Bioplastic

The signature material of 2199, bioplastic is grown by genetically modified bacteria called plastrobes. Injected into molds and fed on nutrient washes, each plastrobe excretes a shell around it which hardens as the bacterium dies, growing homologous and monolithic shapes in less than 24 hours. Most plastrobe cultures produce offwhite bioplastic, but color can be changed with further generic engineering or adding dyes during the growing process, and translucent bioplastics are available for glass substitutes.

Bioplastics can be broadly grouped into four basic categories:

• Foamed bioplastic is grown by plastrobe cultures that excrete excessive amounts of carbon dioxide, resulting in a bioplastic less dense and more buoyant than normal.
• Standard grade bioplastic is the most common grades of bioplastic: durable, homologous, and rigid.
• Flex-grade bioplastic is created by nutrient supplements, which can be used to create bioplastics of almost any desired temper.
• Industrial bioplastic is grown by plastrobe cultures selected for small size and dense patterning, resulting in the slowest-growing, most expensive, and strongest bioplastic. Industrial bioplastics are used to produce armor, structural materials, spacecraft and submarine hulls, and Dyfed's hexagonal floating rafts.

While bioplastics dominate 22nd-century materials science and supplant other materials (especially metals) in many uses, they have limits, one of which is especially serious on Poseidon: as a carbon-based material, bioplastics are organic and susceptible to fast fungus degradation. While this can be delayed with antifungal additives during growth, any bioplastic not grown with Poseidon in mind will be reduced to rot eventually, and the struggle against fast fungus is an endless chore.