Research Paper in Fulfillment of the Requirements in Research and

Enhanced Capstone, May 2018

Thermal Paper Insulator-Producing Machine

Lance Rafael N. Balangue1, Lancejohn Brandon T. Palma2, Mhon Vincent S. Saldivar3,
Rodineil D. Sotero4, Aliah Mae B. Abuel5, Kalyana D. Delson6, Chayeane Faith D. Gavino7,
Sarah Mae P. Lacanlale8, Trixie Joy L. Serrano9, Jorje Iva R. Zaparita10
Laboratory Senior High School, Saint Louis University – Baguio, Philippines
Abstract- Waste in our community is an on-going problem, and paper is considered to be
one of the rapidly increasing wastes in our time today. One of the contributors to the garbage
that people produce in our society are academic wastes which includes tons of paper that are
disregarded after use. As education develops, waste is also fast growing which makes it a big
problem in our community. To address this issue, the researchers planned to create a machine
named Thermal Paper Insulator – Producing Machine that would innovate the used paper that
is ready for disposal into another practical material that is useful in this time, which is a thermal
insulator. Unused paper is inserted in the machine and is shredded into small pieces which is
mixed with boric acid and water. After this process, drying of the mixture is to be followed and
the expected products are either wet spray insulator and dry paper insulator. Upon thorough
research, a Thermal Paper Insulator is developed to help lessen the paper wastes in schools,
utilize then use of scrap papers, and increase the awareness of the students in utilizing the use of
scrap papers as paper insulators.
Keywords-insulator, paper wastes, thermal, machine, shredded paper
INTRODUCTION and environmental costs. According to
Green School Initiative (n.d.), the land area
Background of the Study
of pine forest is rapidly decreasing with the
The paper industry in the Philippines rate of 72 million acres from 1953 to 33
plays a significant role in the million acres in 1999, and it is expected to
industrialization program of the country, decrease by 77% from 1950 to 2020 due to
contributing to the growth of the economy wood consumption for products like paper.
and providing opportunities to thousands of In the same year interval, NASA (2017)
workers. Unfortunately, it also contributes to stated that the global temperature will rise
the waste generation in the country. The by 1 degree Celsius which habitants on earth
average office employee uses approximately directly experience on a daily basis.
10,000 sheets of paper a year, creating a
Many have thought of ways to
stack almost four feet high (EarthShare,
recycle paper in hopes to eradicate the
2018). According to Rutgers, an average
masses of paper consumed. Paper mills that
university with a campus population of ten
help recycling papers imply The Ecological
thousand students uses more than one
Solid Waste Management Act (R.A. No.
million sheets of bond and letterhead paper
9003) that aims to transform and improve
each month, which equates to 200,000
the solid waste management of the country
eighty-watt bulbs or enough energy to power
through the following measures: source
2,500 homes for an hour. Thus, free printing
reduction and waste minimization measures,
at universities and offices wastes more than
composting, recycling, reusing, recovery
paper; it also leads to significant monetary
before collection treatment and disposal in

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 Saint Louis University-Laboratory Senior High School
appropriate and environmentally sound solid
waste management facilities.
Turning paper into insulation is one
of the possible ways to reduce paper waste.
The usage of paper as insulators is generally
known as cellulose insulation. Modern
cellulose insulation is made from either 75%
to 85% ground up recycled paper or
recycled denim, but the researchers will only
use shredded paper wastes for this study.
According to an article in Home Logic
(n.d.),
“Cellulose insulation has the highest
amount of recycled content compared to any
other forms of insulation. The material is
composed of 75-78% recycled fibers that are
usually obtained from recycled waste
newspaper. The remaining 15% is made up
of fire retardant substances, like boric acid
and ammonium sulfate”.
According to Paul Fisette in his
article Cellulose Insulation-A Smart Choice
(2005), the Cellulose Insulation
Manufacturers Association (CIMA) claims
that insulating a 1,500 ft2 house with
cellulose will recycle as much paper as an
individual will consume in 40 years. CIMA
also posits the reduction of greenhouse gases
through the use of cellulose insulation that
would be otherwise produced by paper in
landfills.
In the thought of reducing ecological
wastes and contributing to ways on how to
effectively reuse and recycle paper, the
students of Saint Louis University-
Laboratory Senior High School have
innovated a machine similar to that of the
paper shredder, but is modified in order to
further process the shredded papers and turn
them into dry paper or wet spray insulators.
The machine is called the Thermal Paper
Insulator-Producing Machine (TPI-PM). It is
a disintegrator kind of shredder in which it
uses multiple blades to shred paper until the
2
particles are small enough to pass through a
sizing screen. Two blades are mounted in a
fixed position, while two to five more blades
are affixed to a rotating drum in the center
of the machine (Anderson, 2017). Pearce
(2015) identified the three major steps in the
production of cellulose insulation: initially
shredding of papers into strips 5 cm long,
mixing with adhesive and boric acid to aid
in fire-retardation and combat mold growth
and fend off pests, mold, wood decay and
corrosion, and enclosing the mixture into a
fiberizer that diminishes the size of the
fibers to about 4mm long and mixed with
more boric acid. TPI-PM further shortens
the three steps of producing paper cellulose
insulators into only one. Upon the insertion
of paper in the TPI-PM, the shredder on the
top of a cubic frame would immediately
disintegrate the paper as to how the fiberizer
would and afterwards release adhesive
which is composed of water, starch, glue,
and boric acid whilst continuously mixing
the paper and the solution in a container just
below the shredder with the aid of a rotating
agitator motor. The container may then be
detached and placed in the lowest part of the
frame for drying.
This study would not only give a
solution to the increasing amount of paper
wastes in universities but it would also raise
awareness of the amount of paper students
and the school itself are wasting. This would
encourage reducing the amount of paper
used and switching to alternatives possible
such as using technology to its fullest
potential e.g. E-books, reusing used papers,
and recycling to produce new products such
as an insulator.
Objectives
The objectives of this study are as follows:
1. To reduce paper waste in educational
institutions
Research Paper in Fulfillment of the Requirements in Research and
Enhanced Capstone, May 2018

