Synthetic Hyphae - Charles Wirion, Prof. C.Pasquero, M.Kuptsova

Charles Wirion

Synthetic Hyphae A biomechanical structure for the process of plastic waste in Osaka.

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Charles Wirion

Synthetic Hyphae A biomechanical structure for the process of plastic waste in Osaka.

Master Thesis

Submitted to the Leopold-Franzens-University of Innsbruck Faculty of Architecture in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Diplom-Ingenieur

Supervision

Professor Claudia Pasquero

CO Supervision Maria Kuptsova

Institute of Urban Design IOUD Innsbruck, August 2020

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Abstract The worlds global crisis with plastic pollution is getting worse, year after year.

Around 300 million metric tons of plastic waste are produced annually, out of which 10 million tons enter the ocean each year, adding up to approximately 150 million tons already circulating our oceans.

Due to the fact that plastic degrades very slowly, most of it will remain in our environment for centuries.

This has severe effects on marine life, as they mistake [micro] plastics for food or get entangled in larger pieces. This is the cause for many plastic related deaths of marine species.

This marine plastic waste has not only severe effects on marine life, but also for us humans as these affected animals often tend to be on our food menu.

Despite the fact, that this global crisis is getting worldwide attention, which results in people using less plastic, the amount of plastic waste is experiencing an annual upwards trend.

According to scientists, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish (MacArthur, 2016).

In this thesis, a new approach for the collection and processing of plastic waste is developed.

This new approach consists of creating an autonomous biomechanical organism in the form of a three dimensional structure with the purpose to bio-degrade plastic.

This structure will be built with fungal mycelium and recycled plastic, whereby the latter is responsible for the bio-degradation of plastic waste.

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Figure 1. Plastic Waste washed up at shore, Belize.

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C O N T E N T S

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13 17 25 31 39 51 65 73 101 119 147 153 167 10

INTRODUCTION

PLASTIC DATA

JAPAN OSAKA

URBAN STUDY

YUMESHIMA MYCELIUM

MATERIAL RESEARCH

COMPUTING FIBERS

SYSTEM TEST

BIO DRONE

SYNTHETIC HYPHAE

BIBLIOGRAPHY 11

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I.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

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Project Proposal Given this human made ecological crisis we are facing at the moment, my thesis analyses the source of the problem and possible solutions for the future.

My thesis investigates how architecture can have a positive effect on the local environment and culture of Japan, a culture that is used to pack everything in plastic and therefore, according to UN statistics, creating more plastic packaging waste per person than any other country, except the United States.

As a starting point for my thesis, algorithmic maps are drawn to illustrate the lifespan of plastic in the city of Osaka based on GIS data.

Pathways will emerge from these maps, that show how plastic waste travels through the city.

This results in areas of high travel density that can suggest where collected plastic waste might get lost to the environment.

Based on these studies, a site for my project will be extracted. This area will then be further analyzed by looking at satellite and GIS data.

In the next step, experiments will be done with fungi to document the bio degrading effects it has on different plastics.

According to recent studies, scientists found several fungi and bacteria that have the ability to decompose plastic faster than it naturally would. With the help of the fungus, it would be possible to break down plastic in a matter of weeks instead of years and centuries.

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These experiments and previously concluded research will have a huge influence on the design aspect of the structure in terms of its behaviour and material aspect.

The goal is to use a new building material consisting of a mycelium and plastic waste mixture.

The building itself will act as a biomechanical organism, expanding by getting fed by the local community with plastic debris from the region.

The plastics have to be cleaned and filtered first to separate it from other waste.

During the filtering process, the different plastics are sorted in their respective Recycling categories and put into two distinctive groups : recyclable plastics and non-recyclable plastics.

The recyclable plastics are reused as filament to 3D print the ever-growing structure of the building.

The non-recyclable plastics are used as substrate for the mycelium.

This project aims to create a new attitude towards plastic waste by using it as a building material. Plastic waste should be seen as a valuable resource rather than a waste product to be thrown away in a matter of seconds.

Figure 2. Plastic floating in the Ocean.

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II.

