificial spider silk to produce a superior yarn with widespread applications. The Rensselaer researchers will collaborate with State University of New York at Morrisville, Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill in Greenwich, and Propel, LLC to demonstrate a profitable and verifiable pathway for New York farmers to get their hemp and wool into high-value products.

"Hemp is a naturally pest-resistant, high-yield crop that produces durable, long-lasting, and sustainable textiles, with about 700 growers statewide.

" 'Hemp and flax are considered two of the most durable fibers, but you can grow three times as much hemp as flax on the same amount of land,' explains Dan Walczyk, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Manufacturing Innovation Center. 'Another benefit is that hemp consumes about three times as much carbon dioxide per acre as flax.'

"Infusing the wool/hemp combination with artificial spider silk will impart increased strength and resilience to the fiber. Helen Zha, assistant professor in the Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Matteos Koffas, Dorothy and Fred Chau ʼ71 Career Development Constellation Professor in Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, engineer microorganisms that produce artificial silk proteins. Zha and Koffas are both members of Rensselaer's Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS).

" 'Pound for pound, silk can be stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar,' said Zha. 'Using engineered microorganisms to create well-defined recombinant silk fibroin-like proteins allows flexibility and scalability while benefiting from the advantageous features of natural silk.'

" 'We will ultimately produce yarns with enhanced mechanical performance, flame retardancy, luster, and lux hand feel,' said Koffas."

Learn more:
https://news.rpi.edu/content/2023/05/04/rpi-researchers-develop-new-market-farm-waste

#SolarPunkSunday #NaturalFibers #LabGrownSilk #FarmWaste #ArtificialSilk #HempFibers #Wool