BioMatters, a USA-based biodesign studio, along with Manufactura, a Mexican design studio, have used waste lobster shells to make 3D-printed objects. They have created a composite by using the waste shells obtained during lobster processing, canning and other industrial activities. This composite, comprising crushed lobster shells and binders, was used to create objects via 3D printing. According to the design studios, this composite is biodegradable and durable and might have applications in the building materials industry in the future.
DID YOU KNOW?
Lobsters’ shells remain the same size though lobsters grow. As they grow, lobsters shed their old shell in a process called molting after which a new shell forms.