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New Method to Recycle Food Waste into Robust Construction Materials
Written by AZoMMay 26 2021
A majority of the people do not think about the food scraps they dispose of. But scientists from the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo have devised a new technique to decrease food waste by recycling disposed vegetable and fruit scraps into strong construction materials.
Researchers at The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science repurpose food waste to build materials with a bending strength comparable to concrete and that still taste good. Image Credit: Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo.
The amount of household and industrial food waste generated across the world is about hundreds of billions of pounds per year, a huge proportion of which includes edible scraps, such as vegetable and fruit peels.
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A shock to the PPE system
Tokyo, Japan - A researcher from the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo has demonstrated a novel method for recharging sterilized N95 masks so that they can be reused. By exposing the masks to 100 kilovolts for 3 minutes after sterilization in hot water or an autoclave, they regained their static charge. This work can be rapidly applied to help meet the huge demand for protective equipment that can prevent the spread of the COVID virus.
During the current COVID pandemic, N95 masks have been indispensable for keeping health care workers and first responders safe. The name comes from the fact that these masks can filter more than 95% of airborne particles, even though they have pore sizes ten times larger than the small aerosol particles that can carry the virus. The trick is that the N95 masks are made of electrospun polypropylene fibers, which retain a static electric charge that can attract and trap the charged aerosols. However, t