Microbial cellulose can become a green fabric

You may have noticed that in street fashion stores, more and more hangers are sportswear based on environmentally friendly shoppers. Organic cotton, bamboo, and even recycled plastics are transforming into clothing for eco-conscious fashion people. Australia's Nanollose will use a more environmentally friendly way to make biomass-free waste from the coconut industry to produce plant-free fiber, which has a much smaller footprint than widely used textiles such as cotton.

The raw materials used to make most of today's textiles require a large amount of agricultural land for plant production, not to mention the extensive use of chemicals to prevent pests and processed fibers, as well as many precious waters. In order to manufacture rayon fibers currently used in clothing and textiles, countless trees must be cut, chopped and then treated with hazardous chemicals, and 2700 litres of water is needed to make enough cotton for a single T-shirt, which is enough for a person to drink for two and a half years. .

Nanollose uses organic waste to produce sustainable fibres called Nullarbor. According to the company, nanocellulose for fiber is produced using microorganisms that convert biomass waste into cellulose. The process does not require cutting down trees or using arable land, and it takes less than a month.

The company currently uses coconut by-products from Indonesia, which are synthesized and converted into usable rayon fibers, supplied by the company's proprietary technology. These existing industrial resources are said to be sufficient for production during the pilot phase of the project, but Nanollose intends to use large industrial waste at the beginning of full production.

This process has the potential to convert large amounts of biomass waste in the beer, wine and liquid food industries into fibres, with little land, water or energy in the process.