#clays

CU Boulder researchers find seaweed derivative makes earthen materials viable for 3D printing

Food-grade biopolymer alters clay particle behavior, opening a path for construction waste to become printable building material

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have identified sodium alginate — a seaweed-derived compound used in food manufacturing — as an additive that makes natural earthen materials like clay and sand suitable for extrusion-based 3D printing. “From termite mounds to adobe buildings, humans and animals have been building with earth since the dawn of time,” said Wil Srubar, Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at CU Boulder. “But there hasn’t been a lot of science to how earthen builders design the materials. So, we wanted to use scientific knowledge and tools to understand it.”