Researches at the Urban Management Science Institute of the State Academy of Sciences recently developed a compound lagging material mainly from waste polystyrene, a kind of the urban rubbish. The material costs very low in production, and is of high heatproof efficiency and very convenient to deal with in building operation. And it is also good for improving urban beauty. As it is green material that causes no environmental pollution, it attracts the public attention.
Some days ago we met Kim Yun Chol, head of the institute, who told us a story.
One day a few years ago Kim Chang Su in charge of a section of the institute came to see a good deal of scrap polystyrene piled at a dump on his way home. He knew glass, vinyl, plastic and all others but polystyrene are recycled.
Kim decided to solve this problem with his fellow researchers. First he made a plan to produce lagging material by making the most of the heatproof property of polystyrene. And he divided the researchers into several teams to conduct the research work by individual processes. The biggest challenge was to pulverize waste polystyrene to a certain size. As polystyrene is flexible it is difficult to pulverize it with an ordinary crusher. Kim intensified the research with his creative wisdom and zeal scanning a good deal of sci-tech documents with his scientists. At last a new type of pulverizer was made with a rational balance of form of fan, speed of rotation and output of electric motor.
And while they were manufacturing facilities necessary for the mixing process they encountered a number of sci-tech problems. However, So Ok Son and Ko Chol Ryong conducted the research work day and night and thus managed to manufacture a new cylinder-shaped vertical agitator that mixes waste foamed plastic with cement and developed an additive so as to increase the production and improve the quality of the compound lagging material while saving a great amount of cement.
It is suitable material for use in actual conditions as it was developed on the basis of analysis of the merits and demerits of organic lagging and inorganic lagging materials. Therefore, it was granted an invention certificate of the DPRK and a state certificate of registered sci-tech achievement and a certificate of applied sci-tech achievement.
On the basis of the achievement the researchers conducted the work of putting the production of the material on the industrial basis forcefully to satisfy the demand from construction projects.
The material is easy to use in building operation and can be introduced into buildings by an ordinary method. And it has a good adhesion and can be plastered without the aid of wire net. So it is highly appreciated by construction officials and workers.
Kim Chang Su says, “We will make sure the citizens enjoy a wealthy and civilized life to their heart’s content by intensifying scientific research work.”
The researchers never rest on their laurels. They are now engrossed in a new research task.
Article: Pak Yong Il