REBIER
new materic possibilities of beer waste
REBIER: New Materic Possibilities of Beer Waste
Beer Production in Südtirol
South Tyrol is a region that can boast not only great wine production but also many breweries. Recently, many craft beers have sprung up to join the historic brands like Forst. After the hiatus caused by World War II, beer production in Trentino resumed between the 1990s and 2000s from Val di Fiemme and then spread in the rest of the region. In South Tyrol, on the other hand, it has maintained stable production thanks to the historic brewery Forst in Merano from 1857, later joined by numerous small craft breweries.
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When a brewery produces a batch of beer, a large amount of organic waste is produced. We visited Batzen, a small craft brewery in Bolzano. The masters told us that they produce 270 Liters of waste for every batch, called Trebier. Trebier is composed by the husks and stems of hop and malt. It is mainly sold to farmers to feed livestock thanks to the sugars contained. The glucose chains are broken down during a process of fermentation that lasts about 14 days in anaerobic conditions. If a small brewery like Batzen produces almost 300kg of waste for 2000 Lt of beer everyday, we can imagine bigger companies deal with much bigger numbers.
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The Materials
During our experimentation process we started working with the organic material as whole. We soon discovered that by drying it the texture and properties would change significantly, and the same was happening with extraction. For the rest of our experiments we have always worked with the liquid and the solid outcomes of the extraction from the juicer.
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No 1 - Hard Material, Fine Grain
When we started experimenting we set ourselves the goal to discover the possibilities of this material waste. We noticed that driying the small wet fibers would produce tiny resistent bonds in the compound. We experimented both with whole and ground fibers, but soon decided to keep the latter because of their smoother texture. We added natural binders and softeners such as glycerol, starch and pectin. Ultimately we experimented with agar agar, a strong gelatin agent from algae. The final result is a hard and durable material that can be moulded and let to dry. We imagine possible uses in alternative biodegradable packaging and objects.
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It was crucial to understand from the outcomes how to bind the solid malt fibre together. For the first experiments, we used natural binders such as maize starch, glycerine, egg yolk and glutinous rice flour (example above)
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The trials we did were made adjusting the proportions of glycerine and corn starch. When cracks showed it meant that there was not enough water in the composite and during the drying phase it would shrink and break.
Semi-hard box, ground fiber mix.
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Adding agar-agar would make the bonds extremely flexible and durable.
Hard layer, whole fiber mix with sugar and corn starch.
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One of the first successful experiments was this truncated pyramid. It was produced with ground fibers, glycerine and starch and pressed into a silicone mould.
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No 2 - Translucent elastic film
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For this section of experiments we focused on the liquid juice that was being extracted by the machine. We first tried adding the basics (glycerine and corn starch) in different proportions. The most interesting outcomes came in the shape of a peel, dried on the surface of a glass cup. It was very elastic and light passed through it.
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Our first homemade experiments were made by brewing raw malt with the coffee machine. The first brew was left to dry and the result was a brittle hard film.
This trial was applicated on a coffee cup.
and this one on a plastic lid. Both were too brittle because of excessive use of glycerine.
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Agar agar has proven necessary to obtain a successful film. For our trials we implemented both the juice and the extracted fibers, raw and/or ground. The results were varying in texture, from gelatine to paper-like, depending on percentages and amounts of water inside.
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First experiment with Agar (0.5 grams of ground fibers). The amount of fibers was almost insignificant, therefore we tried to get a higher percentage of trebier in the recipee.
Experiment n.4 (4 grams of ground fibers)
Experiment n.2 (2 grams of ground fibers)
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The final recipee produced a semi-translucent film that can be bent without breaking it. It is still not as resistent to stretching as plastic films, but can be laser cut and sewn. We designed two simple wallets to put it in use, but it is still quite sticky due to glycerine.
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No 3 - Cloth Hardener
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To conduct this experiment, a substance was produced using the pulp from malt extraction in combination with glycerol and starch. It was subsequently used in combination with a sterile gauze and burlap pieces. It acted as a resin that gave solidity to the tissue and made it possible to create structures.
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You can notice the marble powder as the lumps between the dried malt juice.
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Our first experiments consisted in layering the gauze and trying to use the pulp as a glue, often together with other solid substances such as marble powder. We began creating structures when we found the right equipment at the BITZ Fablab. The first tests broke easily as we were focused on building frames. We later discarded the idea of frames.
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We conducted experiments with gauze and a mix based on corn starch, glycerine and trebier juice.
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Following our visit at Salewa, we also conducted our experiments on recycled polyester fibers from the factory.
Burlap Tryout n.1 - Based on “the bioplastic cookbook” by Margaret Dunne we knew that corn starch shrunk during the drying phase. The burlap bent and twisted to accomodate the new volume.
Burlap Tryout n.2 - trying with more water and allowed us to have a more flexible test.
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Our final object was cast using a 3d printed model of a dodecahedron. Several layers of burlap were added and coated with our recipee. Once dried, the burlap had cast the shape of the object. It is possible to replicate ornaments on relief, like the flowers of the bowl on the right.
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Final Considerations:
Throughout our experimentation process we worked with natural material, always opting for vegan ingredients (agar agar comes from algae instead gelatine comes from pigskin) that can be easily found at the supermarket. They need a short time to prepare and can be fun to work with.
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Our experiments were successful, but they do not reach the material qualities of sinthetic polymers in terms of durability. Yet, in a world of single use objects, our project stands as an alternative to fossil materials. Organic compounds may be the solution to the problem of industrial bywaste and postconsumer plastic pollution.
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Now it’s your turn! You can experiment with trebier and write down your interesting outcomes here.
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by Alberto Cappellina & Giulia Fabro Course: Design & Production SS22 Prof. Aart van Bezoijen In collaboration with BITZ FabLab Eva Bauer Special thanks to: Batzen Hausl