Sustainability
W.R.A.P.S. table at the 2024 FIT Sustainability week fair.
From Left to right: Andie Zion, Dr. Julian Silverman, and Austin Marshalek.
Research
I always seek new ways to create a more sustainable world. In my time as a student, I have made an effort to incorporate sustainability into every part of my education.
MY TOP
Skills
As an undergraduate student taking on research for the first time, I have garnered many new skills while developing WRAPS. As a team, we want to create a thorough and well tested product made from products that were bound for the landfill. Using proper procedures, testing methods, and equipment, we have begun to refine our process of breaking down trash into packaging.
W.R.A.P.S
Paper Samples
SEM Images
IR Graph
The W.R.A.P.S. Process
To make the new material, we first break down the cornhusks by cutting and blending. After, we begin to ozonate the husks. In this process, we pump ozone into a large container filled with cornhusks. The large container is connected in series to two flasks that contain Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) and charcoal, respectively. The NaOH helps break down the cornhusks, and the charcoal breaks down to ozone for safety. After that, we blend the husks a second time and mix 4 parts corn husks to 1 part reclaimed material (paper, lint, banana). We then pull a sheet of paper using a deckle and mold.
