Northumbria University academics are now working with partners in Pakistan and the UK to develop a novel solution that will utilize this waste product and benefit the community at large.
The project partners are working together to develop a novel two-part system. The first portion will employ new technology to turn banana trash into textile fibers, and the second element will take the waste that is produced during that process and use it to generate renewable energy. This will not only lessen the textile industry’s negative environmental effects but also provide clean electricity to the 50% of Pakistani rural residents who presently live off the grid and depend on fossil fuels for energy.
According to the research, the procedure can be applied to nearly any type of agricultural waste, which means it may be utilized anywhere in the globe and assist communities and the environment by providing energy and renewable textiles.
Under the UK’s national innovation agency Innovate UK, the project named “improving access to sustainable energy in rural Pakistan using food and fiber agro-waste as a renewable fuel” (SAFER) has been awarded around £380,000 ($385,890) through the Energy Catalyst program.
The program provides funding to help firms and organizations in the UK and abroad create cutting-edge, market-driven energy technology that will improve access to energy in south or southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The National Textile University and biogas experts Prime Eurotech, both located in Pakistan, will collaborate with the waste-to-energy company Eco Research Ltd, based in Dudley, while Northumbria University, located in Newcastle upon Tyne, will serve as the project’s lead institution.
Material scientist Dr. Jibran Khaliq of Northumbria University’s mechanical and building engineering department studies the conversion of waste energy. “Pakistan’s textile sector is responsible for significant environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and microplastics,” he stated, discussing the effects of the SAFER project.
“Our collaborators at the National Textile University in Faisalabad have created a system to turn agricultural waste from bananas into textile fibers, but up until now, this innovation hasn’t been scaled up due to the lack of energy in rural Sindh, where most bananas are cultivated. We will be working to create a new waste-to-energy system that will transform agricultural waste into reasonably priced, renewable energy over the course of the upcoming year. By creating biofertilizers, this approach will increase soil fertility and food production while also helping the textile sector and nearby populations, according to Khaliq.
An estimated 80 million tonnes of agricultural waste are produced annually by Pakistan’s banana industry.
This might lead to the production of 30 million tonnes of nitrogen-enriched biofertilizers and more than 57,488 million cubic meters of syngas, also known as synthesis gas. Syngas is a gas produced artificially by reacting waste materials to produce other gases. It is acknowledged as a greener method of producing electricity and has a wide range of applications.
Working with Northumbria University and the National Textile University on the Banana to Textile Fibre project using syngas will be a ground-breaking experience, according to Dr. Muhammad Saghir, director of Eco Research Ltd.
“This novel strategy will not only convert agricultural waste into environmentally friendly textiles, but it also demonstrates a striking convergence of environmentally conscious methods and cutting-edge technology, resulting in the creation of jobs locally and the accomplishment of the UK’s net zero goal,” stated Saghir.
The project has a one-year funding window, but there are intentions to expand the relationship and project later on.
