CAPSUNIAN ECHO

 

DOST-PCIEERD funds CapSU Burias R&D project

by Favie Gelyn Bardinas and Emily Zonio

Engr. Monalyn Oloroso virtually signed a contract under the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) Regional Research Institution (RRI) on September 23, 2021 via Zoom after getting the approval of the project “Development of Optimized Pineapple Fiber Scraping Machine”.

The said project was a collaborative work from the faculty members of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

It aims to develop an optimized mechanical pineapple fiber extractor in terms of the extraction capacity.

The authors were inspired to conduct this research as Philippine-made piña fabric remains to be an important product of the country and where a brighter future is seen as the industry is revived with the designer’s desire to produce innovative fashion materials.

Presently, pineapple leaf fiber for hand weaving is extracted by hand scraping with the use of coconut shells, glass, or porcelain, but is considered a very tedious process and which results to low scraping capacity and efficiency. This project is therefore imperative to mechanize the said process considering optimum performance in terms of capacity and efficiency. The project hopes to bring impact by attempting to increase the productivity of pineapple leaf fiber scraping thereby increasing income of the leaf scrappers and the production of pineapple fiber for hand-woven fabrics.

DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Enrico Paringit applauded the project leaders in their aim to uplift the R&D capabilities in these priority sectors in their respective regions in a pursuit to improve S&T research through their projects.

Regional Research Institution Program covers support for R&D to new researchers, scientists and engineers (RSEs) and new institution members of PCIEERD Consortium to assist them in the development of research capabilities and eventually increase the available RSEs in the region.

According to Engr. Oloroso, upon working on this project, they encountered difficulties such as deadline, the submission of proposals to the website of the agency, and time of presentation which is too limited.

However, she still manages to overcome it and was able to pass the evaluation.

            This activity will pave the way for more competitive academic and research facilities within our priority areas. This will drive more opportunities and more inclusive growth in delivering innovations for the people, especially in the regions.