P L A S T I C D A T A

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Plastic Waste Generation per year.

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1. China 2. USA 3. Germany 4. Brazil 5. Japan

59.8 m tons 37.8 m tons 14.5 m tons 11.9 m tons 8 m tons

Plastic Concentration in the Ocean One = 20kg of marine plastic waste [1] Data source = https://app.dumpark.com/seas-of-plastic-2/

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Japan is second in the world (after the USA) in terms of plastic packaging waste per capita according to UN statistics. With 106 kilos, Japan produced more plastic per capita than China and the rest of Asia combined.

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[1] Packaging

Figure 3. Plastic Concentration around Japan.

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Global import and export of plastic waste by 2030 This Bar Chart shows the import and export numbers of plastic waste per country by the year 2030.

This Graph is based on estimated numbers released by the University of Georgia.

These numbers are based on the rising trend of global annual imports and exports, which have grown 770% on average through the year of 2016.

Due to China’s import ban, implemented in 2018, it is estimated that a total of 111 million metric tons of plastic waste may be displaced by 2030. [2] The graph is divided into two sections of imports and exports. The first section illustrates the amount of managed plastic waste, whereas the second section describes the amount of mismanaged or displaced plastic waste.

Leading the Chart in terms of plastic waste exports is Japan, closely followed by the US and Germany.

It’s also the country that imports the least amount of plastic of these 9 chart leading countries.

Japan may not be the country that produces the most plastic waste per year, but its leading in exporting their waste to other countries.

Imported Exported DISPLACED: Imported Exported

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[2] Plastic data

30 Million Metric Tonnes

25 M

20 M

15 M

10 M

5M

0M C H I N A

U K

B E L G I U M

T H A I L A N D

H O L L A N D

F R A N C E

U S A

G E R M A N Y

J A P A N

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III.

J A P A N

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Overpackaging Japan has an extreme obsession with hygiene, which highly affects the sales department and the way they sell their items to the costumer.

Whether it’s Mangas, Toys or Food, nearly everything is wrapped in plastic.

Vegetables and fruits, in particular, are often individually-wrapped in stores.

Potatoes and carrots for example, are often individually shrink wrapped.

Often, these individual-wrapped food items are wrapped again in further layers of plastic.

Due to their obsession with hygiene some locals wouldn’t even consider buying a grocery article if it’s not wrapped in plastic.

The following pictures were shot in Tokyo in 2019 at a local market and supermarket, showing dried food and plastic food imitations, both wrapped in plastic.

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IV.

O S A K A

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Osaka Osaka is the capital city of Osaka Prefecture in the Kansai region.

It ranks as the third biggest city in Japan after Tokyo and Yokohama with 20 million inhabitants and is well known for being a major financial center. [3] On the 28th and the 29th of June 2019, the first ever G20 summit held in Japan took place in Osaka. One of its major issues was plastic pollution, especially marine plastic litter.

A study from June 2019, led by Sadao Harada, an associate professor at the Osaka University, concluded that the 1.450 square kilometer Water body contained an estimated three million plastic shopping bags along with six million other pieces of plastic.

Following the G20 summit, Japan promised to handle plastic waste in a smarter way, tackling single use plastic, which is the biggest sinner regarding marine plastic waste.

Tokyo

Osaka

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[3] Osaka

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Technoport Osaka In 1988, the city of Osaka proposed the Technoport Osaka Project, as part of an Centennial Project.

The fundamental idea consisted in creating a new city center for a modern society.

The plan was to build this on three artificial islands : Maishima Sports Island (which was built in 1995) , Yumeshima Island (which opened 2002 but is still in construction) and Sakishima island, which is the oldest of the three, finishing construction in 1980.

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Yumeshima island

Maishima island Sakishima island

Figure 4. Osaka Bay

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Figure 5. Osaka Port.

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V.

U R B A N S T U D Y

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The circulation of plastic The following Maps show the path of plastic in the city of Osaka.

Starting from local shops, passing through the households and finally ending up at the recycling areas and landfills.

Using a shortest walk algorithm, three different maps were generated using the existing road network as Grid and defining starting and end points.

