Nanotechnology using plant-based fibers could be the answer to detecting and cleaning up pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals before they become harmful on the farm and in the environment.
A University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture research project led by Mi Li, associate professor in the Center for Renewable Carbon and the School of Natural Resources, received $300,000 for two years from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative nanotechnology program to create these prototype materials. The project also includes researchers from the University of Memphis and Auburn University.
Li and his lab focus on the conversion of plant-based resources into valuable chemicals, functional materials and polymers. His research combines wood chemistry, chemical synthesis, chemical engineering, polymer science and nanotechnology for green chemistry, circular carbon economy and a clean environment. His circular biorefining lab in the Center for Renewable Carbon taps renewable forestry and agricultural resources for value-added bioproducts.
Using chemicals like pesticides, fertilizers, and plant growth boosters in farming helps increase crop production, but it often leads to health hazards and environmental pollution. Mitigation of these chemicals can be a challenge because it is difficult to detect leftover chemicals in produce, soil and water and then turn them into harmless substances.
“The goal of my research is to mitigate environmental pollution by using renewable biomass feedstock and green chemistry technology,” Li said.
Through this project, Li and his team will create special materials called Cello-MOFs, which are a combination of nanocellulose, tiny plant-based fibers, with metal-organic frameworks, which are advanced porous and functional particles.
“These hybrids will work together to take in, detect, and break down harmful farming chemicals. The porous materials of MOFs are great for multiple tasks due to their large surface area and high functionality, but they’re brittle and small and hard to handle on their own. Pairing them with flexible, eco-friendly nanocellulose in paper or filter forms solves these problems, creating a powerful synergy,” he said.
The ultimate goal is to design and engineer Cello-MOFs in a tangible and portable pad-foam that can be used as a sponge in wastewater or on the surface of crops and produce. Upon taking in certain pollution chemicals, even in trace amounts, the sensitive Cello-MOFs will change their optical appearance that can be detected under UV light. By controlling the exposure to certain light, the Cello-MOFs will start degrading the adsorbed pollutants into, ideally, non-toxic compounds, or products with reduced toxicity.
The Cello-MOFs will be made of plant fibers, metals and linking molecules to make them effective at absorbing, sensing and decomposing pollutants. “It could lead to breakthrough technology for quick, on-the-spot monitoring and cleanup of chemical residues, while also advancing approaches to purify air, detect threats and protect the environment in agriculture and other fields,” he said.
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