Finding new ways to make use of things that normally end up being discarded. That is the idea driving Colombian biotechnologist Darling Juliette Pineros Mayo. The concept is easier to understand in practice: some fruit waste can be turned into food for bacteria capable of producing polymers.
To make the idea even clearer, it is worth explaining that Pineros Mayo began experimenting with fruits such as pineapple and mango, mainly those that were discarded at the Central Mayorista de Antioquia, in Medellin.
Patience, Knowledge, and the Ability to Experiment
The raw material obtained from this waste undergoes a preservation process and is subsequently transformed through fermentation. The bacteria act over several days and produce a membrane that can then undergo formulation, dyeing, and finishing processes to explore textile applications, the Economic Development and Environment Secretariats of the Antioquia capital explain in a statement.
“What seems simple when observing the result is, in reality, a process that requires patience, knowledge, and the ability to experiment,” writes Jorge Hernan Echeverri Paniagua, the author of the article. “Producing a sheet can take between 10 and 15 days, depending on the desired thickness, while the entire process can extend over approximately one month.”
The amount of time required is due to the fact that this is not conventional industrial manufacturing. Pineros Mayo works with living microorganisms and biological processes that require time to develop, the information adds.
Furthermore, Pineros Mayo, quoted in the statement, explained that timelines are different in biotechnology. A material cannot be developed simply according to the logic of having a product ready in a few months. Research, trial-and-error, validation, and characterization processes must be completed before considering commercialization on a larger scale.
Each test makes it possible to better understand the material’s behavior and adjust the conditions necessary to move toward a product with characteristics that can subsequently be validated. However, before reaching a fully equipped laboratory, there was a much simpler stage. “The first infrastructure for her venture was, quite literally, a refrigerator,” the author explains.
The biotechnologist started at home, with containers, a blender, and the basic resources available to her. During one of those early stages, she collected around 50 kilograms of fruit waste. She took it home, began processing it, and had to find a way to preserve it so she could continue her experiments.
Waste Valorization and the Circular Economy
Later, with seed capital she received from the Medellin Mayor’s Office Secretariat of Economic Development, Pineros Mayo strengthened her production capacity and acquired essential equipment to continue developing her initiative.
The biotechnologist now works with a company that tests her prototypes. The company studies aspects such as resistance, wear, behavior during washing, and other characteristics that will help determine possible applications. The goal is to move toward a minimum viable product and, subsequently, an alternative with the potential to reach the market.
The initiative, the statement continues, is not solely about producing a new material. It also seeks to demonstrate that waste can become raw material and that innovation can help build more circular production models.
This is one of the two major contributions that Pineros Mayo’s work can make to Medellin. The first is related to waste valorization and the circular economy. The second concerns science and the possibility of using biotechnology to address specific challenges facing the city.
Her experience also raises questions about how a District of Science, Technology, and Innovation is built. For her, innovation does not necessarily require large infrastructures from day one, nor does it depend exclusively on technologies such as artificial intelligence. It can also emerge from someone who identifies a problem, uses their knowledge, and begins looking for a solution with the resources available.
Along this path, partnerships play a fundamental role. Scientific research, especially when linked to technological development processes, requires capabilities that a single person or a venture in its early stages can hardly provide alone. Therefore, connecting universities, companies, entrepreneurs, and public entities can accelerate validation processes and open up new development opportunities.