The first map illustrates the path from the shops to the households, the second map shows the path from the households to the recycling plants and the final map shows the path of the non-recyclable plastics starting from the recycling plants and ending up at the shipping docks and landfills.

From there, they either get transported to other countries or get dumped for an undefined amount of time.

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N 1km 1: 50.000 Starting Points : Shops Ending Points : Residential Blocks

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N 1km 1: 50.000 Starting Points : Residential Blocks Ending Points : Recycling Plants

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N 1km 1: 50.000 Starting Points : Recycling Plants Ending Points : Docks Landfill

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Pathway of Plastic Waste in Osaka

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Growth : 0 %

Growth : 5 %

Growth : 10 %

Growth : 30 %

Growth : 35 %

Growth : 40 %

Growth : 60 %

Growth : 65 %

Growth : 70 %

Growth : 15 %

Growth : 20 %

Growth : 25 %

Growth : 45 %

Growth : 50 %

Growth : 55 %

Growth : 75 %

Growth : 80 %

Growth : 85 %

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The circulation of plastic The following two maps show the circulation of plastic during a 7 day time span.

This method was used to highlight the areas of high traffic, resulting in dense and some less dense areas.

This map uses shops and housing areas as generators and the shortest walk between them as a pathway.

The shops act as starting points and the households as end points.

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N

1km

1: 50.000

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The circulation of plastic This map uses recycling/landfill areas and shipping docks as generators.

The shortest walk between them is used as a pathway.

The recycling plants act as starting points while the docks are the endpoints.

This map was created to highlight the end of the Plastic life span in Japan.

Plastics that are not recycled or reused are stocked in docks and shipped away to least developed countries in South Asia.

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1km

1: 50.000

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VI.

Y U M E S H I M A

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N 1km 1: 50.000

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N 200

400 m

1 square : 1 hectare

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Yumeshima Island Yumeshima Island, which transaltes as “Dream Island”, is one of three artificial islands inside Osaka Bay. These islands were created as part of the “Technoport Osaka “ plan from 1988 with the goal to develop a new city center.

Yumeshima Island is not directly connected to Osaka mainland, but through other islands.

In the north, it is connected to Maishima Island through a floating bridge and in the south with Sakishima island through Yume Saki tunnel.

Artificial islands are created in a process that creates new land from oceans, seas, rivers and lakes. This reclaimed land is known as reclamation ground or land fill. [4]

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[4] Artificial Isalnd

At the moment, the island of Yumeshima is not much developed and not much more than industrial wasteland.

Mainly the western part and northwest area of the island serve as industrial landfill.

The southeast area is used as a shipping hub for container ships while the north east area consists of an unfinished infrastructure, having roads leading to nowhere but an 7 eleven shop and parking areas that are mainly used by the dock workers.

Figure 6. Yumeshima Island

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Topological developments Through the years 2010 until 2018, the island of Yumeshima experienced several changes in its topography and infrastructure. In 2010, the whole northern region of the island was undeveloped and served as a landfill.

The biggest change in its landscape happened in the following four years.

New streets were built and buildings constructed.An enormous solar plant was built on the northern end of the island.

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ESRI August 2010

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034° 39’ 04” N 135° 23’ 15” E

200 Figure 7. Yumeshima 2010

400 m

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ESRI 034° 39’ 04” N January 2014 135° 23’ 15” E 58

Figure 8. Yumeshima 2014

N 200

400 m

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ESRI 034° 39’ 04” N August 2018 135° 23’ 15” E

200 Figure 9. Yumeshima 2018

400 m

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Topography | Bathimetry Yumeshima`s Topography is quite flat, due to the fact that it`s an artificial island.

Several small height differences exist, induced by the landfill management of the island.

Nonetheless, these height differences don`t exceed 5 meters.

The digital map illustrates the topography and Bathimetry of Yumeshima, based on DEM, Bathimetry and satelite data.

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N 34° 42`N ,135° 30`O Yumeshima Island, Osaka Bay

200

400 m

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Future Plans for Yumeshima Island In 2025, The World Expo is supposed to take place on Yumeshima island in Osaka.

