Project summary

Fibres from waste milk!

Loom and Power has developed a new fibre using food waste as a feedstock. This fibre has a casein protein backbone and is biocompatible with nature.

We hypothesise that the properties of this fibre will make it an excellent additive to strengthen and reinforce soil up and until a mature root system can develop and retain the soil.

This project will test our hypothesis that our fibre will reduce soil erosion from water run off versus a control and comparable addition of other synthetic and natural fibres.

Creating a low cost and effective way to reduce soil erosion can help improve agricultural yield, protect and expand peatland and increase the resilience of our hill and fenland.

What are this project's goals and how will you achieve them?

We would run a laboratory study at Cranfield Soil Management Laboratory and a parallel field trial.

This would enable us to collect data in controlled conditions alongside a real world study.

Measurements taken will look at organic run off, soil condition and root development of planted grass.

The results of this study will create a case for further R&D and industrialisation of this solution.

Timeline:

M1: laboratory trial setup and external field preparation (weather dependent)

M2: conduct laboratory trial - loop 1 and seeding of field trial

M3: laboratory soil erosion trial completed. Report back to Manifund community.

M4-M5: field study results

How will this funding be used?

The "get started" funding for this project would be $8000 which would support the laboratory testing at Cranfield. If Manifund could contribute the full $12000 this would also cover the field test funding.

Creating sufficient volume of the new fibre for the study will require ~ $2000

Conducting the lab based trial at Cranfield University (UK) would require ~$6000

The field trail would require ~$4000

Labour, other materials and overheads will be covered from existing funds.

Who is on your team and what's your track record on similar projects?

Dr. Tom O’Haire is a textile scientist who has developed a range of fibres for new and novel applications. This includes footwear, apparel, automotive and geo-textiles.

ResearchGate link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tom-Ohaire

He has delivered on a number of similar sized projects including PHVBs for cellular scaffolds, PCLs for tendon repair. His work on PVP/TA for dye wastewater treatment is comparable in scope and ambition.

Loom and Power has a research team that will help execute on this project. This includes biochemists and project management expertise. The team at Loom and Power will be supported in this exercise by experts from the Soil Management Lab at Cranfield University.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails? (premortem)

The field study is high risk. Seasonal weather patterns and site choice could have an impact on the results and generate a false positive or false negative. In this outcome the laboratory controlled study will provide a more quantitative data set on the impact or otherwise of this fibre.

The generation of the fibres will utilise a process in development. As such there is some risk in producing sufficient and consistent quantity. In case of issues in material production, a smaller test area can be utilised in the field trial.
The efficacy of protein fibres for soil erosion is untested. In case there is no quantitative benefit versus other fibres or the control, additional measurements will be taken to evaluate overall soil and grass health.

If this project fails for quality of experiment reasons, this work will continue alongside fibre development. If it demonstrates to quantitive benefit, other applications for the casein fibre will gain focus.

What other funding are you or your project getting?

Innovate UK has part-funded the development of the novel protein fibre. We received a small amount of seed investment to help develop this fibre to pilot scale.

Loom and Power will cover costs over and above the $12000 through own reserves.