The scoby experiments , part 3- Disaster has struck!

So bad news. As some of you know, i am currently running a series of experiments aimed at creating a homegrown alternative to leather/ textiles. We are growing scobies from kombucha, changing aspects in the different batches. We had a number of experiments running, and they were all going smoothly… Well until now.

So a little back story. I am working in a shared lab with a lot of different people, working on a lot of different projects. One of these projects revolves around the idea of creating a battery based on bacteria. As i understand it, the battery consists of two compartments containing samples of water. One container has clean water, and the other is filled with bacteria. The two cells are separated by a permeable membrane, which can be made by different materials. The idea is that the bacteria will start moving towards the clean water. As they pass through the membrane, a small current is generated. The research is focused on whether this current can be harvested. All in all, the research is very interesting, and its exciting to follow. Unfortunately, the researcher seems to have found a very… Interesting source of bacteria.

As i am sitting in the lab, working on my project, the researcher enters with a bottle filled with a black mystery liquid. As he opens the bottle to fill the batteries, an unimaginable stench fills the room. Imagine a mix between sewer, rotten flesh and death, and you’re just about there. It’s bad enough that i feel the need to evacuate the room due to health risks. I would imagine that any bacteria would work, so i find the need to user sewer water a bit strange, but that might just be a personal issue.

Anyhow, the issue is that i fear that some of the bacteria has been airborne, and infected our experiments. When i came to the lab to check on the scobies, i watched with horror how what i expected to be healthy sheets of cellulose, had turned to a globular, grainy thin layers of sickness.

This is what it looked like.

While i expected something closer to this

Instead of being smooth and uniform, it was bumpy, flimsy and uneven. It broke easily, and wasn't at all what we were looking for.
Unfortunately, this means that everything had to be thrown out, and started over… This is quite a setback, and i’m a bit unsure about how this will affect the outcome of my bachelor. Hopefully it won’t be too bad… Anyhow, it blows, but i just wanted to update.

See you guys, have an awesome day!