The theme of the expo is “designing future society“ with a focus on health and sustainability.

This reflects Osaka`s effort to develop new industries in medical tourism and green energy.

It will take place for six months, opening 3 May 2025, and closing 23 November 2025.

This will be the second time Osaka hosts a World Expo, having previously hosted Expo 1970. The projected visitor count is approximately 28 million.

Almost the whole undeveloped southern part of the island around the artifical lake will be used to host the expos pavilions. The goal of the goverment is to allocate the pavilions around the artificial lake and some even on the lake.

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[5] Expo 2025

The north east part of the island will be sepereated in several different functions including parking areas, terminals for public transport, accomodation areas etc.

The south east part will stay the same and will continure serving ass a shipping and docking area.

After the Expo, the city planned to build casinos and hotels on the island, with the goal of creating a tourist hot spot on Yumeshima. [5]

N 34° 42`N ,135° 30`O Yumeshima Island, Osaka Bay

200

400 m

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VII.

M Y C E L I U M

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Hypha Decentralized, underground networks Hyphae are the thread-like, vegetative parts of fungi, collectively called mycelium.

Unseen, beneath our feet, hyphae branch and connect, forming relationships as they seek and exchange nourishment and information. [6]

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[6] Hypha

Figure 10. Mycelium under Microscope.

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Plastic absorbing Funghi In 2011 Yale Students made headlines with the discovery of a fungus in Ecuador, Pestalotiopsis microspora, that has the ability to digest and break down polyurethane plastic, even in an air-free (anaerobic) environment, which might even make it effective at the bottom of landfills.[7] In 2017, scientist Sehroon Khan and his research team at the World Agroforestry Centre in Kunming, China discovered another biodegrading fungus in a landfill in Islamabad, Pakistan: Aspergillus tubingensis, which turns out to be capable of colonizing polyester polyurethane (PU) and breaking it down it into smaller pieces within the span of two months. [8] From 2011 until now, 50 more species were found that have capabilities to digest plastic. One of these 50 is the Oyster mushroom, a common mushroom in Europe, mostly used as a food source.

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[7] [8] Fungi

Pestalotiopsis microspora Native to : South America, Asia

Aspergillus tubingensis Native to : Asia

Schizophyllum commune Native to : Worldwide

Pleurotus ostreatus Native to : Worldwide

Figure 11. | 12. Fungi

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Oyster mushroom The Oyster mushroom is a common mushroom that can be found all over Europe.

It is very easy to grow on almost every substance as long as it gets nutrients.

Researchers found that the Oyster mushroom can digest oil, which is the main component of plastic.

The Oyster mushroom can therefore digest Plastic faster that it would degrade in nature. Even though the Oyster mushroom is not the front runner when it comes to plastic digesting mushrooms, it is the easiest to get and the easiest to grow.

Because of this, the decision was taken to start testing plastic degradation with the Oyster mushroom.

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VIII.

M A T E R I A L R E S E A R C H

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Plastic

Recycling

Plastics are materials that mainly consist of macromolecules.

Important characteristics of plastics are their technical properties, such as formability, hardness, elasticity, breaking strength, temperature, heat resistance and chemical resistance, which can be varied within wide limits through the choice of macromolecules, manufacturing processes and usually by adding additives.

While it highly depends from the region and the recycling plants in the area, it can be said that most commonly, Polyethylene terephthalate [PETE] and High-density polyethylene [HDPE] are easily recycled, whereas for example Low-density polyethylene [LDPE] and Polystyrene [PS] are very difficult to recycle.

With regard to their physical properties, plastics are divided into three large groups: thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomers.

Plastics are processed into molded parts, semi-finished products, fibers or foils. They serve as packaging materials, textile fibers, thermal insulation, pipes, floor coverings, components of paints, adhesives and cosmetics, in electrical engineering as materials for insulation, printed circuit boards, housings, in vehicle construction as materials for tires, upholstery, dashboards, petrol tanks and much more.

