Driving Eco-innovation thru Intellectual Property: Spinning Banana, Coconut Fibers into Landslide Prevention Tools
June 5, 2020
Adamson University’s Baconet, made of banana and coconut fibers, being laid at the surface of land slopes prone to landslides. Photo by Adamson University.
Soil is the blanket of organic matter that holds together and fosters all life on earth. Healthy soil helps fuel plant growth and increases water streamed into groundwaters and watersheds. It is home to a multitude of species and serves as a carbon storagehouse, a function that can help the world fight climate change.
However, in recent decades, the world has been grappling with an accelerated rate of soil erosion and degradation. It is estimated that land as big as a soccer field is lost every five seconds[1] due to erosion. The phenomenon is brought about by excessive and improper logging and other unsustainable practices employed in various industrial pursuits such as agriculture and land development.
To slow down the pace of topsoil depletion and keep nutrients intact, one of the solutions used are erosion control blankets like geotextiles.
In the Philippines, where soil erosion can be fatal given that more than half of the country’s land area is upland, hence, prone to landslides, the raw materials required for the creation of certain kinds of geotextiles are sourced abroad. Thus, there is the added burden from importation fees. The problem fuelled research efforts to create geotextiles using local materials.
At present, bioresources such as abaca and coco coir emerged as the most widely used materials for geotextile. Abaca and coco products, for which the Philippines is known as being the top and second biggest sources of, respectively, made value-adding of their wastes, such as fiber or husks, essential in optimizing the commercial value of a single tree.
Now, another top dollar-earning farm product, which the Philippines is likewise known for in the world, is being positioned by Adamson University at the forefront of the emerging local geotextile industry.
Adding banana fiber into the mix for a stronger, cheaper geotextile
Dr. Maria Cecilia Marcos, a researcher at Adamson University, wanted to contribute to the research work unfolding in the field of Geotechnical Engineering. Seeing that the biggest need was in making soil erosion control materials more accessible to Filipinos to avoid the havoc of deadly landslides, Marcos combed through other locally available raw materials, preferably those with tensile strength that is on a par with abaca and coco coir. Here she discovered the potential of banana fibers based on others’ previous academic studies.
Marcos then led a team of 14 other researchers as they ventured into three years of material development, lab testing, and field testing activities. Some challenges on the way include logistics, since the materials were sourced from Davao Del Norte, the Banana Capital of the Philippines. Weather conditions also strained the team to shorten the drying time of the fibers to six months from one year.
From the left are Dr. Nuna Almanzor and Dr. Cecilia Marcos posing for a photo with graduate students who were members of the research team for Baconet.
The hard work paid off as their R&D outcomes yielded the Baconet geotextile blanket, 50% banana fiber and 50% coco coir.
“The tensile strength of Baconet is about 27% higher than the Virgin Coconet, our closest competitor. This guarantees the level of material strength and durability needed for various applications such as slope protection and erosion control. It could also be applied in horizontal construction such as soil foundation or road pavement improvement projects,” Dr. Marcos said.
A Baconet blanket of 50 meter length and one meter width can be sold at around P3,200.00, 18% lower compared to a geotextile made purely from coco coir, according to Dr. Marcos. She added their inventions is also likely cheaper than abaca, the former being a premium raw material with big demand in the United Kingdom and other European countries.
Baconet harnesses intellectual property protection
Knowing the high-impact potential of their innovation in the agro-based geotextile industry, Adamson University has applied for a utility model (UM) for Baconet and secured registration in February 2019.
“IP protection is important to ensure that ownership as inventor will not be stolen or infringed by any individual or institution for commercialization use or for taking credit of work that they have not made sacrifices and hard work at all. Likewise, IP protection encourages me to develop new inventions with excellence but with a sense of economy, practicality and accessibility to those who need it,” Dr. Marcos said.
A UM has a shorter protection term than that of an invention patent but is easier and less costly to obtain and maintain. Ultimately, the goal of this form of intellectual property (IP) protection is to afford businesses or inventors protection for their innovations even if these do not meet the stringent patentability standards set for invention patents.
A sample finished product of Baconet which is to be launched for commercialization in 2020 to help prevent soil erosion and landslides.
With its IP protection, Baconet was supposedly ready for the market in the first quarter this year were it not for the COVID-19 crisis.
“Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the launching will be delayed by the third or last quarter of the year,” said Dr. Venusmar Quevedo, Vice-President of Adamson University’s Administrative Affairs.
Pending its technology’s market launch, the university will be pursuing a mutually beneficial partnership with a municipality in the Bicol region and with the help of the Bicol University. The partnership is being finalized through the efforts of Engr. Noe Enriquez, the Head of Technology Commercialization of Adamson University.
“This municipality is prone to landslides and Baconet will be the answer to their perennial problem. The partnership is also seen to give banana and coconut farmers in the Bicol municipality a stable livelihood with the demand we will need. The Bicol Region has the abundance of raw materials so this partnership will be mutually advantageous to us,” Engr. Enriquez added.
Both officers shared the university’s ongoing marketing work in preparation for Baconet’s launch. This includes securing endorsement from other government offices to encourage the use of the technology in public works and projects; gathering funds to create effective product branding and awareness campaigns; and participating in various local and international exhibits once such activities resume — so far, Baconet has been exhibited in TechInnovation 2018 in Singapore.
The technology is one of the 15 others chosen by IPOPHL and the World Intellectual Property Organization to benefit from their joint mentorship project for innovations developed in universities and technologies. Titled “Enabling Innovation Environment for IP and Technology Project,” the project provides annual workshops and monthly mentorship programs for innovators from various educational institutions to obtain knowledge on the best IP strategies to commercialize their technologies.### (Janina Lim, Media Relations Officer)
References
- Status of the World’s Soil Resources: Technical Summary. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2015