The litchi from two years ago has been red ever since! Xingda Yishou team turned agricultural waste into micro-nano antibacterial materials, and antibacterial chopping boards were pushed all over the world.

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"before the advent of color preservation technology, the lychees eaten by Yang Guifei and Americans are all black." Lin Huiling, a professor in the department of horticulture at Chung Hsing University, put aside the bright red litchi, the delicate fruit aroma came to the nostrils, and the sweet taste in the sour spread in the mouth, and this is the lychee picked two years ago!

Lin Huiling's team is composed of professors from Chung Hsing University and Yishou University. Professors with professional backgrounds in agriculture and materials have reused common agricultural and fishery wastes such as shrimp shells and oyster shells across fields. Lin Yaodong, a professor in the Department of soil and Environmental Science at Chung Hsing University, made the waste into an antibacterial chopping board, opening a window for domestic antibacterial materials. The research and development achievement of this agricultural waste, "the application of micro / nano natural materials in circular economy in the production and preservation of agricultural products", won the 16th National Innovation Award in December last year.

Litchi harvested two years ago has been preserved with food-grade chitin so far (Photography _ Lin Yijun) to set up a team across schools and fields to jointly target shell wastes.

"We usually have a chat after the meeting to see what everyone is doing, and we string it together before we know it." Lin Yaodong smiled and took a closer look at the team lineup, including Lin Huiling, a professor of horticulture at Chung Hsing University, Huang Zhenwen, a professor of plant diseases at Chung Hsing University, Xie Qingchang, director of the horticulture test site of Chung Hsing University, he Mengshu, head of the Physics Department of Chung Hsing University, and Weng Zhihuang, dean of the Department of Civil Engineering and Ecology of Yishou University.

"Zhongxing University is based on agriculture, and the focus of the school is around agriculture." Lin Huiling, who has studied post-processing techniques for fruit and vegetable harvesting for more than 30 years, says that most of the university's research programs focus on how to solve existing agricultural problems. "even if it is not an agricultural college, it is necessary to help provide technical support." This also indirectly illustrates the role of non-agricultural background teachers in the team.

This time, the R & D team targeted agricultural and fishery waste, especially shrimp and crab shells. Lin Yaodong points out that the world produces 6 million to 8 million tons of shell waste every year, but the disposal cost per metric ton ranges from NT $2 million to NT $4500. If you can reuse it at a high value, you can save about NT $2.5 billion a year.

Lin Yaodong, professor of soil environment department of Zhongxing University, and Lin Huiling (photography _ Lin Yijun), professor of horticulture department, the output value of traditional treatment is not high, and shrimp and crab shell powder can be micronized to resist bacteria.

At present, there are about four types of disposal methods for shrimp and crab shell waste: burning, burying, making fertilizer and others. Lin Yaodong explained that the disadvantage of burning and burying is that it is easy to cause air and soil pollution, while the cost of composting is high and the price is low. other uses, such as the production of seedling cultivation medium or feed, the production cost is higher, but the degree of degeneration is limited.

The research and development team found that the chitosan extracted from shrimp and crab shell waste had antibacterial properties, while the oyster shell modified by micron had antibacterial and anti-mildew effect. "with the use of antibacterial properties, these wastes can be turned into high-value antibacterial materials, with an estimated annual commercial value of about 4 billion," Lin said

The R & D team also pointed out that more than 500 million people move internationally every year, high-risk bacteria are easy to spread across countries, and the global population is aging at an alarming rate. It is estimated that the global population over 65 will exceed 21.1% by 2020, and the demand for medical care will increase greatly in the future. It is even more urgent to develop environment-friendly antibacterial materials.