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[9] Plastic

Symbol

Polymer

Usage

Properties

Recycling

Polyethylene terephthalate

Soft drinks, Plastic bottles

Strong Clear Lightweight

High-density polyethylene

Milk Jugs, Shampoo bottles Soap dispensers

Stiff Hard to break down

Yes, widely recycled

Polyvinyl chloride

Plastic piping Cabling insulation Window fittings

Rigid and Soft

Difficult, due to chemical propreties

Shopping bags Wrapping

Lightweight Elastic

Bad, failure under stress

Low-density polyethylene

Yes, widely recycled

Polypropylene

Houseware Bottle Lids Medicine bottles

Resistant Though Dense

Yes, widely recycled

Polystyrene

Food containers Plastic cutlery

Lightweight Weak structure

Very Bad

Water coolers Baby cups Fiberglass

Various propreties

Other plastics (acrylic, fibres, polycarbonate)

Very Bad, risks contamination of recycling because of material diversity

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Test run 01 Setting up my first Test run with the Oyster mushroom, I used 5 different materials as its substrate : Cardboard, Paper, PLA , PET and PP. While PLA is mainly used for 3D printing, PET and PP are the two plastics that count as the most used around the world for packaging.

01. Cardboard

The plastics and cardboards used were shredded into micro particles and then sterilized using UV light and a pressure cooker.

In the next step, the components were mixed together with the fungi substrate and put into three different Acryl boxes.

02. Paper

After a time of 9 days, the mycelium had spread all over the mixture, binding everything together into one interconnected substance.

Another week later, the first fungi grew out of the mycelium, taking 3-5 days to be fully grown.

03. PLA

04. PET

05. PP

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Water

Funghi

Water

Funghi

Water

Funghi

Cardboard

PET

Cardboard

PET

Cardboard

PET

2% 21%

3% 26%

52%

Water Pleurotus ostreatus substratum Cardboard Polyethylenterephthalat [PET]

20%

3% 26%

51%

Water Pleurotus ostreatus substratum Cardboard Polypropylen [PP]

20%

26%

51%

Water Pleurotus ostreatus substratum Cardboard Polylactide [PLA]

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Mycelium growing through the substrate

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Timelapse

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Fruiting body growing out of Mycelium

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Test run 02 Setting up my second Test run, four different plastics were used: PET, LDPE, HDPE and PLA. These were then shredded into micro particles and sterilized with Ethanol.

The cleaned plastic was then mixed with the oyster fungi substrate and the shredded cardboard.

The mixture was then placed in a 20 by 20 cm acrylic box.

Water was added and the box was closed with a lid, containing an air filter for the mushroom to breathe.

After a few days, mycelium structures started to show.

The Goal of this experiment was to observe the growing process of mycelium through this specific mixture.

The time-lapse was filmed over the course of 9 days from the 18. until the 26. of November 2019.

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PET

LDPE

HDPE

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Timelapse

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Fruiting body growing out of Mycelium

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IX.

C O M P U T I N G F I B E R S

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Agent based Design | Swarm Logic Agend based Design is a parametric workflow which computes a flow of different agents inside a three dimensional space.

An agent-based model is a class of computational models for simulating the actions and interactions of autonomous agents (both individual or collective entities such as organizations or groups) with a view to assessing their effects on the system as a whole.

It simulate the simultaneous operations and interactions of multiple agents in an attempt to re-create and predict the appearance of complex phenomena. [10]

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[10] Agent based design

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Forces A force is a push or pull reaction, affecting the interaction of objects in a three dimensional space. Whenever there is an interaction between two objects, there is a force upon each of these objects. When the interaction ceases, the two objects no longer experience the force. Forces only exist as a result of an interaction. [11] 1 | Attraction Attraction is a force that attracts the agents to its center. Parameters that influence attraction are velocity, attraction value and other forces. When the attraction value is at its highest, the agent pathways will look for the shortes walk, which will often result in straight lines.

001 Population : 200 Max Attraction : 3.5

002 Population : 200 Max Attraction : 3.5

003 Population : 200 Max Attraction : 3.5

004 Population : 200 Max Attraction : 3.5

005 Population : 200 Max Attraction : 3.5

2 | Repulsion Repulsion is a force, that keeps the agents away from its center. Paramters that influence repulsion are its radius, repulsion value and other forces. When the repulsion value is at its highest, the agents will not enter its radius at all.

