CLØVER
Authors
Høygaard-Jørgensen, Palle ; Pedersen, Christofer Lee
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-06-02
Pages
134
Abstract
This master’s thesis presents Cløver, a biodegradable festival chair developed as an industrial design product to address both biorefinery side-stream valorization and music festival waste. The context is Denmark’s emerging grass biorefining sector, projected to be significant yet producing large volumes of low-value grass pulp tailings (estimated 2.8 million tons, worth about 0.25 DKK/kg) that are costly to transport. In parallel, festivals generate substantial waste (e.g., Roskilde Festival produced 2,297 tons in 2018), with abandoned camping chairs being a particular challenge: within the “Leave No Trace” initiative, 100% of sleeping bags and 91% of tents were taken home, but only 50% of chairs. The core question is whether grass pulp can be upcycled into a valuable product that also mitigates festival waste. The proposed solution is GrowthTM, a composite made from pressed grass pulp and oyster mushroom mycelium. The method involves steam sanitizing the pulp, inoculating with mycelium (about 1% by weight), and controlled growth in molds for roughly four days, during which the mycelium interweaves and binds the fibers at the nanoscale; the final mycelium content is approximately 20% by mass. Cløver is made entirely from biodegradable materials for easy, harmless disposal and is paired with a circular business model at festivals—sales through booths with a deposit-return scheme for reuse—to extend product life and reduce trash. Material properties reported for GrowthTM include yield and compressive strength of 4.9 MPa, Young’s modulus 332.2 MPa, shear modulus 147.64 MPa, Poisson’s ratio 0.125, density 420 kg/m3, and moisture absorption 164%. Overall, the thesis outlines a design and business concept that transforms a low-value by-product into a functional festival chair with potential environmental and resource benefits.
Denne masteropgave præsenterer Cløver, en bionedbrydelig festivalstol udviklet som et industridesignprodukt, der både adresserer ressourceudnyttelse i biorefinerier og affald på musikfestivaler. Baggrunden er, at den spirende danske græsbiorefineringssektor forventes at blive betydelig, men genererer store mængder lavværdiprodukt i form af græspulp (anslået 2,8 mio. tons, værdisat omkring 0,25 DKK/kg), som er dyrt at transportere. Samtidig skaber festivaler store affaldsstrømme (fx producerede Roskilde Festival 2.297 tons affald i 2018), hvor efterladte campingstole er et særligt problem: trods tilbagebringning af 100 % soveposer og 91 % telte i initiativet “Leave No Trace” blev kun 50 % af stolene taget med hjem. Projektets centrale spørgsmål er, om græspulp kan opcykles til et værdifuldt produkt, der kan reducere festivalaffald. Løsningen er GrowthTM, en komposit fremstillet af presset græspulp og mycelium fra østershatte. Processen omfatter dampsterilisering af pulpen, inokulering med mycelium (ca. 1 % af totalvægten) og kontrolleret vækst i form i cirka fire dage, hvor myceliet indvæver og binder fibrene på nanoskalaniveau; herefter udgør myceliet omtrent 20 % af massen. Cløver-stolen produceres udelukkende af bionedbrydelige materialer for nem bortskaffelse uden miljøskade og ledsages af en cirkulær forretningsmodel på festivaler med salg fra boder, pant- og returordning for genbrug, hvilket kan forlænge produktets levetid og mindske affald. I uddraget rapporteres materialedata for GrowthTM: flyde- og trykstyrke på 4,9 MPa, Youngs modul 332,2 MPa, forskydningsmodul 147,64 MPa, Poissons forhold 0,125, densitet 420 kg/m3 og fugtabsorption 164 %. Samlet set skitserer opgaven et design- og forretningskoncept, der omsætter en lavværdireststrøm til en funktionel festivalstol med potentiale for både miljø- og ressourcegevinst.
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