Based on the College of Wisconsin–Platteville, two professors have found a option to flip spoiled milk right into a key ingredient for eco-friendly 3D printing. Their patented invention, titled “Growth of Bio-Composite Supplies for 3D Printing Utilizing Milk Proteins,” transforms dairy waste into biodegradable plastics – providing each environmental advantages and a brand new supply of revenue for Wisconsin’s dairy farmers.
“Who would have thought 3D printing and dairy protein may very well be mixed to create a brand new materials?” stated Dr. Joseph Wu, affiliate professor of chemistry. “My hope is that it’ll assist each the 3D printing business and dairy farmers in Wisconsin.”
Dr. Wu and Dr. John Obielodan, professor and chair of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, started exploring this concept to scale back waste and dependence on petroleum-based plastics. The idea took form in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, when milk dumping resulting from provide chain disruptions impressed the pair to search out worth in spoiled dairy. “We requested ourselves, ‘Why can’t this milk, as a substitute of being wasted, be became one thing precious?’” recalled Obielodan.
5 years of analysis led to a US patent awarded to WiSys for his or her technique of changing milk proteins like casein and whey into usable plastic. “Many single-use plastics find yourself in oceans, the place they’re ingested by marine animals – finally coming into our meals chain,” stated Obielodan. “Biomaterials supply a extra sustainable different.”
The method, nonetheless, was removed from easy. “We wanted to determine what sort of protein, and in what type, would yield the most effective outcomes,” stated Obielodan. The workforce experimented with totally different protein formulations, testing their energy and adaptability. UW-Platteville college students assisted in breaking down and purifying the proteins, gaining hands-on expertise in cutting-edge sustainable supplies analysis.
Funding got here from the Dairy Innovation Hub, a Wisconsin state initiative supporting dairy-related analysis throughout the College of Wisconsin–Platteville, UW-Madison, and UW-River Falls. The Hub awarded an preliminary $50,000 grant – later expanded to about $180,000. “They offered the seed cash that allowed us to analyze. We couldn’t have finished this with out them,” stated Wu.
“This breakthrough highlights the type of forward-thinking analysis occurring at UW-Platteville,” stated Chancellor Dr. Tammy Evetovich. “Their work not solely advances sustainable, biodegradable supplies for 3D printing but additionally provides eco-friendly alternate options to petroleum-based plastics.”
Wanting forward, Wu and Obielodan plan to switch the know-how to business companions for commercialization. “From 3D printing filaments to different engineered supplies, the probabilities are wide-ranging,” stated Obielodan. “It’s all about making sudden connections – like 3D printing and dairy protein merging right into a revolutionary materials.”