The use of silica gel as a moisture absorbent is well-established. It has been in use for so long because it does not have any cheaper alternatives.
The use of silica gel as a moisture absorbent is well-established. It has been in use for so long because it does not have any cheaper alternatives. Although it is well established that it doesn’t have any significant pollution impact, However, it poses a potential threat to humans as well as other organisms.
In many cases,, old or ruptured packets of silica gel are thrown out in the environment. If any organism consumed them, it could cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and dehydration, as in our case. Sometimes a few chemical indicators may be mixed with silica gel, which is highly carcinogenic. These carcinogenic chemicals can find their way into the human body or other organisms through water or food.
To overcome the problem in the future, two young innovative students, Aziza Khatun and Afsana Khatun, of Margram High School (HS), Rampurhat II, Birbhum, West Bengal, India, have come up with a natural, cheaper biodegradable alternative made from puffed rice.
We can make and use puffed rice powder in our home for anytime by following some general norms. We can use it everywhere to absorb moisture, from food to medicine, except inside electronic gazettes. To protect it from insect attack, we mix a few leaf powders, which also give it a good smell.
Our basic experiment suggests that puffed rice powder absorbs moisture comparatively quicker than silica gel. We do not need to add any indicators because, after absorbing a significant amount of water, a change in texture can be detected with bare hands, even within our own absorbent packets with cotton cloth.
The students have successfully established the fact that puffed rice powder has the ability to partially replace the use of silica gel as an absorbent under specific circumstances.
They have successfully designed recyclable diaper pants with the help of this material, which are working well. They have found that normal diaper pant material gets raised after shoking water, but in contrast, puffed rice powder gets reduced in volume after shoking with water, which will reduce the discomfort of babies.
The diaper pants designed by them are totally organic and biodegradable, as they are made from cotton clothes and puffed rice powder. Its large-scale production and daily use as a replacement for traditional synthetic diaper pants could potentially solve a long-standing environmental pollution issue.
Their home-made diaper pants could be used multiple times by simply washing and replacing the absorbent pad if necessary. Thereby, it is cost-efficient too. They have been working tirelessly to improve their prototypes day by day.