Please allow me to spin a tale for you. At this point this is only a thought experiment but an exciting one. I want to grow bio-cellulose (scoby) thread. I’m thinking of a cylinder of Kombucha with a “starter” thread hanging down into the cylinder. The other end of the thread would be attached to a slowly rotating spool. As the scoby grows the thread would entangle some of the cellulose filaments pulling them out of the cylinder. Maybe through a small whole in a cover. The scoby thread would continue after the starter is gone.
I expect that the scoby thread would have to be rinse and dried on the way to the take up spool.
To increase the strength and entanglement of the bio-cellulose filaments the cylinder could be slowly rotating. Infact with a set of three (or more) cylinders rotating in the same direction you could make a tiny rope. You could even have three rotating one way inside of five rotating the other way.
As the Kombucha is used up more could be added converting a batch process to a continuous one.
I can imagine hundreds of rotating cylinders each in sets making tiny spun threads all going to a loom where woven scopy fabric is made in a continuous process.
I want the first swatch of that fabric ever made.
I just learned how bad the environment impact of fast fashion is. It was shocking.
Has anyone else tried to do this? As far as I am aware the bacteria produce cellulose in sheets, I dont know if you would be able to spin it onto a spool. It would end up being a spool of clumped, wet scoby that would have to be dried, I would imagine. Suzanne Lee mentioned that she would have liked to have been able to make the bacteria grow a continuous piece of clothing around a model, that’s the closest thing I’ve heard to this.
I did a little research. There are many different methods for the production of bio-cellulose. Some stir the liquid, some bubble air through it. The different methods produce different shapes on the microscope level. Tumbling makes little pellets.
I think the reason scoby is in the form of a sheet is because that is the my it is grown. I’m thinking of the way that silk is collected. The silk worm cocoons are floating is water until they fall apart. Then the silk strands are tangled on a stick and then a thread is pulled out of the water with the stick.