Biocomposite materials and related compositions, methods and systems

A packaging material comprising a biocomposite, the biocomposite comprising

• compacted plant and/or algae cells having a water content of less than 15 wt %, the compacted plant and/or algae cells being poreless or having pores with a diameter of less than 10 μm,
• the compacted plant and/or algae cells being in a lamellar stacked configuration with a plurality of lamellae arranged one above the other,
• each lamella independently having a thickness of 20 nm to 5 μm, and comprising a semi-crystalline structure formed by cell walls of the compacted plant and/or algae cells,
• the semi-crystalline structure having a crystalline component with a glucose-based biopolymer in a matrix of amorphous sugar-based biopolymers and/or phenol-based biopolymers polysaccharides of the cell walls.

A fabrication method for providing a packaging material, the method comprising:

• compacting along a plane a cultured biomass comprising cultured plant and/or algae cells from a suspension culture, the cultured plant and/or algae cells having a water content of at least 10 wt %, and a turgor pressure,
• the compacting performed in a mold having a shape corresponding to the packaging material by continuously applying to the cultured biomass an increasing pressure perpendicular to the plane until reaching an applied pressure corresponding to the turgor pressure of the cultured plant and/or algae cells to provide a compacted biomass;
• the method further comprising
• drying the compacted biomass by
• a) applying a drying pressure to the compacted biomass, and/or
• b) applying a drying temperature to the compacted biomass,
• to obtain a biocomposite material in the shape of the packaging material, the biocomposite having water content of 0.1-15 wt %, a mass loss from the cultured biomass of 80-99 wt % and/or a dry density of 500-1500 kg/m3.