The paper is the brainchild of researchers with the University of California, Riverside, promises to reduce waste

Dec 2, 2014 21:39 GMT  ·  By

Recent reports indicate that, in this day and age, about 90% of the information businesses need to keep up and running is printed on paper. The thing is that, after being passed around for a few hours, maybe days, this paper is simply thrown away.

This means that, on a yearly basis, global businesses create massive amounts of paper waste. Needless to say, this comes at a hefty price for the environment and doesn’t exactly spell sustainability.

The good news is that, thanks to researchers with the University of California, Riverside, this problem stands to soon become a thing of the past. Thus, these scientists claim to have developed a new type of paper that can be reused over 20 times.

How rewritable paper can help us reduce waste

In a report documenting their work, the researchers explain that their so-called rewritable paper is made using chemical compounds known as redox dyes. These compounds change color depending on the environmental conditions they are exposed to.

The scientists behind this project go on to detail that, to make a certain message appear on their rewritable paper, one need only expose it to ultraviolet light. This bleaches the redox dyes everywhere except the portions that come to form the message.

In time, exposure to the oxygen found in air causes the paper to return to its usual color, essentially erasing the message. This process usually takes about 3 days to complete, but the researchers claim that it can be sped up by heating the paper.

More precisely, they argue that, when heated to about 115 degrees Celsius (239 degrees Fahrenheit), the paper can return to its normal color in just 10 minutes. Once this happens, it can be reused to print another message.

The redox dyes the researchers have so far experimented with are methylene blue, neutral red, and acid green. They served to produce blue, red and green rewritable paper, respectively.

Other compounds added to the mix are catalysts identified as titania nanocrystals and a thickening agent dubbed hydrogen cellulose, Click Green informs.

This rewritable paper will soon be even cooler

It is understood that, presently, the scientists who developed this paper are working on figuring out a way to reuse it not just 20, but about 100 times. They say that, should they succeed, their paper would be even more environmentally friendly.

What’s more, they hope that sometime in the not-too-distant future they will roll out a technology that will make it possible to use printers not so different from the ones currently employed by businesses to make messages appear on their eco-friendly paper.

Lastly, they hope to find a way to make the paper more versatile by allowing for images comprising several colors to be printed on it and by making a certain message last for more than just 3 days.

“This rewritable paper does not require additional inks for printing, making it both economically and environmentally viable,” scientist Yadong Yin commented on the importance of this project.

“It represents an attractive alternative to regular paper in meeting the increasing global needs for sustainability and environmental conservation,” he added.

Rewritable paper promises to reduce waste (5 Images)

Businesses use lots of paper in this day and age
Most of this paper is thrown away after just one useThis puts great strain on the environment
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