Environment

Plastic recycling plays a crucial role in achieving a sustainable future. Proper sorting of waste plastics is essential, especially in mixed waste streams where various materials are combined. Some types of plastic are not recyclable, and even recyclable ones can be difficult to separate efficiently. Sorting mixed waste streams into different recyclable categories can be time-consuming and labour-intensive, especially for materials with similar appearances, such as different types of plastic. To address these challenges, this technology aims to automate and accurately sort plastic waste, reducing the reliance on manual processing and improving overall plastic recycling efficiency. The technology on offer is a patented artificial intelligence (AI) based material sorting robot that sorts plastic waste accurately. Comprising of a camera, recognition unit and analysis unit, each unit of this system can continuously identify and sort waste plastics and generate information in real time. Blower vacuum adsorption devices are placed within each unit to pick waste in a speedy and accurate manner. This technology effectively reduces the issue of labour shortage in the waste sector, lowers operating costs and contamination rates that hinders recycling efforts. Currently, the technology has been deployed successfully in South Korea to sort polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The technology owner is interested to work with Singapore waste collection companies on joint development projects to testbed this technology and improve plastic recycling rates.

Anti-fouling coatings have garnered significant attention due to the increasing demand for durable, low-maintenance, and aesthetically pleasing surfaces in both residential and commercial spaces. These coatings help maintain cleanliness and appearance, reduce cleaning frequency and effort, and offer substantial cost savings in maintenance. However, balancing the performance and cost of anti-fouling coatings, particularly in achieving both oil repellence and dust resistance, remains a challenge. There is also a growing emphasis on developing stain-repellent coatings that provide long-lasting protection against abrasion. The technology offers a special fluororesin-based functional coating with excellent water and oil repellence and dust resistance. This thin, transparent and durable coating can be applied to metals, plastics, ceramics and various other surfaces. It effectively reduces the accumulation of oil and stain build-up on the surface, prolonging the life span of home appliances and reducing maintenance frequency. With these superior properties, such coatings have great potential for applications across electronics, household appliances, and automotive applications, enhancing product performance and durability while improving user convenience and hygiene.  The technology owner is seeking joint R&D collaboration and partnership with companies interested in integrating this coating into their products and applications.

With rising concerns about carbon emissions, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) plays a crucial role in combating climate change. CCUS helps reduce emissions by capturing carbon from flue gas, removing carbon from the atmosphere, and transforming captured carbon into value-added products. However, conventional CCUS technologies often involved high energy consumption and operational expenses. Current carbon mineralization processes face challenges such as slow reaction rates, limited scalability, and high associated costs. To address these challenges, the technology owner has developed an economically viable carbon mineralization technology that integrates carbon fixation and the reuse of industrial solid wastes in an integrated manner. This technology targets both carbon utilization and long-term carbon storage. It focuses on using alkaline industrial solid wastes, such as steel slag, fly ash, and cement waste, which are rich in calcium and magnesium oxides, to efficiently sequester CO2. The process involves leaching calcium and magnesium ions from slag and precipitating them as carbonates for various applications. This modular technology is scalable and adaptable to different waste materials, promising substantial carbon reduction and transforming industrial waste into valuable resources. Implementing this technology allows steel, cement and chemical companies to tackle high carbon emissions and waste disposal issues simultaneously. The final product, with carbon-negative properties, helps downstream clients reduce the carbon footprint of their products, such as plastic, paper, rubber tires, paint and cement.  The technology owner is seeking collaboration with industrial partners, especially industrial waste producers, high carbon emission plants, cement companies using post-carbonation slag, and manufacturers of paper, plastic, and rubber.

Controlling both outdoor and indoor air pollution is crucial for protecting human health and the environment. Outdoor air pollution from industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, global warming, and environmental degradation. Indoor air pollution can also cause chronic respiratory conditions and other health issues. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), outdoor air pollution causes approximately 4.2 million premature deaths annually, while indoor air pollution accounts for around 3.8 million premature deaths each year. Traditionally, wet scrubbers are used to reduce air pollution, ensuring regulatory compliance and protecting human health. However, they have drawbacks such as scaling, fouling, inefficient pollutant removal, and generating solid waste. These issues lead to frequent maintenance, high operational costs, and environmental pollution. This technology addresses these pain points by utilizing an array of water jets without the need for packing materials. This innovative solution offers more efficient pollutant removal, reduced maintenance, a compact design, and lower energy consumption, effectively solving the problems associated with traditional wet scrubbers. The technology owner is seeking collaborations with companies in the chemical/ pharmaceutical/ steel manufacturing sector for test-bedding and research and development (R&D) projects that require an eco-friendly scrubber.

Only 20% of actual coffee is extracted from beans to produce coffee in its beverage form, leaving the remaining 80% (six million tons annually) deemed as spent coffee grounds (SCG) to be disposed or used in landfills or as non-food product components to make fertilisers, furniture, deodorisers or skin care products. A technology was created to counteract SCG wastage and valorise it for human consumption. This particular invention comprises of methodologies to create two types of ingredients using leftover SCG - oil-grind and water-grind processed SCG. A simple, reproducible method of conching is employed to convert leftover SCG into smooth pastes, where specific conching parameters help refine the SCG to an acceptable particle size, eliminating grittiness in numerous valorised products similar to SCG. The product utilises common ingredients like oil and water to conche SCG with improved taste and textural properties. The shelf stability and nutritional composition (including caffeine) of the ingredients were also validated to ensure the food possessed good sensorial properties and are scale up ready. This technology increases SCG’s potential use as a versatile ingredient in different food applications. The technology provider is seeking off-takers from food manufacturers, food services industry, companies interested to valorise side streams to turn SCG into edible compounds.

