PUBLISHED: 2 Jan 2025 at 17: 59
Researchers at Suranari University of Technology ( SUT) claim to have produced ceramic gemstones made of agricultural waste that are 6, 000 times more expensive than the original material.
The rock was a result of exploration by older students at the Institute of Engineering’s School of Ceramic Engineering — Parnpailin Jaichuei, Chatcha Chuma, and Saowalak Boonpakdi.
According to Ms. Saowalak, the study was motivated by Thailand’s status as a land rich in grain and sugarcane, which are its main sources of income.
Agricultural goods produced in the country each season result in agrarian waste, such as sawdust, shells, and sugarcane, she said.
The waste is eventually ploughed away and overturned into compost because the majority of them cannot be used at their full potential. Worse, some are burnt for removal, causing air pollutants, principally the PM2.5 fine contaminants that hurt people and the environment.
This issue led to the group’s analysis on the waste’s properties, using understanding of cylindrical architectural, she said.
Husks and various waste had a high level of sand in the beginning. Since silica is the main component of natural stones, the scholar team decided to turn grass, shells, and sugarcane into concrete stones.
The spare underwent a crystallization approach at 300, 500, and 700 degree Fahrenheit to transform it into high-quality dust.
Using the concrete engineering technique and the normal gemstone’s chemical composition, the ash was blended with improver substances.
The combination was cooled and turned into a hardened compound after being liquified at 1, 300C into hot glasses.
She said the gemstone was then gently cooled down while being heated up in a ceramic oven at 550C so that it could be more stable.
According to Ms. Saowalak, the gemstone’s color corresponds to the source of its color. She claimed that because it was a size comparable to natural pearls, it was both strong and appropriate for business use.
Likewise, it helped increase value to the waste, as four-baht, or one-kilogramme misuse can be made into 20 stones that may charge 24, 000 ringgit in full.
