Jellyfish are overpopulated on some beaches, and this can cause a variety of problems like swimmers getting stung, and in one case they even clogged the intake pipes of a nuclear power plant in Sweden, which forced it to shut down. But now, a company is Israel, where the beaches are often overrun with jellyfish, has decided to use the large number of pests to make a product that can be used in paper towels and diapers.
Could jellyfish save our planet’s landfills from disposable diapers? One Israeli company seems to think so. Jellyfish populations can be vast at times, making beaches dangerous and stinging swimmers. Swarms have even been responsible for shutting down a nuclear power plant in Sweden by clogging the intake system.
But now, a nanotechnology company in Israel, where the beaches are often overrun with jellyfish, is combating both problems by using them to make a highly absorbent product for applications like paper towels and diapers.
Cine’al Ltd. is in the process of developing hydromash, a material made from jellyfish that they say is much more absorbent than most kinds of paper towels.
According to the company, the material will biodegrade within about 30 days of use, unlike the synthetic polymers that most companies currently utilize in diapers and other absorbent products.
Ofer Du-nour, chairman and president of Cine’al, and head of investment firm Capital nano, is quoted as saying: “One third of disposable waste in dumps consists of diapers. In its first year, a newborn baby generates, on average, 70 kilos of diapers a year, maybe more.”
The Hydromash will utilize nano-particles that can incorporate anti-bacterial and tissue-healing properties, along with various different colors or scents.=
