PLATTVEILLE, Wis. — Two University of Wisconsin-Platteville professors have won a patent for converting milk protein into a polymer to create 3D printing molds. For Joseph Wu, a chemist, and John Obielodan, a mechnical engineer, their discovery had roots in the CoVid pandemic. Farmers lost much of their milk market — and milk went bad. The professors realized that curdling milk produced a protein called “casein.” Through trial and error, they learned that adding butanol to the casein would create a polymer. Now, they joke, there’s no reason anymore to cry over spilled milk. Wu and Obielodan now are working on a version of the protein that can be converted into plastic without being blended with other materials.
Lab buddies. John Obielodan and Joseph Wu are looking now to refine their process for converting sour and curdling milk into plastics