2. To utilize the use of scrap papers and with the labels and functions is also
produce a cost efficient insulation presented.
3. To create a machine that will utilize
scrap papers into dry paper or wet
spray insulators QTY MATERIALS PRICE
GALVANIZED Php
4 pcs. IRON GI SHEET 320.00/pi
Significance of the Study 43”x22” ece
The study will address the present 3 GALVANIZED *Availab
issues of global warming and the decrease of (12ft)p EQUAL ANGLE le at
woodland areas. It will also contribute to cs. BAR 1”x1”x3mm home
ways on how to reduce paper waste and
extraneous paper consumption. *From
BEARING #6004
4pcs. broken
Scope and Delimitations 25mm
bicycles
The study will focus on the machine SKD-11 Php
that will make the paper insulation and the 20pcs. SHREDDER 51.00/pie
quality of the paper insulator itself. Only BLADES ce
waste papers from educational institutions *From
and neighboring establishments and offices 2pcs. SPROCKET #240 broken
will be used in the making of the insulation. bicycles
*From
Time and Location 2pcs. SPROCKET #80 broken
bicycles
The research is time bound. It started
on the third week of January and was “E-POWER” Php
finished last week of April, and was 1 pc. RECTIFIER/REGU 150.00/p
conducted inside the premises of Saint Louis LATOR c
University Laboratory Senior High School *Include
and in Cuneta Village Gibraltar Baguio City. d in
50pcs. WELDING ROD
For the first two months, the researchers welding
formulated the research problem along with payment
the compilation of related literatures that
will support the study.
METHODOLOGY
For the succeeding months, the
researchers articulated their methodology. Materials
The parts and materials for the making of
the machine was enumerated along with
tabulating the corresponding amount and
quantity of each material. The researchers Research Design
canvased different shops as to where the
materials are available and where the This study is descriptive in nature.
welding services for the assembly of the The machine is conducted in an industrial
machine is most budget-friendly and setting and its parts and functions are
accessible. The design of the machine along enumerated and identified. Variables are not
manipulated and are only measured once,

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 Saint Louis University-Laboratory Senior High School

specifically the dimensions of the machine flow of the input material to land in the
and the amount of materials to be used. container, and lastly, the packaging of the
whole project.

Prototyping
Procedure The prototyping was done in order
Requirement for the researchers to validate if the project
Analysis works in proper condition. Furthermore, it
functions as a testing and fault finding step
so that errors would be determined and
Hardware System Design corrected. Prototyping also serves as the
refining and finalizing stage of the project.
Prototyping
Unit and Integration Testing
The researchers tested part of the
machine from the shredder to the heating
chamber to determine if it is working
Unit and Integration Testing
properly. The researchers tested to see if
there are errors so that the researchers could
Constraints plan how to solve the sighted problem. Also
the researchers verified the machine if it
delivers the optimum product required and if
Acceptance it functions suitably all together.
Testing Constraints
The researchers encountered some
constraints while doing the proposed project.
Documentation Some constraints were on the hardware part
of the project specifically for the
construction of the project in putting
Operation and
Maintenance together different machines such as the
shredder and compressor in a single frame.
Several testing was done to patch-up the
Requirement Analysis constraints found and to have smooth
The researchers started the project by running devices which compose the
researching about the process of making proposed project.
cellulose insulations and thought of ways on Acceptance Testing
how to make it more efficient. The It is the concluding step of the
researchers also researched the different system wherein the project was tested by
kinds of shredders that would be most fit in other users and checked if the system
the function of the machine. accomplishes its purpose and the problems
Hardware Design that was encountered.
The main goal of the hardware Documentation
system design is to generate the appropriate
design suited for the project. This design In every development, the
includes the mechanisms of dynamo motors, adjustment in every portion of the project
the motion and handling of the shredder, the was documented in this section. It also

