Oryzite: reusing rice husks to reduce the use of plastics
Organisation or Company
Type of organisation or company
Country
Spain
Key Area
Submitted by
Technopolis Group
Ongoing
Yes
Description
Oryzite is a method for incorporating up to 60% or more rice husk as a filler in all types of thermoplastics. Every year we produce 800 million tonnes of rice, but the shell or husk is indigestible. As a result, enormous quantities of one of the largest (about 160 billion kg) agricultural products in the world go to waste.
Rice husks consist of 15% silica and 85% organic material (cellulose, lignin, D-xylose and a small proportion of D-galactose). The company Oryzite transforms the rice husks into resin, which can then be used to obtain the same volume of injection-ready moulded plastic using much fewer fossil-fuel-based polymers. The applications include urban furniture, waste containers, buttons, hangers, bottles and other packaging.
Main activity field
Main results
- Oryzite yields the same volume of injection-ready moulded plastic with fewer fossil-fuel-based polymers, contributing to a more sustainable planet.
- When manufacturing chopsticks, the company found that the raw materials and process costs were reduced by 25%.
- The manufacturing process of Oryzite obtains 16 kg per kW consumed, so it's good in terms of productivity and energy consumption.