[🇧🇩] Nanotechnology and Bangladesh

[Saif]

Bangladesh should invest in ‘Nanotechnology’ to enter in ‘Technical Textiles’ production

The history of nanotechnology begun by the physicist Richard Feynman who identified potentiality of nanotechnology in December 1959.Now it is assumed...

www.textiletoday.com.bd

Bangladesh should invest in ‘Nanotechnology’ to enter in ‘Technical Textiles’ production​

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The history of nanotechnology begun by the physicist Richard Feynman who identified potentiality of nanotechnology in December 1959.Now it is assumed that the next industrial revolution is right around the corner because of nanotechnology.

Today when Bangladesh has a potential history of producing quality textile and apparel goods, the country should look for the opportunities of producing other value added products. Meanwhile the country has developed a good base in textile education. Numbers of Bangladeshi researchers are working abroad in different universities and companies, many of them on nanotechnology. Many of those researchers are willing to come back to Bangladesh with a mindset to help the country. If the government and private sector take initiative to invest in ‘Nanotechnology’ to produce different technical textiles and other textile support products, the existing workforce can come in to play.

Nanotechnology overcomes the limitations of applying conventional method to impart certain properties to textile materials. There is no doubt that over the years, nanotechnology has penetrated into every area of the textile industry and its presence will continue to increase.

Nanotechnology at the molecular level can be used to develop desired textile characteristics, such as high tensile strength, unique surface structure, soft hand, durability, water repellency, fire retardancy, antimicrobial properties. The textile industry has already been impacted by nanotechnology.

Figure 1: Application of nanotechnology in textiles.

Application of nanotechnology in Textile:​

• Swimming suit​
• UV protective Finish​
• Self-cleaning fabrics​
• Anti-static finishers​
• Wrinkle free cloth​
• Anti-bacterial finishes​

Besides, in the smart clothes the textile structures themselves perform electronic or electric functions. Ideally, the Nanoelectronics components will be completely fused with the textile

material, resulting in that textile and non-textile components cannot be differentiated and 'foreign particles' can no longer be seen or felt.

Day by day, the importance of nanotechnology in the textile sectors is increasing all over the world. The global technical textiles market was valued at nearly US$ 155 Billion in 2015. On back of strong demand, by 2020, the global technical textiles market is estimated to pull in US$ 193 Billion in revenues as per the Future Market Insights information. A major portion of these Technical Textiles products are using nanotechnology.

China, India, Japan and many other countries already have taken necessary steps to give a new shape of their textile industry through nanotechnology.

Asia Pacific is the largest market for technical textiles, both in terms of production and consumption. Thus, many textile-manufacturing companies are investing in R& D to increase the production of technical textiles. The Asia Pacific technical textile market is expected to continue its dominance of the global market through 2020. In 2015, Asia Pacific accounted for nearly 40% revenue share of the global technical textiles market.

It is worthy to mention that China has launched a comprehensive program called “Double Incentive Scheme” for technical textiles. Whereas India has also issued relief packages for the promotion of technical textiles. India, in next 5 years, will provide $170-$200 million to promote technical textiles. And there is no doubt that this wise step will give India a huge advantage to gain the market of technical textiles.

Figure 2: Market size of Technical Textiles in India.

From this aspect, as a giant exporter of textile products, both the government and industrialists must take adequate step to sustain economic growth, which is not possible without exploring new areas. Therefore, it is time to allocate resources and cope with the modern trend of nanotechnology in textile to enhance and sustain the growth of our economy.

Researchers told that ‘Nanotechnology’ based production of textiles and technical textiles won’t require huge investment like the traditional textile companies require. The risk also will be less as Bangladesh also has a good local market. 170 million people in Bangladesh are using technical textiles and this trend will increase day by day. Such industry will also produce products which will be used as input materials to the other textile and allied industries.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh approves nanotechnology to boost agricultural production

The government has approved a new agricultural policy, which includes encouraging research into nanotechnology, to boost production.

bdnews24.com

Bangladesh approves nanotechnology to boost agricultural production​

The government has approved a new agricultural policy, which includes encouraging research into nanotechnology, to boost production.​

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com


The new draft of the policy was finalised at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Secretariat on Monday.
The policy was based on the one passed in 2013, said Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam.

“The use of nanotechnology has been included and presented as a subject of research,” he said.

Nanotechnology refers to technology that can change and control the substances of molecular and atomics. In generally, one nanometre is equal to one millionth (short scale) of a metre.

“It is possible to gain remarkable success in various fields, including medical, electronics, science and technology by using this technology. Another alternative study on the adverse impact of nanotechnology on the environment has also been taken into consideration.”

SUGGESTIONS

> To use nanotechnology to prevent the disease of crops in early stages through methods such as the determination of nutritional needs and the enhancement of nutrition delivery.
> To use nano sensors to check the quality of lands and to increase the production.
> To use nanotechnology identify and purify the presence of heavy metals in agriculture, including the skills of using and inventing fertilisation and pesticides.

