Photo: RIA Novosti

Jellyfish are the new secret ingredient in eco-friendly diapers that have been developed by Cine’al Ltd., an Israeli nanotechnology start-up firm. It has created a line of ultra-absorbent items all made by the help of jellyfish. The product promises to soak up wet spots better than the competition.

Over the passing years, jellyfish populations have been on the rise according to Discover magazine. The sea critters are supposed to be one of the very few creatures to come out on top from the rising ocean temperatures brought on by global warming. Jellyfish have become so problematic that in 2013, a group of them forced a nuclear reactor to shut down in Sweden. It was closed down for a short time until the jellyfish were able to get unclogged from the cooling pipe. Up until now, very few uses have been found for jellyfish.

Another underlying issuing is that absorbent items like diapers and medical sponges have tucked inside them synthetic super-absorbing polymers with their final resting place being a garbage dump, taking a couple hundred years to break down. These very same products are also made with jellyfish and can biodegrade in 30 days or less. What is even more advantageous—jellyfish are super-cleaners absorbing twice the mess, the Times of Israel states in an article.

Inspiration for the jellyfish initiative came through research carried out by Tel Aviv University. It was able to make use of the jellyfishes’ ability to absorb up high quantities of liquid without any signs of deterioration. Researchers were able to harness this absorption by breaking down the flesh part of the jellyfish and blending in nanoparticles used as an antibacterial property. After careful measurements and testing, scientists created a material they call Hydromash. This unique component can be put into diapers, medical sponges, tampons, and even toilet paper, according to Discover magazine.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s 1998 US study discovered that an alarming 3.4 million tons of diapers were disposed of in garbage dumps on an annual basis. Cine’al’s president Ofer Du-Nour is hopeful that his company’s product will decrease the overflowing diapers that land in dumps and bring down the population of jellyfish.

“There are too many jellyfish in the sea, and too many Pampers in landfills. Cine’al may have the ultimate answer to both those issues,” Du-Nour told the Times of Israel. No set date has been determined as to when products infused with jellyfish will be sold. As reported by Green Prophet, Cine’al is presently in talks about building factories in South Korea and the state of South Carolina—two places that have been reported as strong jellyfish territories. Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_04_11/Jellyfish-declared-secret-ingredient-in-eco-friendly-diapers-6113/