4
Research Paper in Fulfillment of the Requirements in Research and
Enhanced Capstone, May 2018
includes the description of materials used,
flowcharts, project developments, and other
components of documentation.
Operation and Maintenance
This is where the operations and
maintenance on the project was being stated
and maintained for further improvement and
innovation.
Machine Design
Parts and Functions
Main shaft gear and shaft assembly - serves
as the cutting blade holder. The main shaft
has a hexagon shape in the position of
cutting blade holder and has a round shape
at both ends in the position of the holder
main bearings and gears
Shredded papers guide – serves as a
pathway for shredded papers to the container
5
Shredded paper container – where the
shredded papers are confined and mixed
Manual presser – responsible for the
compaction of the shredded papers in order
to produce dry paper insulator
Compressor rack – holds the shredded
papers in the process of compaction
Heating chamber – where the drying process
occurs
Drying oven motor – produces heat for the
heating chamber
Manual presser control – controls the
pressure exerted upon the manual presser
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figure 1
POWER
SOURCE PAPER SHREDDER
MANUAL SHREDDED PAPER
COMPRESSOR MIXING
RACK
CONTAINER
HEATING
CHAMBER
The figure shows the setup and
operation of the system. It is composed of
the power source, paper shredder,
compressor and heating. First, the paper is
inserted to the paper. Next, the shredded
papers are mixed with the thermal insulator
solution. The solution is composed of boric
acid, binding agent, and water. Then, the
shredded paper with solution is compressed
in order that it is compact in drying process.
Lastly, the mixture was put inside the
heating chamber in order that it will be a
thermal paper insulator.
 Saint Louis University-Laboratory Senior High School
Table 1
Set up # Weight of Time when
Boric Acid the insulator
Added started to
burn
1 30 grams 3 mins 43
secs
2 35 grams 4 mins 06
secs
3 40 grams 4 mins 34
secs
Table 1 shows the time when the
Thermal Paper Insulator was burnt. This test
is conducted to see if the boric acid served
as flame retardant for the Thermal Paper
insulator. Set up number 1 has 30 grams of
boric acid and started to burn after 3 minutes
and 43 seconds. Set up number 2 has 35
grams of boric acid and started to burn after
4 minutes and 6 seconds. The last set up has
40 grams of boric acid and started to burn
after 4 minutes and 34 seconds. Boric acid
was proved to be an additive that is flame
retardant for the thermal paper insulator.
Table 2
Test # Thickness of
shredded papers
1 5.7mm
2 5.5mm
3 5.9mm
4 6.1mm
5 5.9mm
x̅ 5.82mm
6
Table 2 shows how thick are the
shredded papers are. Test 1 produced 5.7
mm, test 2 produced 5.5mm, test 3 produced
5.9mm, test 4 produced 6.1mm and test 5
produced 5.9mm.
The test is conducted if the blades of the
shredder that assembled 6mm apart can
produce a strips of paper ranging to 6mm to
6.5mm strips of paper. And it is shown in
table 2 that test 4 is the one satisfied the
expectation of the researchers.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Upon thorough research, a Thermal
Paper Insulator is developed to help lessen
the paper wastes in schools, utilize then use
of scrap papers, and increase the awareness
of the students in utilizing the use of scrap
papers as paper insulators.
The machine successfully
transformed scrap papers into paper
insulators. The paper shredder that was
disassembled and innovated. The machine is
built with a manual compressor for
compaction and heating chamber for drying
process. After the scrap papers undergone
the process stated in figure 1 the machine
successfully produced thermal paper
insulators.
Summing up, the researchers has
successfully integrated the concept of paper
shredder and insulator producing machines
into a machine that is economic and
environmental friendly.
The researchers recommend to the
future researchers with the similar project to
improve and enhance the following features
of the Thermal Paper Insulator-Producing
Machine. Additional feature of accepting
plastics and produce bricks. An electronic
agitator that can mix the solution
automatically and the compressor to be
connected with the agitator for an automatic
function. Upgrading the shredder to produce
Research Paper in Fulfillment of the Requirements in Research and
Enhanced Capstone, May 2018

smaller strips and shreds of paper is also

recommended for easier process of making
the insulation. References
Anderson, W. (2017). What are the different
types of shredders? Retrieved from

https://bizfluent.com/list-7246421- Rutgers' Cook College.

different-types-shredders-.html

Securing the future of Philippine industries.

EarthShare. (2018). Reduce your paper (n.d). Retrieved from
waste. Retrieved from
http://www.earthshare.org/2008/09/s http://industry.gov.ph/industry/paper
hortening-the.html

Fisette, P. (2005). Cellulose insulation: A

smart choice. Retrieved from
https://bct.eco.umass.edu/publication
s/articles/cellulose-insulation-a-
smart-choice/

Green School Initiative (n.d.). Changing

paper consumption. Retrieved from
http://www.greenschools.net/article.
php-id=75.html

Nordman, B. (2002, January 22). ReThink

paper. Earth Island Institute.
Retrieved from
http://www.rethinkpaper.org/

Pearce, J. (2015). Method of producing

cellulose insulation. Retrieved from
http://appropedia.org

Rutgers' Cook College. (2004, November 2).