 

[Saif]

Use of nanotechnology in agriculture for food security

Climate change is threatening to seriously disrupt agricultural production due to global heat waves, fires, droughts and flash floods. The global shock of Corona has intensified this fear. Scientists urge to increase crop production by 70 per cent by 2050 to ensure food supply for all people in...

businesspostbd.com

Use of nanotechnology in agriculture for food security​

Dr M Jamal Uddin
22 Sep 2022 00:00:00 | Update: 22 Sep 2022 11:07:21

Climate change is threatening to seriously disrupt agricultural production due to global heat waves, fires, droughts and flash floods. The global shock of Corona has intensified this fear. Scientists urge to increase crop production by 70 per cent by 2050 to ensure food supply for all people in line with population growth. Addressing new challenges in agriculture necessitates the use of new and more effective technologies to ensure demand-based safe food and nutrition security.

Agriculture is now technology dependent. Nanotechnology is a new topic in agriculture in Bangladesh. To make agriculture safe and profitable for the small and marginal farmers of the country, the agriculture-friendly government has adopted a policy of using biotechnology research and nanotechnology in the National Agricultural Policy 2018. Section 3.3.3 of the said policy on the implementation of nanotechnology has nicely outlined several activities which is very realistic and timely.

According to media reports, Dr. Ehsanul Kabir, Professor of the department of agricultural energy and machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University said that nanotechnology has emerged as an effective and promising strategy for increasing agricultural productivity and ensuring food security. He said that the fields of application of nanotechnology in agricultural development are quite wide and it is possible to make agriculture more sustainable and profitable by using it properly.

According to him, agricultural studies show that more than 50 percent of the chemical fertilizers and 98 percent of the pesticides used today are wasted in various non-target organisms and the environment. At present, three to four thousand liters of water is used to produce one kilogram of rice. The growing use of inefficient agricultural inputs at an abnormal rate is not only increasing the cost of crop production, but the extraction of underground water for irrigation and the use of large-scale chemicals are endangering the environment and the environment.

To counter these issues, now is the time to focus on research and application of nanotechnology on a priority basis for rational reasons to reduce the use of inputs in agricultural policy. But for this reason, we want to say what the future of agriculture will be based on long-term research and the needs of the country. However, he feels that research needs to be conducted in a coordinated manner as nanotechnology is expensive.

Various research reviews indicate that the significant areas of application of nanotechnology in future agriculture could be crop disease diagnosis, disease management, nano-pesticides, nano-fertilizers, nano-herbicides, preferential food packaging, soil pollution detection and remediation, crop improvement (breeding), This technology can be used to increase climate change tolerance in plants, improve irrigation efficiency, processing and storage and precision agriculture.

Let's talk about nano fertilizer among these. According to experts in nanotechnology, nano-fertilizers are termed as 'water releasers'. That is, if it is used in the crop field, it will accumulate at the base of the plant and will be able to provide nutrients to the plant as needed. There will be no waste. Similarly, the plant will also be able to take the right amount of food at the right time. It is a fertilizer in which many of the nutrients needed by the crop are mixed together in very small amounts and polymerized by compacting the ingredients.

As a result, durability increases. Being small in size, these particles can enter inside the seed through the small pores of the seed and provide the necessary food. As a result, production will increase significantly. In that case, if nano fertilizers are made and given to the farmers of the country like the developed countries of the world, a breakthrough in the agricultural sector will be achieved by increasing the overall production.

Nanotechnology is very small technology working at the atomic or molecular scale. Nanotechnology is abbreviated as Nanotech. 1 nanometer is one billionth of a meter. The technique of modifying and controlling matter at the molecular and atomic level is called nanotechnology. The concept of nano-fertilizers or pesticides in agriculture is like this, i.e. many uses in one. Nano-particles can effectively improve the efficacy and safe use of pesticides for crop protection.

Nano-fertilizers greatly improve fertilizer use efficiency through slow release or slow plant uptake and slow degradation. The use of nano-particles or the use of fertilizer components in nano-carriers can ensure improved crop growth and productivity. Nanotechnology devices and equipment, such as nano-capsules, nanoparticles, nano-robots and even virus nano-capsids, can be used in precise disease diagnosis and treatment, acceleration of plant nutrient uptake, site-specificity and improvement of water treatment processes.

However, earlier I mentioned above about the national agricultural policy on it. Three specific activities have been mentioned in the policy regarding the use of nanotechnology such as taking initiatives in the use of nanotechnology in the early stages of crop diseases, determination of nutrient requirements based on varieties and increasing nutrient absorption capacity.

In addition, undertake soil quality monitoring and production enhancement activities through the use of nano sensor technology; and taking initiatives to achieve material efficiency through innovation and use of nanotechnology fertilizers, pesticides including detection and treatment of presence of heavy metals in agriculture.

There are some challenges in the use of nanotechnology, which require integrated research to solve. There is a substantial need for research on the appropriate and safe use of new nanoparticles in agriculture. By strengthening the interaction of university research with research institutes and industry, nanotechnology can revolutionize agriculture, ensuring safe food production and nutritional security. I hope that the radical changes and improvements that are being achieved in agriculture with the touch of modern technology will continue in future agriculture as well.

The writer is Principal Scientific Officer, BARI.​