5th-year female chemical engineering students studying at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University have successfully participated in a project entitled “Pomace pulp” on a job creation competition organized by the Ministry of Labor and Skills of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Nardos Alemu, Mahlet Alemayehu, Lydia Tadesse, Samira Jamal, and Lamrot Damene are team members who produced the number one paper production raw material “pulp”.
Pulp is lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fiber from wood fiber, crops, or rags. It is the main raw material used for manufacturing a variety of paper products like paper bags, A4 paper, postcards, etc.
Pulp is not manufactured in Ethiopia due to the complicated production processes, cost of machines, and demand for chemicals. And the current data shows that Ethiopia imports about 80,705.91tons of pulp and spends 56,021,900 million USD for paying tax per year. Five-year estimated demand is about 516,547 tons of pulp.
Seeing these problems, 5th-year female chemical engineering students studying at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University innovated pulp from disposable waste.
If the students’ creative project is funded and turned into action in addition to the benefits of recycling, it plays an important role in maintaining the environment. Besides the project also plays a significant role in reducing the number of trees cut down for paper production and controlling the negative effects of global warming. Moreover, the economic benefits of recycling and disposable waste are enormous because they are available to consumers at low and low prices.
Based on the above benefits, the project, which was designed by the students, competed with other competitors and won two hundred and forty-five thousand birr.
Lastly, the outstanding and energetic students called private companies, institutions, and other national and international companies for their support in the realization of the project.
