Students created the first environmentally friendly surfboard
Last reviewed: 16.05.2018
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Almost every professional surfer notes that he has a special relationship with the ocean, which not everyone is allowed to experience. When sliding along the waves they get real pleasure and should, in turn, take care of the ocean. However, the boards that use surfers are made of plastic based on oil and this does not benefit the ecological situation in the ocean.
The students from San Diego decided that it was time to change the situation and set about developing a surfboard that would not harm the ocean. The idea to create an environmentally friendly plaque for surfboards was born in young people about six months ago. A group of students developing biofuel from algae invited a group of chemistry students to combine their knowledge and efforts and create a new core for the board. To date, all surfboards are made of polyurethane, which is based on oil. Became the head of the new project professor at the University of San Diego, a doctor of biology and an expert on genetics, Stephen Mayfield. He explained that oil is essentially oil of algae, which is more than 300 million years old.
Instead of using pure oil in the process of manufacturing polyurethane, young people decided to use the highest quality algae oil. To achieve their goals, they decided to involve the company Solazyme, which is known for its biotechnological achievements. The head of the company agreed to provide young people about 4 liters of algae oil of the highest quality for research.
Next, a group of students turned to the largest manufacturer of foundation for boards, the company Arctic Foam, which agreed to produce polyurethane foam using algae oil. As a result, the world's first ocean safe surfboard was produced, based on the usual algae.
In appearance, the algae surfboard can not be distinguished from conventional ones, which are based on oil. As the researchers note, this result was achieved due to the fact that algal oil resembles soy or safflower oil.
The financial head of Solazyme Tyler Painter noted that the unusual process of creating a surfboard was the first and vivid example of what can be done with oils and how different materials interact. He also noticed that it was extremely exciting to watch not only the process of creating an environmentally friendly surfboard, but also to see how professional surfers glide on such boards along the waves of the ocean.
At this stage, a group of students with their leader does not plan on the large-scale production of such surfboards. However, Tyler Painter believes that environmentally friendly surfboards could be worthy of competition to other boards in this market. But before that, Arctic Foam company plans to transfer all surfboards produced from algae oil to professional surfers who will check their strength in the near future.