Browsing by Author "Wijerathne, W.D.C.C."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Embargo
Current Status and Challenges in Using Plant-Food Waste in the Cosmetic Industry – A Case Study in the Sri Lankan Context
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2022-09-15) Thilakarathne, M.A.P.K.; Wijerathne, W.D.C.C.
The majority of contemporary research has focused on the cosmetic application in fresh plant materials but there is a lack of critical analyses on the potential of plant waste material for the cosmetic industry. In this regard, this study was conducted with aid the literature from the 2000-2022 period. Accordingly, we can conclude that the nonedible plant materials such as seeds and peels and food wastes contain a significant number of phytochemicals which are the key ingredient of natural cosmetic products, and low-cost as well as non-toxic ingredients for cosmetic products. But using food waste can be challenging since plants are biodegradable, before using for cosmetics it should be tested for any microorganism activity which can affect the skin as well. Then availability and collection of waste such as soaked water, seeds, and peels will be difficult since first of all it has to be consumed in the food used in the cosmetic industry. However, the analysis result of the phytochemical content of plant waste has shown a significant value in the cosmetic industry due to their anti-inflammatory activity, antioxidant activity, anti-tyrosinase, and elastase activity for the skin.
Open Access
Physicochemical Properti es of a Brick Made from Clay Brick Waste/Cement/Rice Husk Ash – Insights from the Microstructure and FTIR Analyses
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2024-12-04) Wijerathne, W.D.C.C.; Samaraweera, R.L.; Rajapaksha, R.P.T.N.
Masonry units (i.e., bricks or earth blocks) made from agro and demoliti on waste have become popular day-by-day as a sustainable soluti on for environmental polluti on. At the same ti me, such developments are also proposed as “adsorpti ve units” to treat heavy metals and organic dyes in industrial effl uent streams. In this regard, a brick made from rice husk ash/cement/clay brick waste has been proposed to serve as both a masonry and adsorpti ve unit with a compressive strength of 3.61 MPa and 51% water absorpti on, which is suitable for non-load-bearing applicati ons and can eff ecti vely adsorb common pollutants in wastewater (i.e. Pb(II), Hg(II), As(V)). However, the reported adsorpti on and mechanical properti es have not been linked with the brick’s microstructure and surface characteristi cs. Thus, an in-depth understanding of the brick’s performance is unclear. In this regard, the present study uti lizes Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transformati on Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques to investi gate the above. As per study outcomes, a pozzolanic reacti on is evident in the brick through SEM and FTIR analyses. The phases portlandite, ett ringite and calcium hydroxide phases are visible in the brick aft er 28 days of development, and the brick’s physical properti es (water absorbency and compressive strength) can be correlated with C-S-H and C-A-H phases. Based on FTIR studies, it is evident that acti ve groups (O-H and C-S-H) exist on the brick’s surface to assist the adsorpti on of Hg (II), Pb(II) and As(V) adsorbates.
Open Access
A Spring – Loaded Actuator Developed By DC 3481 Silicone / Polyaniline – Based Dielectric Polymer Film
(SLIIT, Faculty of Engineering, 2023-10) Dissanayake, D.M.N.T.; Wijerathne, W.D.C.C.; Shakaf, S.; Samaraweera, M.A.R.L.; Asela, A.U.; Premarathna, A.K.C.P.
Dielectric polymer films play a significant role in soft robotics in actuator development. Silicone and acrylic materials are commonly used for creating dielectric polymer films with superior properties compared to other potential materials such as PVDF and Polyurethane. Published literature reports applying different fillers to enhance the electromechanical response of dielectric polymers. Starting with an already-reported novel dielectric polymer based on polyaniline/DC 3481 silicon, we report the fabrication and characterization of a spring-loaded actuator. Here we developed a simple spring-loaded actuator, and three different designs were used to optimize the actuator design. As per research outcomes, it can be concluded that paper tie-based clamping provides the best configuration for the actuator in terms of high deflection and low tendency to short-circuit. The developed actuator renders the maximum deflection of 4.19 mm at 2 kV voltage, and the actuation time is approximately 115 s. The proposed actuator is superior to many reported actuators in terms of maximum deflection and corresponding voltage. The proposed actuator and the corresponding dielectric polymer thus have potential applications in developing actuators for haptics with comparatively high deflection.