Dyson Award Given to Inventor Who Made Synthetic Wood From Kombucha Waste

The Optimist Daily

When it comes to trees, people have been searching for the perfect alternative. Most loggers chop down the wood and never replant the greens that make for great substitutes. More importantly, it takes years for some trees to fully grow and mature.

Something needs to be done now, and one man may have found the perfect solution. It’s time that we look for perfect alternatives for wood and save the forests. With great thinkers and scientists everywhere, many are hopeful about the future of the forests.


The Man Behind the Design

This year, the American James Dyson Award winner was a man named Gabe Tavas. He took on the problem of deforestation with his new invention, Pyrus. His made this with one mission in mind: Make wood without the need to cut down trees.

Gabe found a balance between nature and design. He found the means to use bacterial cellulose—the main component of wood—to form an alternative material. This new material imitates exotic woods that are found in the Amazon Rainforest. He said that he wanted to create global change because of what he calls the “immigrant influence.” His mother, now an immigration attorney, moved to the United States from Cuba as a small child. His father, on the other hand, flew in from the Philippines at the age of 17.

“I began considering entrepreneurship as a teenager and felt an urgency around solving global issues in sustainability,” Gabe said. He was born and raised in Chicago. Even then, he craved spending time in nature. He found his perfect spot at the Saint Paul Woods in Morton Grove, IL. He shared, “Growing up in the city, you don’t have many expressions of nature which can be stressful. Forests provide an escape. It’s my favorite place to meditate, and the thought of losing that because we were too short-sided pains me from a visceral level.”

Wood has two essential ingredients: Cellulose and Lignin. The former provides the basic shape and framework. The latter, on the other hand, serves as a glue for all the other components in it. Moreover, there are kombucha companies that make use of microorganisms that produce coherent sheets of cellulose found on top of the liquid. In order to make Pyrus, these sheets of cellulose are blended until they are consistent before they are embedded into a gel. As the gel dries and hardens, it is placed under a mechanical press to form a flat sheet of wood-like material. After which, the new material can be sanded, cut, and coated with resins. This is similar to the tree-based counterparts.

While there are other companies out there that create wood alternative materials, many are using sawdust for it. This means that they still need to cut down trees and damage its natural ecosystem. Moreover, sawdust poses serious health risks when you are exposed to it for long periods of time. As many can attest, sawdust is an irritant that can affect eyes, nose, and throat. In long-term exposures, this has been seen to cause cancer. With Pyrus, on the other hand, trees aren’t cut down. More importantly, no dangerous oils are used. Pyrus utilizes kombucha waste. This ingredient is both environmentally friendly and sustainably created. This can create a cellulose making wood in a sustainable fashion. The end goal of this invention is to permanently act as a substitute to expensive and fancy wood products. With Pyrus, the huge drivers of deforestation will be of no use.

In the last year, Gabe has successfully produced 74 Pyrus wood samples that come in different colors and textures. This has also been tested on several pieces of equipment that are oftentimes found in woodworking shops and makerspaces. The professional woodworkers tried it and they gave all happy feedbacks. Because the wood is also versatile, this can be made into jewelry, guitar picks, and coasters as well.


Because Gabe won the James Dyson Award, the awarding body will provide $2,600 into the project. He plans to put the prize money to good use. He will expand his production facilities and develop 3D printing processes. As the end-goal, Gabe wants Pyrus to be made into a myriad of environmentally friendly products that meet consumer needs and at the same time, are commercially sellable.

Three-time James Dyson Award judge and Technology Influencer Sam Sheffer talked about this year’s winner and shared,  “I’ve judged the JDA for several years and am always captivated by the inventions these young engineers put forward. The 2021 entries were some of the most competitive I’ve seen. Pyrus stood out because it’s solving a problem we can all relate to with waste from a product that the majority of us consume every day. I’m excited to see all the innovative ways Pyrus will evolve under Gabe’s imaginative and talented leadership.”

Gabe’s Pyrus will move on to the international stage of the James Dyson Award. The shortlist names will be announced on October 13 while the International winners will be announced on November 17.

 

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