BPA - Why Our Plastic Bottles Need to Be BPA free?

(image taken from Clean Body Living website)

We often notice this sign saying 'BPA free' when we walk down the aisles of hypermarket displaying various types of plastic drinking bottles. It seems like a must for the prestigious plastic bottle manufacturers today to put the sign on their products so that customers will be like 'oh ok, BPA must be something nasty, since it says it is free from this substance, it must be safe to use', without actually knowing what BPA is.

Back to 1891...

BPA stands for bisphenol A, a chemical substances that is used in manufacturing of polycarbonate plastic (PC) derived from petroleum. It was first synthesized as early as 1891 by a Russian chemist named Aleksandr Dianin (but it was first mentioned in scientific paper in 1905 by Thomas Zincke from Germany, and of course it was written in German that I couldn't understand the content). Only after over 60 years, in 1953, two scientists - Dr. Hermann Schnell and Dr. Daniel Fox - respectively discovered PC through the reaction between BPA and phosgene. Both of them were amazed by its durability and strength, and continued developing this polymer. At the beginning, this material was used in electrical and electronic appliances and then slowly moved into industries producing plastic bottle and lining of canned food.

International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia 2015 (IGEM 2015)

The International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (IGEM) is here again in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) from 9th to 12nd September 2015! For IGEM since year 2011,  Expomal International Sdn Bhd had been the host until this year, when this annual event was taken over by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water Malaysia (KeTTHA) (The first IGEM was held in 2010 by Green Purchasing Network Malaysia). The theme for IGEM 2015 is Powering The Green Economy which covers the following 5 key areas:

Compared to the previous two years which I attended, the theme this year looks more interesting but the number of exhibitors are much more lesser (I believe it was due to the economic crisis we are facing now where many companies pulled out), in which a lot of the exhibitors are from the solar energy section. I would like to feature one company from each of the key areas above.

The History of Vaping - Tracing Back to 1963

(photo taken from abc News website)

A few months ago, if I smell a whiff of sweet fruity scent, I would have thought that someone sitting nearby must be eating candy. But today, things are a whole lot different. There is no way to run no way to hide because they are EVERYWHERE including indoor dining area. Well, relax, I was just exaggerating to get the mood started. This sweet smelling vapor is not toxic gas, but something people call 'vape', or electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), which has recently swept through Malaysia especially among young people. I have heard of the term 'e-cigarette' long time ago but had not actually seen one, until this year when I saw some guys puffing away at the shopping centre.

Working with a vape company, Herbert A. Gilbert has launched 1963®.

(photo taken from Ashtray Blog) 

1963: Smokeless Non-tobacco Cigarette

In school, we were taught that e-cigarette is used to 'cure' nicotine addiction, so that smokers can stop smoking and harming their health. And I thought that was the original intention of this invention too until I read an interview with the inventor of the e-cigarette, Herbert A Gilbert. Herbert thought that the smoke produced as a result of combustion was not something pleasant to be taken into our lungs, so he invented the other version of cigarette that did not require burning, just flavoured water vapour powered by battery as heat source. The first smokeless non-tobacco cigarette patent was filed as early as in 1963 but no manufacturer was willing to produce this product because at that time tobacco cigarette was selling like hot cakes and those companies want to protect their market, there was no need for an alternative that might give consumers an implication that tobacco cigarette is not healthy.