College of Science, Engineering & Technology

From waste to valuable products

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Professor Tshwafo Elias Motaung from the Department of Chemistry in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology gave his inaugural lecture titled “Polymer nanocomposites, material science and entrepreneurship” on 28 February 2022. He dedicated his inaugural lecture to his late parents, Madinkeng and Letsatsi Motaung, for their support and contribution to his life.

Click here to review a recording of the lecture.

One prominent aspect drawn from Motaung’s research is his ability to identify opportunities and possibilities where waste is concerned. As shared in his inaugural address, Motaung takes sugarcane bagasse (waste material that remains after the extraction of sugarcane juice) as the main waste component, converts it into ash, adds lime powder and a “secret sauce”, and churns it to produce what is referred to as bio-bricks.

Prof Tshwafo Elias Motaung

The bricks produced in his research are not ordinary bricks that one purchases from hardware shops, but these are said to be lighter and cheaper, and require low amounts of energy for their production. Motaung’s bio-bricks research project was awarded R500 000 from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and was selected as a finalist project at the Global Competition Innovation Programme (GCIP) and in London at The Leaders in Innovation Fellowship (LIP) programme.

The funding secured from TIA has been valuable in bridging the “innovation chasm”, that is the gap between research and such research reaching the market as products through ensuring that funded projects fit the criterion for developing small, medium and micro-enterprises. The brick project is currently ongoing, and the research is to be expanded so that different valuable products can be extracted from waste that is produced by different industries.

“Given the dynamic challenges that our country and the world are faced with, it is important that we introduce our students to entrepreneurship, ownership of outputs and independent thinking,” said Motaung, “and channel their research projects to suit the national mandate.”

Continuing the discussion on material entrepreneurship, Motaung mentioned that his research group has managed to publish a book entitled Waste-to-Profit, which has thus far won five research awards. “This book is a manual and a solution for industrial partners, farmers, academics, and entrepreneurs as it provides comprehensive detail on how one can start a business using waste,” explained Motaung. He has since been invited to numerous conferences to speak on the contents of the book and the vision thereof.

In responding to the inaugural lecture, Professor SV Motloung, Physics lecturer from the Walter Sisulu University, shared insights on how valuable and relevant Motaung’s research is to societal needs. “Some industries dispose of the sugarcane bagasse as waste material while others burn it off in the environment, explained Motloung. “Motaung, on the other hand, converts this bagasse into some form of useful ash or polymer extract. In addition to the bio-brick projects, other valuable research and market contributions made by Motaung involve (i) the addition of eggshells to polymers to form fire-resistant products that can be worn by firefighters and (ii) the inclusion of phosphor powders in polymers to form light emitting materials such as toys.”

To date, Motaung has published over 107 research items in the form of journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings. He has graduated over 20 honours students, ten master’s students and two doctoral students, and was involved in the mentorship of four postdoctoral research fellows. Before joining Unisa’s Department of Chemistry as a full professor in 2021, he was a full professor at the University of Zululand.

*By Dr Nozipho N Gumbi, Acting Communication and Marketing Specialist, College of Science, Engineering and Technology

 

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Publish date: 2022/03/03

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