The exponential growth of electronic waste (E-waste) generation is proliferating due to the ever-increasing demand for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) driven by industrial revolution and development. The COVID-19 crisis has further accelerated the shift towards digital transformation, contributing to an upsurge in E-waste generation. To-date, the industrial practices of extracting palladium (Pd) from electronic waste and mining ores rely on hydrometallurgy techniques using highly corrosive acids, typically aqua regia at elevated temperature. The process poses severe hazards to workers and lead to environmental pollution. Aqua regia’s capability to dissolve many various metals results in low selectivity for Pd. Despite ongoing efforts to develop alternative methods, these methods often prove impractical for industrial adoption. The technology provider has developed a proprietary lixiviant capable of extracting palladium up to 4,000 ppm at saturation with high extraction efficiency and selectivity within 12 hours. This lixiviant is facile, cost-effective, and significantly less corrosive and hazardous compared to current industrial practices. Substituting fuming aqua regia with this lixiviant could enhance the protection of workers and environmental safety. Importantly, the proposed technology is highly compatible with existing hydrometallurgy processes, eliminating the need for companies to change their current infrastructure. An E-waste industry partner has successfully conducted a pilot-scale (5-Litre scale) evaluation, validating the effectiveness and applicability of the lixiviant on their Pd-coated samples. The technology provider is actively seeking industry partners interested in test-bedding and licensing of this technology.

Issues associated with odor generation present significant challenges in various aspects of daily life, encompassing unpleasant smells from various sources such as toilets, kitchens, pets, tobacco, hospitals, and transportation. These unwanted odors have a detrimental impact on individual well-being, social interactions, and overall environmental quality. Deodorants play a crucial role in addressing these challenges, fostering a more comfortable and hygiene environment. However, conventional deodorants primarily rely on masking the unwanted odors with a strong fragrance, resulting in a slow and ineffective deodorization process, particularly against strong smells. The technology owner has developed a proprietary formulation that offers an effective deodorization approach. Unlike common deodorants, the unique deodorant using the proprietary formulation can remove the sources of unpleasant smells through chemical reactions. It demonstrates remarkable efficiency against a broad spectrum of odors, including those from rotting fish and meat, rotting eggs and milk, rotting vegetable waste, ammonia in toilets, sweat, and body odor. This innovative solution has the potential to revolutionise odor control across diverse scenarios. The technology owner is seeking R&D collaboration with industrial partners who are interested in incorporating this deodorant into their products and applications.

Collagen is a structural protein prevalent in the connective tissues of all organisms, and is the building block of biomaterial that is essential in wound healing and tissue regeneration. Through a patented extraction method, a novel Type I Amphibian collagen has been valorised from discarded skins, an agrifood waste stream and processed into a medical grade collagen biomaterial. The extracted pristine native amphibian collagen possesses unique properties, combining attributes associated with aquatic and land-based collagen sources, giving the extracted collagen more versatility than conventional sources of collagen. The Type I Amphibian collagen possesses a higher biocompatibility and water solubility as compared to mammalian sources of collagen, with a better thermostability profile, than marine sources of collagen. The technology provider has demonstrated the medical application of this extracted collagen by developing a range of specialised wound dressings, specifically designed for the management of chronic wounds. These dressing will significantly improve clinical outcomes and increase the rate of chronic wound closure.  The technology provider is looking for partnerships or collaborations to transform this pristine collagen into medical products. Additionally, with a pristine collagen extract, hydrolysing them into smaller fragments (collagen peptides) that can be customised to the needs of the partnership or collaboration, for the medical/cosmeceutical/nutraceutical industry. 

Paper packaging is a versatile material used for a wide range of products. Its widespread adoption is due to its renewable and relatively low-cost resource along with environmental benefits such as recyclability and biodegradability. While paper packaging offers several advantages, some drawbacks of the material include porosity and the lack of barrier properties against moisture, oil, and grease. To overcome these limitations, conventional coatings such as polyethylene (PE) or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been employed to impart the required barrier protection. However, during the paper recycling process, it is difficult to repulp the coated paper due to several factors and results in reduced recyclability of such packaging materials. The technology on offer is a water-based coating formulation that can be applied onto paper packaging surfaces to act as a barrier against grease, liquid water, and water vapour. The coating imparts barrier protection functionalities, improving the paper’s resistance to grease, liquid water, and water vapor significantly. Use of bio-sourced constituents in the coating also improves product sustainability. As the coating’s constituents are repulpable, recyclability of the paper packaging can be achieved. With increasing awareness of reducing packaging waste, the deployment of this technology will offer companies a recyclable paper packaging with notable barrier properties. The technology owner is seeking for R&D co-development, test bedding and IP out licensing opportunities of this technology with interested companies.