texitle innovation

A cotton-based substitute for plastic wins natural fibres award IWTO congratulates Dr. Noureddine Abidi, Professor and Director, Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute, at Texas Tech University, for winning the  2020 Discover Natural Fibre Innovation Award. The Discover Natural Fibres Initiative - DNFI - announced the winner of the annual award today, 30 Ocotber. In his winning submission, Dr Abidi created a process which transforms low-quality cotton fibre into a gel that can be turned into bioproducts, including bio-plastic films. The process that uses a plant-based substitute is an inexpensive alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Moreover, the cotton-based bio-plastic is biodegradable in soil, yet stable in household conditions. Products made from this bio-plastic film would have properties similar to those of plastics currently in common use – but with several environmental benefits. Cotton-based innovation shows how natural fibres offer eco-friendly options to petroleum-based synthetics Commerical options for the cotton-gel/bio-plastic process include