As Spring rolls on, so does the annual deluge of pollen, causing misery and annoyance to millions who suffer from pollen-related allergies.
Now, however, there may be a way to make use of the annoying particles: pollen-based paper. And, the best part, scientists developing the paper say the process removes the part of the pollen that causes allergies, so no sneezing while using the new product.
According to Bio Market Insights:
“Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore developed a pollen-based paper that can be printed on and erased multiple times without damaging the paper.
“In a research paper published online in Advanced Materials on 5 April, the NTU Singapore scientists demonstrated how high-resolution colour images could be printed on the non-allergenic pollen paper with a laser printer, and then ‘unprinted’. The process could be repeated up to at least eight times.”
This study used sunflower pollen grains, but researchers say camellia and lotus pollen grains could also be used.
“Prof Cho Nam-Joon, senior author of the paper, said: ‘Aside from being easily recyclable, our pollen-based paper is also highly versatile. Unlike wood-based conventional paper, pollen is generated in large amounts and is naturally renewable, making it potentially an attractive raw material in terms of scalability, economics, and environmental sustainability. In addition, by integrating conductive materials with the pollen paper, we could potentially use the material in soft electronics, green sensors, and generators to achieve advanced functions and properties.’”
The full article in Bio Market Insights can be read here.