001 Population : 200 Max Attraction : 3.5

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002 Population : 200 Max Attraction : 3.5

[11] Forces

003 Population : 200 Max Attraction : 3.5

004 Population : 200 Max Attraction : 3.5

005 Population : 200 Max Attraction : 3.5

Behaviour Behaviour describes the way the different agents interact with each other and their environment. This allows an amount of control over the agent and its pathways.

1 | Weaving Wandering The Weaving Wandering Algorithm uses step triggers to create a weaving type movement.

Wandering is a type of random steering, which has some long term order. Force Values have a strong effect on its behavior.

2 | Stigmergy 2D/3D Trail Chasing Algorithms - Agents will chase agents trails. The trace left by the motion of an agent, affects the behaviour of another agent.

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Catalog 01 Inspired by the growing and binding logic of mycelium roots as well as 2D fiber drawing techniques, that were previously used for the pathway maps, 3D generated fiber techniques were used to create the following drawings.

While the 2D fiber were following curves, the 3D fibers from the first catalog are running over a topology, that was generated from the site itself through a displacement technique.

The origins of the starting points lie on the original topographic surface and start from areas of plastic input on the site.

Attractors and Repulsion were used to control the fibers.

The attractor points direct the flow lines to the target area, whereas the repulsion points keep the lines away from water areas.

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Input Catalog 01 1 | Original Topography The original Topography is the main input component on top of which the other inputs rely on.

It is based on real height values of the location, gained from publicly accessible GIS data.

2 | Displacement Map A Displacement Map uses an existing Mesh or Topography and displaces it though an image.

The grey values from the image are calculated and multiplied with the original mesh, generating a new topography with more depth and detail.

3 | Starting Points Starting Points define the origin of the agent’s path. The polyline trail that the agent produces, is always leading back to its origin. Origin Points can be defined manually or through a random population component. They can be 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional.

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Catalog 1

001 Velocity : 1 Attraction : 1.5 Cohesion : 1 Separation : 0.6

002 Velocity : 1 Attraction : 1 Cohesion : 1 Separation : 1

003 Velocity : 1 Attraction : 0.5 Cohesion : 0.8 Separation : 1

007 Velocity : 0.4 Attraction : 1.5 Cohesion : 1 Separation : 0.6

008 Velocity : 0.5 Attraction : 1 Cohesion : 0.7 Separation : 0.5

009 Velocity : 0.7 Attraction : 0.8 Cohesion : 0.5 Separation : 0.6

013 Velocity : 2 Attraction : 0.5 Cohesion : 1 Separation : 0.8

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014 Velocity : 0.8 Attraction : 0.3 Cohesion : 0.7 Separation : 0.8

015 Velocity : 1 Attraction : 0.3 Cohesion : 0.5 Separation : 1

004 Velocity : 1 Attraction : 1 Cohesion : 0.8 Separation : 0.8

005 Velocity : 1 Attraction : 1 Cohesion : 0.8 Separation : 0.6

006 Velocity : 1 Attraction : 1 Cohesion : 0.6 Separation : 0.8

010 Velocity : 0.8 Attraction : 0.8 Cohesion : 0.9 Separation : 0.6

011 Velocity : 1 Attraction : 0.8 Cohesion : 1 Separation : 0.4

012 Velocity : 0.6 Attraction : 0.6 Cohesion : 0.8 Separation : 0.5

016 Velocity : 2 Attraction : 0.2 Cohesion : 0.4 Separation : 1

017 Velocity : 1.2 Attraction : 0.4 Cohesion : 0.4 Separation : 0.8

018 Velocity : 1.5 Attraction : 0.5 Cohesion : 0.6 Separation : 0.6

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Instance 012

Instance 013

CURVES

Instance 019

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Instance 012

Instance 013

MESH

Instance 019

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Input Catalog 02

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Proximity Network

High | Low Points

Displacement Map

Original Topo

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Catalog 2

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01 | Original Map

02 | Plastic input land

05 | Fiber Growth 01

06 | Fiber Growth 02

03 | Plastic input water

04 | Proximity Network

07 | Fiber Growth 03

08 | Fiber Growth 04

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Growth Simulation The basic input for these maps consists of a proximity mesh, based on the highest points from the original topography and the highest points of the displacement map.

