Omicrono From boats to knives: how wool is being used to make any object

While the debate on macro-farms fades, farmers may find a new destination for wool of their sheep, to make boats. In New Zealand, the Shear Edge company has developed a process to convert the strongest wool into a material capable of displacing the use of plastic in multiple objects, a fight that has also begun in Spain.

26-year-old Logan Williams decided to find a way to take advantage of the large amounts of wool that ranchers couldn't sell because it was too strong to use in clothing and other products. This young inventor knows the reality of New Zealand well, where 30 million sheep outnumber the population of 4.4 million humans.

From wool to boats

The stronger wool fibers are often used in rugs and rugs, but who furnishes their home with these products these days? Man-made fibers have also cornered the use of the natural material that sheep produce, forcing farmers to hoard tons of wool. 80% of New Zealand wool, a very thick fibre, would now have a chance to fight against plastic, as explained in The Wired.

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Shear Edge currently produces 4 tons of a material resulting from the fusion of wool with polymers such as bio-based PLA (polylactic acid), as it is extracted from corn starch. However, the process is also compatible with other more common polymers to make it easier for the process to be extended and reduce the use of plastics.

With this system, the wool ends up unrecognizable as part of the components of small boats, as well as other products. The Shear Edge website advertises cookware and other products that the company's customers make from the wool fibers.

Light, tough and recyclable

Thanks to this innovation, for example, a standard exercise kayak can reduce its weight by 20 to 18 kg if plastic is replaced by processed wool. This would equate to 2,000 fewer plastic bags. In addition, another advantage is that this material is 100% recyclable.

Unlike other materials such as fiberglass, processed wool can be re-treated and turned into another object. According to the international controls that the Williams company has had to pass, the resulting sample is a lighter and more rigid compound with good resistance to possible impacts.

Having demonstrated these advantages against more popular materials, Shear Edge aims to sell 50,000 tons of material per year and reach 25 different industries. The Wired points out that its biggest drawback is the price, it costs 20% more than the equivalent polymer, although its inventor attributes this fact with "our philosophy is to deliver a higher price of wool to our hard-working farms".

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