On February 2, 2022 at Even Hall 102-104, Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, together with Prof. Dr. Anek Laothamatas, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, and Prof. Sirirurg Songsivilai, Permanent Secretary of the Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, had presided over the Invention Day 2021-2022 and had presented the 47th National Research Award to honor Thai researchers with outstanding works that contribute greatly to the academic circle and the nation. This Award acknowledges researchers and inventors who develop innovative ideas, thus creating collective wisdom. There are 292 awards in 12 academic fields classified into 4 categories, namely National Outstanding Researcher, Research award, Thesis award, and Invention award.
Mrs. Piyada Suwandittakul, Researcher of Green Latex and Rubber Materials Research Team, Innovative Rubber Manufacturing Research Group of MTEC received the invention award at this event. Dr. Wannee Chinsirikul, the Executive Director of NANOTEC, together with Dr. Surapich Loykulnant, Director of Innovative Rubber Manufacturing Research Group (IRM), had also participated in the event. The Invention Day 2021-2022 was hosted by the National Research Council of Thailand.
MTEC research that has been awarded is about structural reform of the natural latex foam production system.
Inventor: Mrs. Piyawan Suwandittakul
Co-Inventors:
- Mr. Suriyakamon Montha
- Mr. Pipatcha Rakdee
- Miss Butsaba Choosuk
- Mrs. Chaveewan Kongkaew
At present, Thailand is the world’s number one rubber producer; however, the global economic slowdown in the past years has decreased rubber demand, which is contrary to the rubber production in the country that is continually increasing. Thus, the rubber price has fallen and affected the country’s economy. The government and private sectors, therefore, had cooperated to help rubber farmers and small entrepreneurs by creating a policy to support farmers to produce concentrated latex from fresh late. Concentrated latex can be used to producing various products such as latex pillows and mattresses as the OTOP products, which helps create value-added to the latex.
According to the export data of Thai Customs and an analysis of market data, the export value of bedding products in Thailand has increased every year and this trend seems to be continuing in the near future. However, the rubber bedding industries both domestically and internationally have high competitiveness because consumers have various alternative products with low prices, and existing manufacturers have strength in both knowledge and technology. It is thus quite difficult for new and small producers to enter this industry. Also, there are problems of the production process, such as lack of consistency in the quality of concentrated latex, the main raw material. The manufacturing that requires modern machinery and equipment that control the production capacity, the chemical formula for vulcanization and foaming of rubber, which helps produce bedding products with good properties and qualities, as well as the problem of distributing the product to the market.
All of these problems lead to the project structural reforms of the production system of the natural latex. Three main objectives of this project have been identified as follows.
- To help group of rubber farmers, cooperatives community, enterprises, which are the owner of raw materials (fresh latex) to be able to produce concentrated latex and rubber products with full integration in their community.
- To help the producers of concentrated latex in various ways. For example, to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals, such as ammonia, MTD and ZnO, thus minimizing ammonia vapors released into the atmosphere. Also, to help decrease the curing time of concentrated latex, and the investment of equipment for the storage of concentrated latex before being sent to use as raw materials for producing foam rubber products.
- To help foam rubber manufacturers to get rid of unnecessary steps, such as the ammonia dehydration process from the concentrated latex and the creation of pollution from ammonia vapors into the atmosphere, thus producing good-quality products.