Slime Science

Designers Maartje Dros and Eric Klarenbeek grow vats of slippery green slime in their studio and lab in the Netherlands and southern France, respectively. The goop is made up of tiny plant-like organisms called algae. The pair transform the slime into environmentally friendly bioplastic. They think products made from this new material could someday replace traditional plastics made from fossil fuels, like oil.

Like plants, algae undergo photosynthesis. They use sunlight to turn carbon dioxide gas and water into food—some in the form of a polysaccharide, or a chain of sugar molecules, called starch.

Starch is also a polymer. Polymers are large molecules made up of smaller, repeating molecules strung together. They are also the main components of traditional plastics. That gave the designers the idea to use starches and pigments extracted from algae as a raw material to make bioplastic.

The team believes algae-based bioplastic is “greener” than plastics made from oil. That’s because bioplastic doesn’t contain harmful chemicals, it comes from renewable resources that won’t run out, and it breaks down more easily in the environment. “Our aim is to create something with the lowest environmental footprint,” says Klarenbeek.

Growing algae to make bioplastic also removes carbon dioxide from the air, which could help slow climate change. Most scientists believe rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are behind the planet’s warming trend.

Using a 3-D printer, which builds up layers of material to form solid objects, Dros and Klarenbeek created a collection of housewares out of the bioplastic. Maybe someday your kitchen cabinets will be stocked with all sorts of items made of slime.