Now Is the Era of Natural Absorbents (SAC), Not Chemical Absorbents (SAP)

JoongAng Ilbo Online (Contribution) · 2021.04.15

In this contribution, Dong-gyu Ahn, Ph.D. in environmental science and then CEO of AsiaNanoTech, notes that parcel deliveries surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and that almost every food package now contains ice packs or meat pads filled with chemical super absorbent polymer (SAP).

About 3 billion people use diapers or sanitary pads, whose core material is the same SAP. It is a petrochemical microplastic that takes more than 500 years to decompose, and with a global market of about 3 million tons a year, he argues it is a major source of pollution. The government had announced waste charges on ice packs from 2023.

He stresses that SAP also threatens human health, with concerns over rashes, cancer and endocrine disruption, and that the fundamental solution is to develop a substitute material.

He introduces SAC (Super Absorbent Cellulose), a 100% plant-based, highly biodegradable absorbent developed through cellulose nanofiber (CNF) research and now in mass production, as a world-first alternative that rivals SAP in absorbency and economic competitiveness.

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