{"id":71772,"date":"2026-09-02T00:01:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T22:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=71772"},"modified":"2026-09-02T11:04:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T09:04:58","slug":"3d-printed-plastic-cookies-02092026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printed-plastic-cookies-02092026\/","title":{"rendered":"How the NASA-Backed Project \u00b5Bites is 3D Printing Plastic-Derived Cookies for Space Missions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers at Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale are using biotechnology and 3D printing<\/a> to explore whether plastic and agricultural waste can be turned into food for the \u00b5Bites project. The team presented the project on August 24th at ACS Fall 2026, a meeting of the American Chemical Society. The research is linked to the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge, which aims to develop ways to produce food with limited resources. That need is especially important for long-duration space missions, like a round trip to Mars that would take three years.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Lahiru Jayakody, who led the \u00b5Bites project (Credit: SIU Carbondale Communications via ACS)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Process, Step by Step<\/h2>\n

The process starts with PET and plant-based waste. The researchers use oxidative hydrothermal dissolution, a method that combines water, oxygen, high temperatures and pressure to break these materials into smaller molecules.<\/p>\n

Several yeast strains then convert these compounds into protein-rich biomass and other ingredients. The team has also developed microorganisms that can produce substances to improve the food\u2019s properties. One yeast strain can produce vanillin, which provides vanilla\u2019s flavor and aroma. Another can use ethylene glycol derived from PET<\/a> to produce beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A.<\/p>\n

The resulting ingredients are mixed with components such as fiber, starch and sweeteners, then loaded into a 3D food printer<\/a>. The machine deposits the mixture layer by layer to create the small \u00b5Bites cookies. The cookies are then heated in a microwave to give them their final shape and texture.<\/p>\n

An Experimental Food Concept<\/h2>\n

\u00b5Bites remains an experimental project. The researchers are still refining the cookies\u2019 composition and the microbial production of ingredients. Further tests are needed to evaluate the cookies\u2019 properties and consumer acceptance. The Guardian reported that Dr.\u00a0Jayakody, who led the project, has not eaten the cookies yet, because they’re waiting for approval for testing in humans.<\/p>\n

Would you try this recipe? \u00a0Let us know in a comment below or on our\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0pages! Plus, don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly\u00a0Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to get the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox. You can also find all our videos on our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/p>\n

Cover photo credit: Rusty Bailey\/SIUC Media & Communication Resources<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers at Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale are using biotechnology and 3D printing to explore whether plastic and agricultural waste can be turned into food for the \u00b5Bites project. The team presented the project on August 24th at ACS Fall…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6114,"featured_media":71773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71772"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71777,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71772\/revisions\/71777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}