Bioplastics

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Bioplastics are the perfect addition to an integrated farm and forestry operation. An effective open-source method of producing bioplastics will allow communities to be self-sufficient in the raw materials for many modern comforts. Bioplastics promise to replace the many useful products we currently extract from oil.

Combined with plastic extrusion and molding machines such as RepRap, bioplastics enable a local manufacturing process that starts with food waste or soil and creates computer and phone casings, car and machine parts, toys and tools, screws and sculptures.

Cellophane is reformulated cellulose (wood), produced via an acid and base dunk of sawdust. This may be used in glazing. Car bodies may be made; the original car bodies for Ford were soybean-derived bioplastics.

Polylactic acid can be made by fermenting starch.

Mycelium can be placed in a mold with grain husks, wheat straw or any of a wide variety of other biomass (with different end product results) and be made into a variety of useful products, including a durable closed cell foam substitute. See: [1], [2] [3](these refer to the same product and company). Work need to be done open-sourcing this process - what mycelium are used? Where can we get spores? What can we make? We may be able to obtain some and identify it under a microscope (wary of nto infringing patents of course; maybe a similar but lower performing mycelium that is not patented could suit our purposes for building insulation etc.)