Ricoh awards scholarships to students for development of sustainable innovations

The winners of the 12th Ricoh Sustainable Development Award work to help build a brighter future

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Jun 15, 2016, 09:32 ET

MALVERN, Pa., June 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricoh USA, Inc. today announced that Alexis D'Alessandro of Half Hollow Hills High School West in New York and Megha Vyakaranam of Independence High School in Texas have been selected as this year's recipients of the Ricoh Sustainable Development Award (RSDA) for innovations in water purification and greenhouse gas adsorption and storage at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) 2016. The award program, bestowed by Ricoh for the 12^th consecutive year, honors students who develop innovations that strengthen environmental sustainability.

By demonstrating sustainable solutions that will help create a more environmentally resilient future, honorees D'Alessandro and Vyakaranam were awarded a combined amount of $25,000 in scholarships from Ricoh.

"Every year we see talented, hardworking students use their creativity and skills to develop innovative and practical solutions that tackle the global environmental, social, and economic issues facing sustainability, demonstrating that a sustainable future can be achieved," said John Brophy, Vice President, Product Marketing, Ricoh USA, Inc. "Ricoh is proud to support these young innovators in their future endeavors with collaborative educational technologies and solutions that help bring their visions to life and to further inspire an environmentally sustainable world."

D'Alessandro developed a solar powered, sustainable permeate gap membrane distillation (PGMD) system for water purification in the Turkana Basin of Kenya. According to D'Alessandro, reverse osmosis (RO) has proven an effective method of water purification and has been widely implemented in much of the industrialized world, however, high production and energy costs of such systems are prohibitive to many under-developed nations. D'Alessandro's PGMD system provides an alternative to RO as an effective and more affordable method of water purification. The PGMD system is currently being implemented in the Turkana Basin of Kenya and is producing water at a rate of 200L/hour and a cost of 0.35 cents/Liter, representing an approximate 80-fold decrease in cost as compared to RO. This system has the potential to be disseminated, providing affordable drinking water to other water-deprived regions worldwide.

Vyakaranam's project, described as a super soaker for greenhouse gas, follows the design and synthesis of a novel metal organic framework (MOF) for adsorption and storage of gases like carbon dioxide. Vyakaranam says most existing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies suffer from high costs, extensive infrastructure, and sideline emissions. Vyakaranam's MOF demonstrated a high volumetric uptake of carbon dioxide of 930 cm/3g (20wt%), which is significantly higher than the next best MOF, MOF-177 (10wt%), of 481 cm3/g. This proposed structure presents an imperative initial step in efficiently capturing and storing tons of carbon dioxide to be recycled into useful products such as cement, fertilizers and fuel.

As part of the Special Awards Ceremony at Intel ISEF, Ricoh presents the RSDA recognition to students who develop new innovations that support the company's goal to spread environmentally and socially responsible business practices. Ricoh's involvement in this initiative has resulted in more than $400,000 in scholarships awarded to 30 students throughout the company's 12 years of participation.

The RSDA is an integral part of Ricoh's mission to pass down its vision of a sustainable society to the next generation, reinforcing Ricoh's belief in four pillars of sustainable environmental management: energy conservation, resource conservation and recycling, pollution prevention and biodiversity conservation. In support of this vision, Ricoh strives to minimize its environmental impact from resource extraction, energy consumption, chemical discharges, emissions and other activities, and to conserve the Earth's precious resources. Additionally, Ricoh supports a business model that minimizes the footprint of its activities while maximizing its economic value and contribution to society.

For past recipients' stories and to learn more details about Ricoh's care for the environment, please visit here.

| About Ricoh |

Ricoh is a global technology company that has been transforming the way people work for more than 80 years. Under its corporate tagline – imagine. change. – Ricoh continues to empower companies and individuals with services and technologies that inspire innovation, enhance sustainability and boost business growth. These include document management systems, IT services, production print solutions, visual communications systems, digital cameras, and industrial systems.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2016, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,209 billion yen (approx. 19.6 billion USD).

For further information, please visit www.ricoh.com

Contacts:

John Greco
Ricoh USA, Inc.
(973) 882-2023
[email protected]

Tracey Sheehy
Breakaway Communications for Ricoh
(212) 616-6003
[email protected]

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SOURCE Ricoh USA, Inc.