A recyclable alternative material developed by researchers at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning’s Digital Architecture Research & Technology (DART) Laboratory is providing builders with a more sustainable way of applying concrete casts in the construction process in order to cut down on waste and the environmental impact of projects using the method.

The fully biodegradable BioMatters material is made from sawdust that’s collected and used via robotic 3D printing in the formwork of buildings, an essential element that currently constitutes 40% of all concrete-related construction expenses industry-wide, according to DART. 

"Other sawdust-based solutions are using other petroleum-based polymers — we use biopolymers which are completely decomposable," DART researcher Muhammad Dayyem Khan said, adding that the formwork, once the concrete has cured, can be fully recycled by simply grinding and then rehydrating the material with water for a completely net-zero process.

"The amount of sawdust that is being produced out there — it is a huge chunk of material that is just being dumped or burned," Khan says of the source, which is part of the larger problem of construction waste globally. "So rather than burning it up and generating more CO2 emissions, it is so much better that we make it into a material that is actually capable of being used again and again."

The team hopes their invention will play a vital role in reducing the consumption of an estimated 15 billion cut trees annually. Plans are for its further development to be moved outside of concrete casting and used alongside other materials, such as wood, for an even greater impact on an industry that is still reluctantly embracing a green stance about carbon footprints and construction.

Video courtesy Tharanesh Varadharajan, Zachary Keller, Muhammad Dayyem Khan/DART Lab

More details about the DART Lab and its research activities can be found by visiting the group's Facebook page.