A research group led by Professor Teruhisa Hongo of the Faculty of Engineering at Saitama Institute of Technology (Fukaya City, Saitama Prefecture), in collaboration with Kowa Plus (Yoshikawa City, Saitama Prefecture), a comprehensive plastics manufacturer, has developed plastic tableware containing 60% rice husks.
According to Saitama Institute of Technology, in their joint research, they focused on rice husks, which are generated in large quantities during the rice production process, in order to realize a resource-recycling society. They challenged themselves to develop polypropylene tableware that contains 60% rice husks and 40% petroleum-derived plastic components.
Composite resin pellets were manufactured from rice husks, polypropylene, and a compatibilizer, and then molded into plates and cups. Furthermore, the process of destroying and remolding the molded products was repeated up to four times. Even after four moldings, the tensile strength was maintained at 92% and the flexural strength at 91%, demonstrating that this method contributes to material recycling.
The tableware developed through this research has been in use for over a year at "cafe PALETTE" in the Saitama Theatre (Chuo Ward, Saitama City). No problems have been observed with normal use, including washing in a dishwasher.
The research group believes that the technology will not only reduce environmental impact but also mitigate the effects of fluctuations in crude oil prices. They are collaborating with Takeei (Minato-ku, Tokyo), a waste treatment and recycling company, and aim to mass-produce the technology in the Kanto region.
Reference: [Saitama Institute of Technology] Joint development of plastic tableware containing 60% rice husks
