|
Philip Labuschagne and Sean Moolman received the Chemical Technology Innovation Award on behalf of the members of the CSIR polymers and bioceramics research group for the Enviroclear Barrier Technology |
Kersch Naidoo proudly displays his Chemical Technology Innovation Award for his paper titled 'An Emulsion Preparation for Novel Micro-Porous Polymeric Hemi-Shells' |
Two of the four categories for the Chemical Technology Innovation Awards 2008 belonged to CSIR researchers. In the first instance, a CSIR team specialising in polymers and bioceramics walked away with the prize awarded in the 'companies' category. Kersch Naidoo, also from this research group and registered for an MSc (Chemical Engineering) at the University of Pretoria, took honours in the category open for postgraduate students.
"Innovation was the key focus of these awards," says Dr Sean Moolman, manager of the research group. "Entries were limited to chemical products recently launched or about to be launched onto the market. They should be innovative and add value to the existing state of play within the area concerned."
The CSIR's entry for the companies category was on Enviroclear Barrier Technology. This technology had been licensed to the Container Corporation of Canada and recently received clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration for being safe to bring into contact with food.
Philip Labuschagne, who formed part of this winning team, explains that it is a coating based on interpolymer complexation that dramatically reduces the oxygen and carbon dioxide permeability of plastic packaging - by up to 125 times. "Not only does this mean a similar margin increase in the shelf-life of foods in plastic containers, but oxygen sensitive foods and beverages previously confined to glass and metal packaging can now be packaged in plastic containers coated with our technology. Due to the significant lower carbon footprint of plastic containers, the barrier coating is also environmentally beneficial," he says.
Labuschagne's other team members included Moolman, Dr Thilo van der Merwe and Itumeleng Mputle.
Kersch Naidoo's postgraduate research focused on designing a particle manufacturing process for a soft tissue filler using a polymeric biomaterial. The particular shape and properties of this particle make it unique for use as a soft tissue filler, with several medical and cosmetic applications. It has led to a product called Dermapearl, which is now in the process of commercialisation.
The Chemical Technology Innovation Awards is organised annually by
Crown Publications and the South African Institution for Chemical
Engineers. This year's event was sponsored by Anglo Research. The
winning innovations are featured in the April edition of the monthly
technical journal 'Chemical Technology'.
Enquiries: CSIR Communication
|
