Hosted Pioneer Fellowship: Zuzana Sedivá

Within the framework of the PhD project titled ‘’Gas hydrates as novel foaming agent for viscous food matrices’’ we developed a unique foaming technology, which enables high-efficiency foaming of viscous matrices. Currently, we are in the process of transferring the proof of concept into a viable business venture.

We believe the technology has potential in a wide range of applications. Our beachhead market will be bio-based sustainable foams as an alternative to synthetic petroleum based plastics, which are non-degradable, often non-recyclable and represent an environmental threat. Furthermore, limited oil resources and consumer thrust towards sustainability are motivating the industry to look for foaming solutions based on renewable resources. Currently, one of the biggest challenges is, that bio-composites and bio-plastic materials often don’t have the desirable mechanical properties of synthetic plastics.

We were able to overcome this problem by seeking inspiration from the food-processing industry. Our technology can foam even heat-sensitive bio-based materials, which are otherwise hard to process under extreme conditions. The key lies in a novel mild gas-water based foaming agent, which allows for tuning process-structure-property relationships of such bio-based materials.

This project was awarded by the Pioneer Fellowship program supported by the ETH foundation. Thanks to the Pioneer Fellowship program, ieLab, ETH transfer, the ETH foundation and the whole team for the support.
 

We are looking for hand-on motivated student or other enthusiasts to join the project in the following roles:

Technical development:

  • Advance and scaling of the technology
  • Pilot-plant production development
  • Formulation of material building blocks

Business executive:

  • Financial planning, fund-raising
  • Customer relationship management
  • Business model development
     

Collaborations in various forms are possible (internship, semester project, thesis, long-term collaboration). Please contact:

Representative scheme of expansion foaming technology
Representative scheme of expansion foaming technology  

Contact

Dr. Zuzana Sediva
  • LFO F 24.2
  • +41 44 632 23 68

Dep. Gesundheitswiss. und Technol.
Schmelzbergstrasse 9
8092 Zürich
Switzerland

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