Starting points for the agents are the end points from the shortest walk algorithm, that connects the plastic waste data with the island of Yumeshima.

Beginning from the starting points, the agents flow over the proximity mesh, connecting with each other through flocking and wandering behavior.

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N 200

400 m

08 | Fiber Growth 04

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S Y S T E M T E S T

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Instance 019 | catalog 01

Prototype

For the prototype, a part from a catalogue 01 structure was chosen and 3d printed in a 1 to 5 scale.

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System Test | Prototype Rendering

Outer Shell made of recycled Plastics and filled with Fungi Substratum.

Mycelium starts to break down the Plastic Shell and Fruiting bodies begin to appear.

The Plastic Shell is biodegraded and the now rigid structure begins its last fruiting process before the dehydration process.

The drying process is accomplished and the structure can fully stand on its own.

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Experiment Setup The setup for these experiments consist of a 3d printed part of instance 019, bottom and top caps, water regulation systems (automatic and manual), oyster mushroom substratum and shredded plastic waste.

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Catalog

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01 Loosening substratum | Adding Water

02 Adding Plastic Mixture [PLA,PET,PP]

05 Adding Water

02 Adding Water

03 Adding Plastic Mixture [PLA,PET,PP]

04 Blending Mixture

03 Adding Plastic [PLA]

04 Final Substratum

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Proximity Network Air Filter System

PLA Outer Shell

Mycelium Substratum

Water Regulation

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System Test 1

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Timelapse

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System Test 2

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Timelapse

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XI.

B I O D R O N E

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Bio Drone The bio drone is an autonomous underwater drone, with the purpose of finding and collecting plastic waste.

These intelligent drones are working in teams to cover the area of the bay in the most efficient way. Equipped with infrared sensors, cameras and sonar, the drones are able to detect even the tiniest micro plastics in the water, while at the same time avoiding local sea life.

The purpose of the drone is to collect the plastic and then bring it back to the island, feeding the existing structure.

During this whole process, the drone is already doing a major part in preprocessing the plastic waste. It gets sterilised and sorted according to its size.

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Nano particles Plastic input

Swimmerets

Plastic sterilisation

Micro particles

Micro plastic input Macro particles

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Front view

View from left

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Top view

View from right

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S Y N T H E T I C H Y P H A E

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Synthetic Hyphae

Function of the system

For the final design output, a Zoom-in on the site was conducted to illustrate the growing process of the structure more precisely.

The structure starts its growing process from the first starting point up to the fifth [of overall 8 available plastic waste input points].

The structure grows over a previously extracted proximity curve network.

The structure gets its plastic waste input from the bio drones, collecting it in Osaka Bay. From there, the plastic travels through the fiber system until it reaches the first chamber, in which it gets separated.

Thereupon, the sorted plastic travels to their respective processing destinations based upon their recycling ability.

In the next step, the recyclable plastics get shredded, melted and formed into 3d filament, which is used to build the outer pipe molds that are holding the mycelium substrate in place.

The non-recyclable plastics are transferred to the mycelium plant, where they are shredded and mixed with the mycelium to form a unique substratum, that has the ability to biodegrade both, the incorporated non-recyclable plastics and the recycled outer shell.

The network system of the structure has the function to transfer the 3d printer filament and mycelium plastic substratum to where it`s needed.

They also regulate the moisture of the substratum through sea water input and collect the spores of the fungi to bring them back to the mycelium plant for mycelium production.

This should result in an autonomous and ever growing structure, that gets rid of the plastic waste in its sourrundings.

