Filipino researchers develop raw material from Negros limestone
Filipino researchers have developed Nano Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (NPCC) from limestone sourced in Negros Oriental.
Researchers at the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) pursued development of the technology to make use of the country’s 29 billion tons of limestone deposits.
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound commonly found in rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite. It is the main component of pearls and the shells of marine organisms, snails and eggs.
NPCC is a nanomaterial that has wide range of industrial applications in papermaking, rubber, plastics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food. It is commonly used as filler or additive that can improve processing and enhance its properties.
NPCC has been widely used for several years as a filler material in papermaking, coatings, plastics and agriculture. NPCC displays a number of unique properties as a functional filler and extender in plastic compounds in the plastics, rubber, coating, papermaking, paint and printing ink industries. Its most prominent current use is for improving the mechanical performance of plastics, polymer composites and rubber.
Desirable properties include high porosity, high surface area to volume ratio, and exceptional mechanical properties.
When ready for commercialization, NPCC will help local processors of calcium carbonate to meet the quality of product requirements of the paper and plastic industries. Conventional processing usually produces calcium carbonate laden with impurities like calcite.
Because local processing is confined to calcining and simple grinding, processors cannot produce calcium carbonate in its original state of purity.
Use of this processing technology will enable local processors to meet the increasing demand for food grade precipitated calcium carbonate rather than import it.
In addition, the technology will increase the value of local limestone as an import substitute, while opening up a new industry with a different livelihood opportunity.
Nano as a unit of measurement of length is comparable to similar units like meter. One nanometer is about as long as a fingernail grows in one second. A human hair is approximately 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide.
ITDI, a part of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), operates the NanoLab, one of the very few public nanotechnology research laboratories in the country.
It offers world-class equipment and devices meant to provide nanotechnology-related technical services. By developing materials with structure at the nanoscale, researchers can explore their unique optical, electronic or mechanical properties.
The NanoLab is currently housed at ITDI’s Materials Science Division Building at the DOST Complex in Taguig City.
At the NanoLab, a high-resolution field emission transmission electron microscope can magnify materials up to 1.5 million times and is capable of rapid data acquisition.
There are 10 other high-level machines and gadgets that researchers use for R&D studies on materials science and engineering, including collaborative work and provision of technical assistance to industry and academe. - P. Icamina
Researchers at the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) pursued development of the technology to make use of the country’s 29 billion tons of limestone deposits.
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound commonly found in rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite. It is the main component of pearls and the shells of marine organisms, snails and eggs.
NPCC is a nanomaterial that has wide range of industrial applications in papermaking, rubber, plastics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food. It is commonly used as filler or additive that can improve processing and enhance its properties.
NPCC has been widely used for several years as a filler material in papermaking, coatings, plastics and agriculture. NPCC displays a number of unique properties as a functional filler and extender in plastic compounds in the plastics, rubber, coating, papermaking, paint and printing ink industries. Its most prominent current use is for improving the mechanical performance of plastics, polymer composites and rubber.
Desirable properties include high porosity, high surface area to volume ratio, and exceptional mechanical properties.
When ready for commercialization, NPCC will help local processors of calcium carbonate to meet the quality of product requirements of the paper and plastic industries. Conventional processing usually produces calcium carbonate laden with impurities like calcite.
Because local processing is confined to calcining and simple grinding, processors cannot produce calcium carbonate in its original state of purity.
Use of this processing technology will enable local processors to meet the increasing demand for food grade precipitated calcium carbonate rather than import it.
In addition, the technology will increase the value of local limestone as an import substitute, while opening up a new industry with a different livelihood opportunity.
Nano as a unit of measurement of length is comparable to similar units like meter. One nanometer is about as long as a fingernail grows in one second. A human hair is approximately 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide.
ITDI, a part of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), operates the NanoLab, one of the very few public nanotechnology research laboratories in the country.
It offers world-class equipment and devices meant to provide nanotechnology-related technical services. By developing materials with structure at the nanoscale, researchers can explore their unique optical, electronic or mechanical properties.
The NanoLab is currently housed at ITDI’s Materials Science Division Building at the DOST Complex in Taguig City.
At the NanoLab, a high-resolution field emission transmission electron microscope can magnify materials up to 1.5 million times and is capable of rapid data acquisition.
There are 10 other high-level machines and gadgets that researchers use for R&D studies on materials science and engineering, including collaborative work and provision of technical assistance to industry and academe. - P. Icamina
