Page 52 - Plastics News April 2017
P. 52

TECHNOLOGY




          •   When combined with carbon nanotubes, the polymer
              has  even  more  applications.  It  can  create  a  black   Edible water bottle to cause
              material that can absorb all light — even ultraviolet   a splash at EU sustainability
              and  infrared light — without being  damaged. The   awards
              combined nanomaterial can withstand extreme heat
              of 15,000 watts per square centimeter, which is about   n edible alternative to plastic water bottles made
              10 times more heat than a rocket nozzle.           Afrom seaweed has topped the UK round of an
                                                                 EU competition for new, more sustainable products.
          •   The polymer could be used to produce ceramic with
              tunable electrical conductivity ranging from insulator   The  new  spherical form  of  packaging  ,  called  Ooho
                                                                 and described by its makers as “water you can eat”,
              or semiconductor.
                                                                 is  biodegradeable,  hygenic  and  costs  1p  per  unit  to
          •   The presence of silicon and graphenelike carbon in   make. It is made chiefly from calcium chloride and a
              the ceramic can improve electrodes for lithium-ion   seaweed derivative called sodium alginate. [Ooho] is
              batteries.                                         a good replacement packaging that would be really
                                                                 widely applicable across lots of different products. The
          •   The ceramic derived from this polymer has a random
                                                                 potential for packaging reduction is really high for one
              structure that is generally not observed in traditional
              ceramics. The silicon in the ceramic bonds to nitrogen   of the petroleum products used across the world.” “The
                                                                 consumption of non-renewable resources for single-use
              and carbon but not boron; boron bonds to nitrogen   bottles and the amount of waste generated is profoundly
              but not carbon; and carbon bonds to another carbon
                                                                 unsustainable.
              to form graphene like strings. This unique structure
              provides stability  at  high  temperature  by delaying
              reaction with oxygen.
          "Often, researchers have only looked at high-temperature
          properties,"  Singh  said.  "We  are  among  the  few  that
          looked at other properties — such as electronic, electro-
          chemical, thermal and optical properties — and exposed
          these properties in this material."
          Singh's research has been supported by the National
          Institute of Standards and Technology radiometry team
          and the National Science Foundation. He is continuing to
          research the polymer's possibilities for making ceramic   The aim of Ooho is to provide the convenience of plastic
          fibers and even battery electrodes.                    bottles while limiting the environmental impact,”Ooho
                                                                 designer Pierre Paslier, described the product as like
          The patent was issued to the Kansas State University   a “man-made fruit”, which uses a double membrane
          Research Foundation, a nonprofit corporation responsible   to contain water. To carry larger quantities of water, a
          for managing technology transfer activities at the     number of the capsules can be packed into a larger and
          university.                                            thicker skin: much like an orange. Unlike water bottles,
                                                                 though, the Ooho only has a few days of shelf life. The
                                                                 edible water bottles taste and feel like Jell-O. Flavors
                                                                 could be added eventually,  To eat it, people can just
                                                                 eat the entire package, or peel off the top layer, since
                                                                 it’s very much like a fruit.




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