AL RUSTAQ: Neeam al Harrasi, a school student from the Wilayat of Al Rustaq in the Governorate of South Al Batinah, has invented a new type of bioplastic using natural materials available in the Sultanate of Oman, such as rice water and fish scales, to make the mass production of bioplastics more affordable.
The school project in which Do’aa al Hashmi, a student also took part, aims to develop a decomposable plastic that is of similar quality to industrial plastic and to meet the challenges arising from the growing bans on single-use plastics in the Sultanate of Oman and all over the world.
Citing from the website of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Neeam's project by using the local materials would make the mass production of bioplastics more affordable. The project will also save oceans from plastic pollution.
The WIPO website added that the first version of the bioplastic developed by Neeam was too weak, but with trial and error she improved the bioplastic into a hard yet flexible material that could be used, for example, to make plastic cutlery. Neeam’s bioplastic innovation won first place in the “Cognitive Development Competition” that was held as part of Oman’s Science Festival in 2019.
Neeam said, "I made it stronger over time after doing more research and learning that oil makes plastic weaker. I then tested out the new version of the bioplastic in my school lab to make sure it works better."
She also highlighted the importance of protecting her intellectual property (IP). Since then, she has filed a patent for her bioplastics innovation with the Intellectual Property Department in the Sultanate of Oman. She hopes that her invention can be used in different parts of the world.
Neeam is WIPO’s first IP Youth Ambassador for the Sultanate of Oman, and is first to hold the title in the Arab Region. She is committed to promoting IP education among young people.
Neeam devotes a lot of her time for self-study as she enjoys researching different topics that help her come up with new ideas to improve the inventions she is developing with her school team.
Neeam plans to continue reading books and watching videos of other inventors, particularly chemical engineers, so she can learn from them and their processes. She mentors her junior peers as they embark on their innovative journeys through the school’s extracurricular competitions. Her quest is to develop new innovations that can save the planet. - ONA
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