How UNSDG Impacts Singapore and Me

Introduction

Welcome to my ICPD blog!!! I am Ahmed Muhsin a year 2 student studying chemical engineering @ Singapore polytechnic. I want to document and show my progress in my Introduction to Chemical Product Design (ICPD) module by writing this blog.

I hope by the end of this module i would have improved my 3D modeling capabilities and be able to use Fusion360 to a reasonably proficient degree. I also hope that my team would have completed our chemical that will help achieving the UNSDG goal that my team has selected which are UNSDG Goal 13: Climate Action and Goal 12: Responsible Consumption & Production. If you want to find out more about me please click here.

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What are UNSDGs 🌍

Imagine if humanity had a group chat to tackle the biggest issues we face. Enter the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs for short. These 17 goals are like the Avengers of global challenges. They might not cover every hiccup, but they're definitely taking on the Thanos-level threats to our planet. From ending poverty and hunger to promoting quality education and sustainable cities, the SDGs are our roadmap to a better future.

Are these goals achievable?🎯

You betcha! It's like trying to beat the final level of a video game: totally doable, but the real challenge is the time limit🕒. The UNSDGs aim to wrap up by 2030, but let's face it, some of these goals, like zero hunger and no poverty, are stubborn problems. We might need a few extra lives (and money) to conquer them completely! 🍔💰 Despite the uphill battle, progress is happening. With innovation, collaboration, and a dash of determination, we're inching closer to making these goals a reality.

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WORLD OF PLASTIC🧪

To learn more about the uses of plastics in our daily life as well as the materials that were used before and eventually replaced by plastic, my school organized a learning journey for my class and we went to the WORLD OF PLASTIC exhibit at national museum of Singapore. To be honest I thought that the whole trip would be quite boring however I when arrived , I saw many things that that made my jaw drop.

Among the many displays, one revelation after another left me in awe. 🤯 I discovered innovations I'd never imagined, like ropes crafted from banana fiber. 🍌 Who knew the humble banana plant had such untapped potential? Certainly not me! It was a delightful shock to learn that even the fiber parts could be repurposed in such a creative and sustainable way. ♻️

The surprises didn't stop there. 🌟 I was fascinated to learn about the use of algae as a biopolymer to create objects like chairs. 🪑 Witnessing a 3D printer in action, transforming algae into functional furniture pieces, was mind-boggling. The printer itself resembled more of a robot hand than the typical image of a 3D printer, at least from my perspective. 🤖

There was also a back brace for a child which initially thought was some weird fashion trend parents used to make their children wear. But it was actually to correct any deformities someone might have for their back.

Separating micro plastics from organic trash is quite hard I don't know how the machines do it.

Reflecting on the experience, I realized how profoundly educational the trip had been for me. 💡 It sparked ideas for the chemical device my team would build later in this module. Moreover, it shed light on the pervasive presence of plastic in our daily lives and the alarming extent of pollution it causes. 🌊🚯

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SDGs My group selected🌱

My group picked SGD13: Climate Action and Goal 12: Responsible Consumption & Production. Why? Because we feel that these goals are quite relevant to Singapore and its future.

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption & Production

Ah, responsible consumption and production—a topic close to our hearts, and apparently, our stomachs too as in 2021 alone, Singaporeans managed to waste a jaw-dropping 817 million kilograms of food? That's enough to feed an army of hungry hippos! 🦛🍽️If we keep this up we will be on track fill up our Semakau Landfill by 2035. But fear not, with a little bit of mindfulness and a whole lot of recycling magic, we can turn the tide on our wasteful ways.

We need to turn our food waste to useful products by giving our food waste to organizations such as incecta or black soldier fly facility These facilities convert the food into fertilizer and the insects that feed on the waste can also be turn to feed stock for chickens thus making our trash into treasure.

 Goal 13: Climate Action

As we embark further into this decade, it's becoming increasingly evident that the heat is on—literally! With 2023 marking the fourth hottest year on record in Singapore, and 2024 poised to crank up the temperature even more, it's clear why we've got our sights set on Goal 13: Climate Action. Our planet is sizzling, and if we don't cool things down soon, we'll be toastier than a marshmallow in a campfire! 🔥

Why Are We Heating Up?

Blame it on the greenhouse gases! CO2, the notorious troublemaker, is wreaking havoc by trapping heat from the sun in Earth's atmosphere. And guess what? Singapore isn't innocent in this game. In 2021 alone, we churned out a whopping 53.7 million tonnes of CO2, earning us the not-so-coveted spot as the 21st highest emitter per capita in the world. Yikes! 😱

From the emissions profile above we can see the almost 83% of CO2 produced is from industry and power. it's high time we roll up our sleeves and get to work. 💪 By cutting down on power consumption, embracing greener products, and tightening regulations on industrial emissions, we can shrink our carbon footprint faster than you can say "global warming." 🌱♻️

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My Team's chosen chemical device

In the pursuit of combating climate change and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, my team has set our sights on developing an algae bioreactor. Why algae, you ask? Well, because

it's a green powerhouse! 🌱

Algae has the remarkable ability to gobble up CO2 from the atmosphere and churn out precious oxygen in return. It's like having your own personal air purifier, but way cooler! With Goal 13: Climate Action in mind, our goal is to harness this natural process to help cool down our planet one oxygen molecule at a time. 🌍❄️

But that's not all—algae is a versatile little organism. Not only can it be used to create biopolymers (as we learned in the "WORLD OF PLASTIC" section), but it also has the potential to revolutionize the agricultural industry. 🐄🌿 By turning algae into a replacement feedstock for farm animals like chickens and cows, we can reduce their carbon footprint while simultaneously curbing methane emissions as cows that feed on algae have a reduced methane production.

Now, you might be wondering, "Why all the fuss about methane?" Well, let me drop a knowledge bomb on you: methane is more than 28 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2! 😱 So by cutting down on methane production, we're not just making a dent in our carbon footprint—we're making a giant leap towards a cooler, greener planet for generations to come. 🌱🌏

Well anyway that is all from me. I hope to see you for my next blog. Bye Bye👋👋👋