World Changing Ideas Award 2023

Fast Company World Changing Ideas Awards 2023 - Honourable Mention

2023-05-02
Awarded Project: Absorboost

Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards honour products, concepts, companies, and policies that are designed to make the world safer, cleaner, more sustainable, and more equitable.

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This project aims to develop a pilot scale system for larger amount production of Absorboost with capacity over 1 kg per day. Absorboost is a bio-friendly cellulosic superabsorbent polymer (C-SAP) developed from cotton textile waste, using the Green Machine through hydrothermal treatment. Based on the result from our phase I study and our on-site trial in India, it is verified that Absorboost has huge absorbency and liquid-retaining property to maintain high soil moisture under drought conditions. 

The objectives of this pilot scale project include:

  1. Research and select the type of crosslinking equipment for the pilot scale system and establish the system.
  2. Produce Absorboost using the pilot scale system.
  3. Explore the feasibility of introducing fertilizer (NPK – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) into Absorboost, which will result in a bi-functional C-SAP in that both water and fertilizer can be released to soil under drought conditions.
  4. Explore the possibility of broader application of the technology to other cellulosic waste (e.g. linen waste) as the raw material of Absorboost, apart from cotton waste that had been studied in phase I.
  5. Investigate the economics for demonstrating the feasibility of production.
  6. Provide samples to potential industrial and agricultural users for evaluation.