Design moves heaven and earth

Two of the Unit's research themes were discussed in this article published in Libération, from which 2 extracts are given below:

Managed waste

Every year, nearly 3 million tonnes of organic waste are thrown away by the agro-industry - not counting the 18 million tonnes of bio-waste produced by French households, according to the French Agency for Ecological Transition. Hence the old-fashioned idea of ‘recovering’ this waste to produce biogas by methanisation or compost. But this source of waste is also attracting growing interest from creators under pressure from consumers and public authorities .../...

‘The limits of biosourced materials often lie in their resistance to water’, explains biochemist Bénédicte Bakan*, from the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE). She and her team have developed a kind of rubber that is ‘slightly brown, additive-free, hydrophobic, recyclable and biodegradable’, using tomato skins collected from canning factories. Still in the prototype stage, it could be used in electronic parts or paramedical devices.

Fibre vibrates

No, flax isn't just used to make sheets, and hemp isn't just used to make cannabis. On the contrary: these two plants, of which France is one of the world's leading producers, with their low water and pesticide consumption and high yields, are now finding many outlets after a long period of neglect. Even if they are only lightly processed into wool or concrete, they make excellent thermal, acoustic and hygroscopic (moisture-resistant) insulators, in line with the requirements of carbon neutrality and modern comfort. And because they are lightweight, they are now used in composite materials for the automotive industry (for dashboards) and in the eco-design of urban and interior furniture.

Fibres also break down more quickly than glass or carbon fibres, so that's a serious advantage,’ says Johnny Beaugrand, a biochemist at INRAE. But we're facing a problem with the collection of composites, which more often than not end up being incinerated.’

*erratum in the article ‘Hélène Bakan’: read ‘Bénédicte Bakan’.