With the idea of bringing nature’s efficiency into the man-made environment, inventor, engineer and entrepreneur Julian Melchiorri has created a synthetic leaf called Silk Leaf that is capable of absorbing water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen.
Developed in collaboration with Tufts University silk lab as part of the Royal College of Art’s Innovation Design Engineering course, Silk Leaf is created by extracting chloroplasts from plant cells and suspending it in a silk protein matrix.
Possessing the ability to absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen thanks to the photosynthetic properties of the stabilized chloroplasts, Silk Leaf is able to deliver water to the chloroplasts by using embedded tech and is also able to utilize water to remove chemical residues and sugars through osmosis.
To learn more about Silk Leaf, click the link below.
