I imagine silk harvesting is already a difficult process, it being the most expensive natural fabric. Then add the step of doing it all in a laboratory environment, the increased regulation and scrutiny. Thats all assume that the technology to make bottle out of silk already exists, if not of course that technology would have to be developed.
They just collect the cocoons of the caterpillar. It’s already pretty industrialized. Farmers grow mulberry bushes and feed the worms and collect the pods. This would be no different. Just a slightly different worm.
People do it as a hobby at home and scaling it is a known process already scaled.
> Regardless, s-2 glass fiber is probably a better choice
I would appreciate if you can elaborate on that. Not being a material scientist, it's not obvious to me which option is a better choice here, but I am curious to learn.
Material "strength" is often misunderstood in popular science articles.
Spider dragline silk is notable for it's high strength for a stretchy material. These two properties are typically a trade-off. This means that it can absorb a lot of energy before breaking. Great for sutures, climbing ropes, stopping bullets.
For a pressure vessel you want high strength and you don't want it to stretch. So the unique property of spider silk is wasted in the application and it's outperformed by conventional non-stretchy fibers.
If you want a basic understanding, read up on and understand the difference between compressive and tensile yield and ultimate strength (and the specific variations that account for density), toughness, modulus of elasticity, and hardness.
I imagine silk harvesting is already a difficult process, it being the most expensive natural fabric. Then add the step of doing it all in a laboratory environment, the increased regulation and scrutiny. Thats all assume that the technology to make bottle out of silk already exists, if not of course that technology would have to be developed.