Now, he will take part in the Falling Walls Lab Conference in Berlin, Germany in November. Farsi, 21, a resident of Quriyat said he worked on the project after seeing environment problems due to the usage of plastics.
“I got the idea for my project after taking a course in my college. We were asked to solve a problem about the spread of tiny plastic particles,” said Farsi who is pursuing Geophysics in Geology department, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University.
The alternative to plastic is grown from mycelium - networks of fungal or mushroom roots. In nature, fungi breaks down waste, such as old leaves, dead plants, and pieces of wood, and uses it to multiply. The idea is to harness this natural process and grow the mycelium into various shapes and structures.
“The result is a product that can be used instead of plastic products. It decays, is reusable, lighter and harder than plastic. The prototype is ready but I have to still conduct some more experiments to come out with a quality product. The name of this product is ‘Fung Plas Ment’, which means replacement of plastic by fungi. ‘Fung’ means fungi, ‘Plas’ is plastic and ‘Ment’ means replacement.”
Farsi has got a patent from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for the product.
“I won the first place in the Falling Walls Lab Oman competition. Altogether 20 participants took part. I will travel to Germany in November for the contest, which will see 100 participants from across the world.”
Regarding his product, Farsi said that Oman needs alternatives to plastic. “The environment is suffering due to the excessive use of plastic products in the country.”
Of future plans, he said, “I need a laboratory to do my experiments. Also, I plan to produce my product on a commercial basis. I am hopeful that I will get more support once I make my mark in Germany. Researchers in Oman should take a lead in coming out with products which suit our needs.”
Source Link: muscatdaily.com