Fueler Tube
for energy gel bubbles
1. Submission Information 1.1. Contact Information: Brayan Stiven Pabรณn Gรณmez bepabong@unal.edu.co +57 313 389 5363
Rafael Ricardo Moreno Boada rrmorenob@unal.edu.co +57 321 408 0048
Mailing Address City, State, Zip, Country: Transversal 78N # 51A 20 S. Bogotรก D.C., 10861, Colombia. 1.2. Submitting Category Category: Overall Project Autodesk Fusion 360: No Aluminum: No
2. Product Description and Image 2.1. Product title and description. The activity of hydration and energization of the athletes during their sport activity is mainly represented in the consumption of hydrating drinks and energy gels. Most of these products have single-use sachets that are commonly disposed at roadside ditches because of the limitations of the activity. The sachets are typically made up of a laminated film of plastic and aluminium therefore deeming them a difficult item to recycle and hence ending up in landfill (or worse in the waterways or oceans). The fueler tube system is created to reduce single-use packages waste resulting from the energy gels consumption in sports activities, through offering a new product cycle that involves reutilization, recycling and use of natural materials. The system is designed for amateur marathon athletes who need to maintain their performance for about 4 hours on the races, demanding the maximum to their muscles and helping them to build their fueling strategy while training all this based on 3 elements: Carrying, rationing and consumption:
Carrying: Bring energy gels with you along a race day allows you to keep energy for final stages in marathons providing carbohydrates and glycogen to your body and muscles during the race. Rationing: By taking the gels early your body shouldn’t be under great duress and you have a better chance of processing the sugars faster and without stomach issues. The digestive track is trainable like most every part of the body. So, if an athlete eats gels in training, particularly, if he does it at set intervals that correlate to when he will take them during the race, his body will learn to keep the digestive track running and will digest the gel more readily. Consumption: Since the marathon is a race, the consumption of these products might be on movement
2.2.Product image
Portable Tube and Main container
Fueler Tube for energy gel bubbles We propose a system based on 4 products, 1 a main container, 2 a portable tube, 3 an arm holder, 4 Energy gel bubbles. The system propose to pack the gel within edible alginate bubbles. Users can purchase the main container on specialized stores which contain 30 bubbles and also they can get the portable tube and the arm holder in these stores for carrying the bubbles along the race. Bubbles can be accumulated in the quantities of up to 5 bubbles inside the portable tube. The tube is carried by the athlete along the race and can be filled again for other race using the bubbles from the main container. When the athlete need more bubbles, he can bring the empty container to the store and get a new one filled with bubbles.
2.2.Product image
Portable tube, Main container and Arm holder
Spring
Gel Bubbles
Recycled stainless steel is provided from feed stocks
Collection of green algae
Inner and outer shell
Hot Winding Tempering process
SKY GREEN material (PETG) is provided from SK Chemicals Material is formed by injection molding They are assembled with the Spring and the magnet Portable tube is prepared and transported to specialized stores
Magnet Iron, and boron heating After cooled and solidified, alloy is broken up and crushed into pieces. Powdering process Pressing Heating Finishing Magnetizing
Synthesized sodium alginate
Main container
is prepared and transported to specialized stores
Recycled silicone is provided from companies like ECO USA Material is formed by heating and injection molding Is assembled with magnet
Transport
Specialized Store
User
1. User buys the kit (Gel bubbles + Portable tube + Arm Holder)
Buys the kit
When container is too damaged is the end of the useful life
Refills Empty containers are recolleted for the company and sterilized for redistribution
Spherification process
Material is formed by injection molding Container is assembled and filled with bubbles
Arm holder
Components are recycled into new raw materials
Company recollect damaged containers and disassembled them
Usual production of the energetic gel
SKY GREEN material (PETG) is provided from SK Chemicals
Consume
Fills the tube
User brings the empty container to the store
Use the bubbles until the container is empty
2.3. Illustration of the product system
4. User re-fills the portable tube until the bubbles are over
3. User goes to racing and consumes the energy gel (saves the tube)
2. User fills the portable tube, and goes to racing
3. Reutilization Cycle & Business Model Fueler tube system is distributed by specialized stores to customers, used by customers, and then returned to the specialized stores by the customer. The product system is simple, the customer buys an initial kit that contains a main container with 25 bubbles, a portable tube that is the one that he takes during the development of the activity (marathon race) and that contains the ideal dose for exercising and an arm holder that allows to carry the container during the activity.
