Problem Addressed
Solving the problem of agricultural waste management like Paralli- which is burned every year causing air and land pollution. Hence, biodegradable materials made from renewable agricultural resources such as carbohydrates, starch, and proteins are attracting much attention for sustainable development and environmental conservation.
Technology
Using agricultural waste Neha has created an alternative to plastic from Paralli called WHE-PLAST. The process includes a raw material collection that is waste wheat grains/paralli followed by pre-treatment and starch extraction from the waste. Then a starch slurry is formed by the addition of plasticise, film forming agent, and a suitable solvent. Once the slurry of required concentration and property is obtained, a plastic film is prepared, which on drying gives a thin film of plastic. Plant proteins have the possibility for usage as films and plastics because of their abundant availability, low cost, biodegradability, and suitable properties like rheology, water sensitivity, sound absorption, thermal behaviour, etc.
Societal Impact
WHE-PLAST is set to bring a revolutionary change in the field of agro and plastic industries and how they deal with food waste. Being able to derive plastic from the agriculture field and storage wastage is a big achievement. This method of producing plastic from waste wheat using a hybrid process to utilise maximum wastage can be hugely impactful.
Current status
The product is still in the R&D stage and is not yet commercialised.
