Sustainable innovations for Sri Lanka’s rubber industry

Sri Lanka is known as the seventh largest natural rubber latex producer in the world, National Cleaner Production Centre of Sri Lanka Visiting Consultant/Resource Person Sunil Gomes stated.

During the cleaner production assessments that he carried out for the rubber sector consultancy programs, Gomes encountered various types of uncontrollable wastages and other problems in the existing technology, especially in the latex transfers taking place during the centrifuge latex production. Amalgamating his technical knowledge with practicality and sustainability, Gomes then started working on what is known today as the ‘Technology of Ecodesigned Spherical for Latex Handling.’

“The major challenge faced by the developing countries today is fulfilling the escalating needs of growing populations. The supply of products and services to see to these needs drains the natural resources of the earth. This also results in pollution and environmental degradation,” he said.

“The principle of sustainable development shows that we can enjoy comfortable living through friendly development, while conserving our resources and the environment for our progeny.” The methodology applicable to the practice of Ecologically Sustainable Industrial Development (ESID) is cleaner production.

His innovation, ‘Technology of Ecodesigned Spherical for Latex Handling,’ does just that. Patented in Sri Lanka and having applied for patent rights from the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the innovation has led him to become a nominee for the Ray Awards to be held on October 17.

The Ecodesigned Spherical was the winner at the All Island Inventors Competition in 2009 in the Industrial Applications category conducted by Moratuwa University and a winner at the Environment Awards 2010 in the Professional Category conducted by Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS).  With the innovation gaining popularity, Gomes was selected to make a presentation at the 10th Asia Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production held at Indonesia, as well as at the 12th Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering Management Systems Conference held in Beijing.

“This technology can be used in all countries where natural rubber latex is available and it will be sustainable,” he said. “It eliminates seven latex transfer steps (out of nine), thereby saving huge resources. The unit is transportable in between rubber plantations and latex processing factories.”

Gomes has put much thought into the invention which is circular in shape, reducing the coagulated rubber formation due to less internal surface area. It provides a natural and effective way of draining out all latex as it does not have corners and automatically improves resource productivity without an additional cost.

“It provides a natural effective way to control the increase of VFA numbers by not having any corners to support the coagulation and stagnancy of latex and growth of micro bacterial organisms.”

It also provides a higher degree of control of volatile fatty acids by having a lesser open area to atmosphere, assuring product quality. Many other unique features are also included in the innovation.

Gomes noted that the creation reduces the high cost of spending on resources to treat sludge and enhances environmental performance by facilitating the collection of sludge and converting them to useful by-products.

“It reduces production cost by minimising wastages of latex, chemicals, water, machinery, electricity etc. and reduces ammonia evaporation to the environment by having lesser open areas to atmosphere, providing a healthy working surrounding.”

Saving the limited resources of rubber, chemicals, water, labour and electricity, the Ecodesigned Spherical promotes owner-friendly sustainability for planters and industrialists, worker friendly sustainability for plantations and the industry, and environmentally friendly sustainability and economically friendly sustainability within the industry.

“The Ecodesigned Spherical will be popularised among planters, industrialists, workers and production staff and will contribute to the sustainability of the rubber industry in Sri Lanka and the world in the future.”