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N 34° 42`N ,135° 30`O Yumeshima Island, Osaka Bay

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Osaka Bay

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34° 42`N ,135° 30`O Yumeshima Island, Osaka Bay

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03 FUNGI PLANT

Section A-A

02 SEPARATION

04 FIBER SYSTEM

01 DRONE INPUT

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04 FIBER SYSTEM

03 FUNGI PLANT

02 SEPARATION

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Section A-A Sink-float Tank The sink-float density separation of plastic waste is one of the most effective separation techniques regarding recycling systems.

During this progress, a tank is filled with water and, depending on the materials to be separated, additives are added to change the fluid`s density.

High-density materials will sink while low-density materials will float.

The separated particles will be recovered and transferred through the fiber network for further processing. [12]

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[12] Sink | Float

Sink-float Tank, connected with the drone input points and the mycelium plants through the fiber network.

1.80 m 500 Plastic bags [out of 3 million in Osaka Bay] as well as 500 plastic bottles are floating in this tank and are getting separated by the sink-float separation system.

Fully grown and dried mycelium structure serving as the outer layer of the structure.

Being Pipe like structures at the first stage of the process, these fibers grow together due to the mycelium`s binding ability and form these connected blobby chambers.

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B I B L I O G R A P H Y

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Bibliography [1] (p.20) UN Report on single used plastic [https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/25496/singleUsePlastic_sustainability.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1] [2] (p.22) [https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution] [3] (p.32) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka] [4] (p.54) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reclamation] [5] (p.62) [https://www.ft.com/content/93c79036-4a3a-11e9-bde6-79eaea5acb64] [6] (p.66) [http://www.hypha.org/news/2016/3/10/1p3dmij5r5m19gm8tsmwtzjq4paj0t] [7] (p.68) [https://www.newsweek.com/2014/12/26/plastic-eating-fungi-could-solve-our-garbage-problem-291694.html] [8] (p.66) [https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/plastic-degrading-fungus-pakistan-rubbish-dump-islamabad-dr-sehroon-khan-a7962046.html] [9] (p.74) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic] [10] (p.102) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent-based_model] [11] (p.104) [https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/Lesson-2/The-Meaning-of-Force] [12] (p.162) [https://www.bub-anlagenbau.de/products/separation/sink-float-tank/]

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Image Index Figure 1. Plastic Waste washed up at shore, Belize. Source. [https://www.pg.undp.org/content/dam/papua_new_guinea/0000888.jpg] Figure 2. Plastic floating in the Ocean. Source. [https://images.radio-canada.ca/q_auto,w_1250/v1/ici-premiere/16x9/mlarge-plastique-ocean.jpg bo365-1920x1080.jpg] Figure 3. Plastic Concentration around Japan. Source. [https://app.dumpark.com/seas-of-plastic-2/] Figure 4. Osaka Port [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Wfm_kansai_overview.jpg] Figure 5. Osaka Bay. Source. [https://www.casino.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/yumeshgima.jpg] Figure 6. Yumeshima Island Source. [https://www.casino.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Yumeshima-Oskaka.jpg] Figure 7. Yumeshima 2010 [https://zoom.earth] Figure 8. Yumeshima 2014 [https://zoom.earth] Figure 9. Yumeshima 2018 [https://zoom.earth] Figure 10. Mycelium under Microscope. Source: [https://bigbudsmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mycelium_fungus-1024x780.jpg] Figure 11. Pestalotiopsis microspora [https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pestalotiopsis_microspora#/media/Fichier:Pestalotiopsis_microspora_(Speg.)_G.C._ Zhao_&_N._Li_(517923).jpg] Figure 12. [https://cdn.blueberriesconsulting.com/2017/10/xcbcvbcvbcvb.jpg]

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EIDESSTATTLICHE ERKLÄRUNG Ich erkläre hiermit an Eides statt durch meine eigenhändige Unterschrift, dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbständig verfasst und keine anderen als die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel verwendet habe. Alle Stellen, die wörtlich oder inhaltlich den angegebenen Quellen entnommen wurden, sind als solche kenntlich gemacht.

Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde bisher in gleicher oder ähnlicher Form noch nicht als Magister-/Master-/Diplomarbeit/Dissertation eingereicht.

17. 08. 2020

Datum / Ort

Unterschrift

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