NEXT BIG THING: Plastic from plant waste

A world where plastic actually replenishes the earth it came from? Now THAT would be a big thing … by DR NASIM AMIRALIAN

When I came to Australia, I started a PhD to work on Australian spinifex grass. At the time there was no science to understand its complexity, so my research was totally exploratory, working in collaboration with Indigenous Australians.

What I discovered was a unique type of nanofibre that can be easily extracted from this grass. Since that discovery, we’ve developed a range of different applications. Based on this discovery, Australia now has a pilot production facility.

Different industries have a need for these types of nanofibres. And since my PhD, I’ve been able to extract them not only from spinifex but from other kinds of agricultural waste. This is my big passion – I can now extract the raw material from agricultural and textile waste and introduce new functionalities for them...

For the full story on Dr Nasim Amiralian's pioneering research into nanofibres, head below to Cosmos 97 | Energy. Effort. Endeavour