Summary
Highlights
Being part of the James Dyson Award further validates UNBLOK's impact, demonstrating how innovative design can transform small habits into meaningful change. This recognition highlights that even simple ideas can solve significant real-world problems.
Leftover fats, oils, and grease (FOG) from cooking residues wash down drains, leading to hardened grease lumps that cause major blockages in home plumbing and city sewage systems. This isn't just a household issue but a widespread problem.
Jingru, Natalie, and Kai, Industrial Design students from AsianPacific University, developed UNBLOK. This simple filter system sits under the kitchen sink, capturing FOG from wastewater before it enters pipes. It's compact, easy to install, and designed for daily home use.
UNBLOK's unique feature is its filter core, made from palm fiber, the most abundant agricultural waste in Malaysia. The system effectively filters wastewater: a sink strainer catches large food scraps, and then the water flows through the palm fiber core, which captures up to 90% of household FOG.
Over a year, the team conducted more than 50 experiments, testing various agricultural wastes like coconut husk and sugarcane. Palm fiber proved to be the most efficient in both FOG absorption and water flow. After identifying the optimal material, they refined the design to its final form.
After use, the palm fiber core can be recycled. The absorbed oil is refined into biodiesel, and the leftover biomass is pressed into fuel pellets, ensuring that all waste is converted into valuable resources.