Self-cleaning cellulose dinnerware
Self-cleaning Dinnerware consists of a bowl and a dish made entirely of cellulose.
By using heat and pressure, the pulp can be hot pressed together with water to create complex 3D shapes. The process makes the material stiffer, more water-resistant, and gives it a better "sound" when tapped so that it is experienced as a high-quality cellulose material that is biodegradable. This combination of properties is so attractive that maybe it will enable us to replace dinnerware in use today? In the future it will be possible to safely make the surface superhydrophobic, giving tableware that does not need washing up after use. For the purposes of demonstration, the bowl and dish were treated with a commercially available superhydrophobic spray, but in the future, the cellulose surface could be modified on a structural or molecular level to give this and other properties.