kombuchapaper.md



KOMBUCHA PAPER

Tactility & sound impression


Description
This is a thin translucent bacterial cellulose material resembling paper, made of a dried 3-5mm kombucha SCOBY.

Physical form
Surfaces
Color without additives: varies, often yellow/brown-ish

Fabrication time
Preparation time: 1 Hour
Processing time: 5 days
Need attention: every day
Final form achieved after: 5 days

Ingredients


Kombucha SCOBY - 1 piece of 2-3 mm thickness, grow one with this recipe


Turpentine - 1 tbsp (15 ml) + a little more

Beeswax, melted - 1 tbsp (15 ml)

Raw Linseed/Flax oil - 1 tbsp (15 ml) you can get this at a hardware story, this is not the same as the food-grade one from the supermarket.


Tools

Gloves
Mask

A glass jar, to mix the treatment

A pot, big enough to put the glass jar in (bain marie)

A spoon, for stirring
A cooker

A silicone mat, to dry the paper on, baking paper also works.
Optional: a brush


Yield before processing/drying/curing
One sheet of kombucha paper.

Method


Preparing the after-treatment for a kombucha sheet

Wear gloves and a mask, this process creates fumes that are not very pleasant nor healthy, work in a well-ventilated area.
Take the kombucha sheet out of its bath, wash in soapy cold water and dry it off with some kitchen paper. Put it on the silicone mat. Some kombucha SCOBY's will be a bit uneven and might have a hole or a tear. You can rearrange it a bit and put these bits back together, in the drying process these parts will reattach if they're overlapping.
Melt the beeswax so you can take one tablespoon of it. (Put a chunk of wax in a glass jar that I melt au bain marie. You can then let it cool inside the jar where I store it for later).
Mix the turpentine and the linen oil, warm up slightly over the steam of the bain marie (this helps to mix it with the hot beeswax without making lumps and flakes).


Applying the water-proofing treatment

While both liquids are warm, mix them.
While still warm: apply to one side of the kombucha sheet with a brush or with your fingers. Massage it in. Doing this over the steam of the bain marie helps to keep it liquid (it solidifies very quickly).
Let the kombucha sheet dry.


Apply the treatment on the other side

When the first side is totally dry, carefully peel the kombucha off the silicone mat or baking paper and flip it so you can treat the other side.
Reheat the mixture in a bain marie, add another teaspoon of turpentine (it will have evaporated somewhat during the first round).
Rub it in on the other side and leave to dry again.


Drying

Let the sheet dry completely
Once dry, press it between baking paper under a stack of heavy books so it becomes totally flat and even.


Drying/curing/growth process
[Free text]

Thickness before drying:		5 mm for thin paper-like sheets, 10-15 mm for leather-like material
Shrinkage thickness       80-90 %
Shrinkage width/length     0-10 %

Shrinkage and deformation control
Do not peel it the kombucha scoby off the silicone mat in between stages. Just let it be to get a very flat sheet. It will start to curl if you take it off the mat and manipulate it a lot.
Curing agents and release agents
None, any flexible surface to dry the sheet on will work fine as long as you can peel it off (don't use acrylic or glass sheets, it will get stuck). Use vaseline as release agents for other types of moulds.
Minimum wait time before releasing from mold
3 days or when dry
Post-processing
Keep pressed for a few more days. Store dry and flat, add some rice as desiccant.
Further research needed on drying/curing/growth?
Not sure

Process
Preparing tools and ingredients, Loes Bogers, 2020
Melting the beeswax au bain marie, Loes Bogers, 2020
Applying the warm mixture for the second time (after the top has dried), note: it is easier to do this over the steam of the bain marie to keep it warm and liquid, Loes Bogers, 2020
Two kombucha papers: one that was left alone during the drying process (top), one that was moved and lifted during the drying process (bottom), Loes Bogers, 2020

Variations on this recipe

The same process can be used to create more leather-like sheets. Follow the exact same recipe but use a SCOBY that grew into 10 mm thickness instead of 2-3mm.
The kombucha paper takes on the shape it dries in, try drying the paper on top of a mold to let it dry and contract into a 3D shape. Use vaseline as a release agent.
Dye the pellicle before oiling and drying, by dipping it into a concentrated natural dye. It takes on dye quite well.
Coconut oil as post-treatment has also been suggested. Rub it into the wet kombucha pellicle. Without a sealant, the kombucha could become sticky if worn in the rain. Full water resistance can be achieved if using acrylic or oil based sealers, but then the material is no longer safely biodegradable.


Cultural origins of this recipe
[Free text]
Needs further research?   Yes/No/Not sure
[Notes]

This recipe draws together information from these other recipes


Grow your own clothes TED talk by Suzanne Lee, 2011: link


Open Source Kombucha, by thr34d5. n.d., link


Biofabricating Materials by Cecilia Raspanti for Fabricademy 2019-2020: link


Known concerns and contestations*
Yes/No/Needs further research
[Describe them here free text]

Sustainability tags

Renewable ingredients: yes
Vegan: yes
Made of by-products or waste: no
Biocompostable final product:  yes
Re-use: no

Needs further research?:  Not sure

Material properties

Comparative qualities
The kombucha paper is translucent, sometimes with visible traces of the yeast and bacteria strings. The color varies with the liquid the SCOBY was grown in. It is comparable to parchment paper or tracing paper in terms of sound and translucence, but has less uniform shape, thickness and color.

Technical and sensory properties


Strength: fragile

Hardness: resilient

Transparency: translucent

Glossiness: matt

Weight: light

Structure: closed

Texture: medium

Temperature: medium

Shape memory: high

Odor: moderate (the turpentine in the treatment lingers for a while)

Stickiness: low

Weather resistance: needs further research

Acoustic properties: needs further research

Anti-bacterial: needs further research

Non-allergenic: needs further research

Electrical properties: needs further research

Heat resistance: low

Water resistance: water resistant

Chemical resistance: needs further research

Scratch resistance: moderate

Surface friction: medium

Color modifiers: none


About this entry

Maker of this sample

Name: Loes Bogers
Affiliation: Fabricademy student at Waag Textile Lab Amsterdam
Location:  Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Date: 13-03-2020] – 20-03-2020]


Environmental conditions

Humidity:  not sure
Outside temp:  5-11 degrees Celcius
Room temp:  18 – 22 degrees Celcius
PH tap water:  7-8


Recipe validation
Has recipe been validated?
Yes
By Cecilia Raspanti, Textile Lab, Waag Amsterdam, 9 March 2020

Estimated cost (consumables) in local currency
0,64 Euros, for a yield of one piece of paper

Copyright information

This recipe is in the public domain (CC0)
Yes

This recipe was previously published by someone else
Yes, this is a variation (using thinner SCOBY to create paper) on Open Source Kombucha, by thr34d5. n.d., link
##References


Open Source Kombucha, by thr34d5. n.d., link


Biofabricating Materials by Cecilia Raspanti for Fabricademy 2019-2020: link


Grow your own clothes TED talk by Suzanne Lee, 2011: link


Kombucha Fashion by Cameron Wilson, Peter Musk and Jimmy Eng for the The Edge, State Library of Queensland, n.d. link


QUT reveals how you can make your own leather at home by The Conversation, republished by SmartCompany, 24 November, 2016: link


Images of final product
Kombucha paper, Loes Bogers, 2020
Kombucha paper, Loes Bogers, 2020
Kombucha paper, Loes Bogers, 2020