RMIT students boost circularity within university campuses

RMIT students boost circularity within university campuses

Can a university campus transform and be part of a circular economy? The innovative and practical solutions proposed by RMIT Vietnam students bring the aspiration closer to life.

Converting paper waste into eco-friendly ink and toner

How do you give waste paper another impactful life? Team Hay Day including four students from School of Business & Management proposed INKIE - a solution to convert paper into a more sustainable form while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Team member and Bachelor of Digital Marketing student Diep Phan Anh Tai said that used paper can be found a lot on campus like at other office settings.

“Our proposed business model synthesises two innovative models: an ink toner manufacturing station and a used paper collecting system,” Tai explained.

“The collected paper will be transformed into green ink using biotechnology which converts paper into biochar - a solid material obtained from thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment.

“The final product will be delivered to the printing station where printed paper can be collected for a new circle – the circularity has started and gone on.”

The team believed their idea can have positive impacts on all three aspects: society, environment and economy.

“With the paper waste collecting system on campus, INKIE can increase students' awareness of sorting waste and motivate the recycling habit,” Tai said.

“We estimate that INKIE can reduce around 40 thousand pounds of carbon dioxide released from waste incineration, and substantial landfill spaces per year.

“And with this eco-friendly ink, INKIE can help reduce the carbon black used in the current commercial black ink production process, which is a global environmental problem that has negative implications for both human health and our climate.

“Finally, INKIE will reduce the government's costs for treating paper waste in landfills and lower printing fees for the University in the long-term.”

Other Hay Day team members include International Business students Hung Hue Lan and Nguyen Phan Quoc Duy, and Human Resource Management student Nguyen Thai Minh Thu.

Four students from RMIT School of Business & Management created an environmentally friendly printing ink that's produced from paper waste. Four students from RMIT School of Business & Management created an environmentally friendly printing ink that's produced from paper waste.
Watch Team Hay Day's presentation.

Turning kinetic energy from motorbikes into electricity

Do you have a burning question of how to make use of the waste transmission produced by the most popular form of vehicle in Vietnam – the motorbike – into reusable energy? Team Dark Horse, which is comprised of three RMIT students, proposed a motorbike rack system which can turn the energy produced by students’ motorbikes into electricity for their own university.

Team member and Bachelor of Business (International Business) student Huynh Duy Thong said that for a country like Vietnam where there are 64 million registered motorbikes, a lot of energy is consumed and used daily.

“Our campus isn’t an exception,” Thong said.

“A lot of energy is used during the daily commute to campus of students, faculty, and staff.

“Amongst the zero waste initiatives on campus, energy recycling has not been considered yet.”

The team proposed an energy conversion device that can be attached to motorbikes so that motor energy is converted to electricity that can be used on campus.

“Once installed, the device stores the energy generated while rotating and braking in batteries,” team member and Bachelor of Fashion (Enterprise) student Phan Ngoc Xuan Mai said.

“When students come to school and park their motorbike, the energy is then redistributed into the University's electrical grid, providing enough clean electricity to power classrooms.”

Team member and Bachelor of Business (Logistics and Supply Chain Management) student Huynh Nhat Dang expected that the electricity generated from their proposed system “can contribute about 20% to the entire electricity used in our university and hope that other universities in Vietnam can integrate this system as well”.

“In addition, when this system is put in place, more students will be further aware of the escalating situation of vehicle exhaust fumes and would switch to a less polluted choice,” Dang said.

Team Dark Horse, which is comprised of three RMIT students, proposed a motorbike rack system which can turn the energy generated by students’ motorbikes into electricity for their own university. Team Dark Horse, which is comprised of three RMIT students, proposed a motorbike rack system which can turn the energy generated by students’ motorbikes into electricity for their own university.
Watch Team Dark Horse's presentation.

Recycling plastic waste and utilising it for laser cutting

Can plastic waste and laser printing be ‘friends’ and help each other out? A recycling idea proposed by three Bachelor of Engineering (Software Engineering) (Honours) students Doan Luong Hoang, Thai Manh Phi and Pham Thanh Nam gives redundant plastic waste on campus another meaningful life through being a recycle material for laser cutting and printing.

“A large amount of plastic waste is generated on campus from leftover plastic pieces from 3D printing projects and old/faulty models,” Hoang said. 

“These plastics are not reused or recycled, but instead, thrown in the garbage.

“Whereas the cost of materials for 3D printing and laser cutting are quite costly and many students (including Software Engineering students like us) use these machines a lot.”

The team introduces a service that recycles industrial plastic waste on campus and converts them into raw materials used in laser cutting.

“We will build / purchase a machine that can melt and process plastic, some molds / extruders for shaping the melted plastic and other stuff like chemicals and gears,” Hoang explained on how it works.

“The plastic waste is categorised into reusable and non-reusable.

“Reusable plastic is disassembled into pieces and put in the shredding entrance of the machine, the chemicals, bleach and right type of mold or extruder will be added right after that.

“The plastic is shredded, melted, and processed with chemicals, then it will come out into the mold for shaping. The plastic is cooled down and ready to use.”

The team believed their idea with help the University save a lot of money on buying new materials for these processes.

“Most of the materials are imported and very costly,” Hoang said.

“It also can boost the University’s reputation and create a circular mindset for its students.”

Three RMIT Bachelor of Engineering (Software Engineering) students provide a service to convert wasted or unused plastic from the 3D printing and laser cutting process. Using a customised machine, the plastic waste will be melted and processed to create new plastic materials. Three RMIT Bachelor of Engineering (Software Engineering) students provide a service to convert wasted or unused plastic from the 3D printing and laser cutting process. Using a customised machine, the plastic waste will be melted and processed to create new plastic materials.
Watch Team RMIT RIPS's presentation.

***

Out of six winning teams of this year's Circular Campus Programme, there are three from RMIT University in Vietnam. Their ideas offer university campuses in Vietnam and beyond innovative and sustainable solutions to solve pressing urban challenges and help them accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

Three winning teams from RMIT Vietnam of this year’s Circular Campus Programme offer university campuses innovative and sustainable solutions to solve pressing urban challenges and help them accelerate the transition to a circular economy on campus and beyond. Three winning teams from RMIT Vietnam of this year’s Circular Campus Programme offer university campuses innovative and sustainable solutions to solve pressing urban challenges and help them accelerate the transition to a circular economy on campus and beyond.

All teams were very delighted when reaching such an achievement and contributing to a greener and more circular environment on campus and beyond.

Winning teams were granted entry to an intensive Boot Camp which will include circular economy innovation, customer discovery and validation, market sizing and segmentation, unique value proposition, business financials, and circular business impact, and potentially receive seed funding.

Story: Ha Hoang

27 June 2022

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