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Nanomaterials from Agrowastes: Past, Present, and the Future

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Handbook of Nanomaterials and Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications

Abstract

Agricultural biomass is one of the biggest renewable sources for food, energy, and several industries. However, a significant fraction of agricultural biomass is discarded as nonedible waste known as agrowaste. In a broad sense, agrowaste is defined as every type of waste material generated during agricultural practices that includes chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, and unused crops along with nonedible plant parts. It has been estimated that around one-third of the crop is discarded as waste, which may vary from 1.6 billion to 6 billion tons every year along with lost food as well. Nanotechnology has become more and more influential in the agriculture and environment conservation. Nanotechnology made it possible to gain optimum crop precaution with 50–60% fewer chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers). Besides usage of conventional nanomaterials like nanofibers, quantum dots, and carbon nanotubes, nanotechnology also allows the utilization of many biodegradable and environment-friendly materials like agrowaste for the preparation of novel nanomaterials and contribute to agrowaste management. Instead of using edible parts of food for the synthesis, an advanced system utilizes nonedible parts or discarded crops as carriers, inducer, or raw material itself. In the past few years, agrowaste has been used for the manufacturing of nanostructures including weed like Cyperus rotundus, Medicago sativa, Gloriosa superba, and Tinospora cordifolia; crop residues like rice husk, soy and wheat straw; coconut shell, peel of orange, banana, and pomegranate. However, controlling the morphology and properties of such nanomaterials is still a challenge for the researchers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India

    Devarajan Thangadurai

  2. Department of Zoology, Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India

    Jarnain Naik & Muniswamy David

  3. Department of Environmental Science, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod, Kerala, India

    Jeyabalan Sangeetha

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Maan, Jordan

    Abdel Rahman Mohammad Said Al-Tawaha

  5. Applied Microbiology, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Edo University Iyamho, Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria

    Charles Oluwaseun Adetunji

  6. Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biosciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

    Saher Islam

  7. Department of Applied Genetics, Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India

    Arun Kashivishwanath Shettar

  8. Nutrition and Toxicological Research Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria

    Juliana Bunmi Adetunji

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  1. Devarajan Thangadurai
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  2. Jarnain Naik
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  3. Jeyabalan Sangeetha
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  4. Abdel Rahman Mohammad Said Al-Tawaha
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  6. Saher Islam
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  7. Muniswamy David
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  8. Arun Kashivishwanath Shettar
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Mexico

    Oxana Vasilievna Kharissova

  2. Instituto de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Leticia Myriam Torres Martínez

  3. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Mexico

    Boris Ildusovich Kharisov

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Thangadurai, D. et al. (2021). Nanomaterials from Agrowastes: Past, Present, and the Future. In: Kharissova, O.V., Martínez, L.M.T., Kharisov, B.I. (eds) Handbook of Nanomaterials and Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11155-7_43-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11155-7_43-1

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