Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Aug 13, 2007
ePaper
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Aug 13, 2007 ePaper |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Research & Development New tech for cellulose nanofibre from banana plant waste
Aravindan Kottayam, Aug. 12 A new technology for manufacture of cellulose nanofibre from the waste of banana and plantain plants has been developed by Prof. Varkey Mathew, Head of the Department of of Chemistry, Baselius College, Kottayam, and his team of researchers. Applications
The product has many applications ranging from medical and electronic materials to composites and moulded products. The materials can be used as substitute for paper and plastic in many applications. The raw material is originally generated from atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, thereby reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide, a major cause of global warming. Farmers can generate additional income from the waste of these fruit yielding plants.
Banana and plantain are cultivated in almost all the tropical countries, generating about 300 million tonnes (mt) of the waste that can provide 12 mt of the solid fibre in various forms.. The material and the labour potential are created without any capital investment for their production, while the estimated investment for obtaining paper pulp by planting trees is Rs 1,000 crore for 1 lakh tonnes (according to the Indian Pulp and Paper Technical Association). India produces about 15 per cent of the world’s total production of banana and plantain fruits. Process
The process is named ‘Varkey-Unnikrishnan-Sivasankaran (V-U-S) Process’. The mass obtained from the V-U-S Process contains a gelatinous mass of cellulose nanofibre and short macro-fibre of the plantain/banana. The gelatinous mass/content can be isolated from this mixture and converted into sheets for special applications.
More Stories on : Research & Development | Horticulture/Fruits & Vegetables
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