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Sugarcane hard hat is sweet on safety
Safety products supplier MSA, Pittsburgh, developed what is said to be the world’s first “green” protective hard
hat manufactured from sugarcane. Unlike conventional hard hats manufactured from high-density polyethylene
(HDPE) sourced from nonrenewable petrochemicals, the V-Gard GREEN helmet is manufactured using HDPE
sourced entirely from sugarcane ethanol. Eric Beck, MSA’s global director of strategic marketing, explained that
through the natural process of photosynthesis, sugarcane cultivation captures CO2 from the atmos-
phere, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Green high-density polyethylene is 100% recycla-
ble in the same stream as conventional HDPE, making it suitable for reuse in nonsafety products and
further enhancing the sustainability benefits of the new hat. The earth-friendly helmet will be marked
with a recycling label to further remind users to recycle their hat at the end of its lifetime.
.
Easy-open medicine bottles aid arthritis patients
Pfizer Inc., New York, worked with researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute
(GTRI), Atlanta, to develop an easy-to-open and child-resist-
ant container and cap to dispense one of its rheumatoid arthri-
tis medicines. When GTRI researchers began proposing bottle
and cap possibilities to the company, the cap’s material and the
shape of the bottle were important design elements, according
to Brad Fain, principle research scientist. The team suggested
coating the cap with a rubberlike thermoplastic elastomer to increase friction, mak-
ing the bottle easier to grasp and rotate. They also recommended selecting a non-
cylindrical container that would be easier to grasp. Medicine bottles and caps were
fitted with force sensors that measured the top-down and rotational forces that peo-
ple with arthritis could comfortably apply. From this data, the maximum allowable
force required to push down on the cap as well as the maximum force required to ro-
tate and remove the cap were determined. Data collected by GTRI was used as evi-
dence of compliance with U.S. Arthritis Foundation requirements when Pfizer applied
for the ease-of-use commendation. For more information: Brad Fain, 404/407-7261,
, .
Spinning CDs clean sewage
Researchers in Taiwan came up with a practical application for old audio CDs:
breaking down sewage. “Optical disks are inexpensive, readily available, and com-
monly used,” says Din Ping Tsai, a physicist at National Taiwan University. Tsai and colleagues used the large surface
area of optical disks as a platform to grow tiny, upright zinc oxide nanorods about a thousandth the width of a human
hair. Zinc oxide is an inexpensive semiconductor that can function as a photocatalyst, breaking apart organic mole-
cules like the pollutants in sewage when illuminated with UV light. Be-
cause the disks are durable and able to spin quickly, contaminated water
that drips onto the device spreads out in a thin film that light can easily
penetrate, speeding up the degradation process. The team’s complete
wastewater treatment device is approximately one cubic foot in volume.
The device uses a UV light source and a system that recirculates water to
further break down pollutants.
The reactor was tested with a solution of methyl orange dye, a model or-
ganic compound often used to evaluate the speed of photocatalytic reac-
tions. After treating a half-liter solution of dye for 60 minutes, more than
95% of contaminants were broken down. The device can treat 150 ml of
wastewater per minute, according to researchers, and could be used on a
small scale to clean water contaminated with domestic sewage, urban
runoff, industrial effluents, and farmwaste. For more information: Din Ping
Tsai, , 02/2652-5186,
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • JANUARY 2014 5
interest
of material
Equipment used by GTRI
product design researchers
measures the forces required
to open prescription medicine
containers. Courtesy of
Georgia Tech/Rob Felt.