At the end of the life cycle, the products are delivered to the specialized store, for being collected by the company to be disassembled and recycled
1. User buys the kit (Gel bubbles + Portable tube + Arm Holder)
2. User fills the portable tube, and goes to racing 5. User exchanges the empty bubbles jar and buys a new one (reuses the tube)
Each time the user performs the activity, he refills the portable tube with 5 bubbles that he takes from the main container. When the bubbles are finished the user returns the main container to the store and exchanges it for another full main container. The main container is collected and transported to a sterilization facility, sterilized, and repacked for redistribution. At the end of the useful life of the products, when neither the main container nor the portable tube are suitable for use, the production company collects them and they are recycled to be raw material for the production of new containers. The increased cost of production of the plastic containers over the sachets is offset by the reduction in the number of containers required to be produced and the cost of transporting the bottles to the sterilization facilities is offset by the cost of taking the sachets to the landfills and the cost of new materials for its production.
3. User goes to racing and consumes the energy gel (saves the tube) 4. User re-fills the portable tube until the bubbles are over
4. Material Selection 4.1. Overview.
4.3.
Main container: SKYGREEN PETG is the registered trade name of Glycol Modified Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETG) resin manufactured by SK Chemicals. SKYGREEN PETG is designed to offer excellent properties for injection molding. Its transparency, chemical resistance and processability make it a highly suitable and cost effective material choice for the application. As the container will be reused for at least 2-3 year, it will have a longer lifecycle than conventional packages and can be returned for recycling to the producer without problems. The two pieces (cap and body) are made of the same plastic, so they can be recycled without being separated. Also this is a cradle to cradle certified product with a certification level of Bronze and a material health level of Gold. Portable tube: SKYGREEN PETG is used as main material in the portable tube, but this contain another two materials. A magnet made of recycled ferrite and a recycled stainless steel spring. All the elements are easy to disassemble and 100% recyclable. Arm holder: This element is composed by an small steel inner part, a case of SKYGREEN PETG and a bracelet made of silicone rubber 100% recyclable through depolymerization. All the elements are easy to disassemble and separate. Alginate bubbles: The alginate bubbles are made of sodium alginate + calcium chloride + energy gel traditional ingredients. The alginate is made of brown algae and it’s 100% natural. It is an edible element and easily biodegradable.
4.2.
Material Reutilization.
Material Health.
SKYGREEN PETG: NFPA health score 0
http://www.c2ccertified.org/products/scorecard/ecoze n_and_skygreen
Silicone Rubber: NFPA health score 0
http://www.gcelectronics.com/order/msds/149.pdf https://sehsc.americanchemistry.com/Health-and-Envi ronmental-Research-and-Product-Stewardship/
Sodium alginate: NFPA health score 0
http://www.srlchem.com/msds/9005-38-3.pdf
Stainless Steel: NFPA health score 0 http://www1.mscdirect.com/MSDS/MSDS00030/0005 2050-20160831.PDF
Ferrite: NFPA health score 0
http://www.allianceorg.com/pdfs/MSDS_Ceramics.pdf
[ (100) recycled or rapidly renewable x 1 ] + [ (100) recyclable or compost-able/biodegradable x 2 ] 3
= 100
The 100 score is achieved based on a 100% of the SKYGREEN PETG used to produce the components is recyclable, 100% of the silicone rubber used in the arm holder is recyclable, 100% of the magnet is made of recycled ferrite, 100% of the stainless steel used to produce the spring is sourced from recycled material, and the 100% of the alginate bubbles are biodegradable. The 3 components of the kit (main container, portable tube and arm holder) can be returned to the manufacturer for recycling after 2-3 years depending on requirements and condition of them.
4.4 Impact Statement. The use of certified materials was crucial for the development of our system because the characteristics and advantages that in this case the SKYGREEN PETG has, give the product a much higher added value, because they guarantee that the material complies with certain conditions that allow both environment and people are affected in a positive way.