Kuwaiti inventor Nasser Al-Jimaz

GENEVA: Nasser Al-Jimaz, a 16-year-old Kuwaiti inventor, is competing for the award of the 44th International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva, jostling for the prize among 1,000 contenders from 40 countries.

Jimaz is taking part in the Geneva exhibition, sponsored by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Swiss Government, representing an expedition of the GCC Patent Office. The Kuwaiti citizen is the youngest inventor taking part in the international competition, with his innovation of transforming carbon dioxide (CO2) into plastic granules.

Jimaz had developed desire for creativity when he was eight of age, joining the Scientific Center, where he discovered his interest in chemistry. At first, he entertained himself with mixing liquids and gases at the laboratory.

Scientific issues

The Kuwaiti innovator told said in an interview that he started to question basic scientific issues as he grew up, such as how to tackle the environment deterioration, and cope with hazards threatening the Earth and the human race.

Huge waste caused by consumption of various edible materials and food, namely bananas, had caught his attention, and he was wondering how to get rid of such waste when it dawned on him that peels contain the material aster which can be transformed into plastic. "I engaged myself in lengthy studies looking for methods how to treat the banana aster with chemical substances," he said.

"I could not sleep at night when I discovered the combination and my family was overwhelmed with joy realizing that my joining of the Scientific Club was not a waste of time." He explained that he succeeded in transforming carbon dioxide into plastic granules; subjecting the gas to chemical interactions before producing the tiny plastic pieces.

Jimaz said that his invention is better than other proposed methods; such as dissipating the carbon dioxide in sea and oceans' waters, "for the Kuwaiti invention could eventually help in creating new jobs." The plastic granules are used in various plastic industries.

Ambitious innovators

Meanwhile, Metleg Al-Baqmi, in charge of supporting innovation at the GCC Patent Office, said that the Council is very much keen on encouraging ambitious innovators in various fields in the member countries.

Current approach in the GCC countries is shifting from consuming to producing societies and that can be attained by supporting the skilled youth in all scientific and intellectual sectors. The GCC bureau holds regular sessions to offer technical and legal consultations to the inventors. - KUNA