Vigilancia Tecnológica

It is important to reduce environmental problems caused by biowaste materials. The large amount of biowaste generated causes serious problems on a global scale. The majority of waste produced is recycled, disposed of, or left untreated in landfills. Methane gas produced by organic waste in landfills contributes to the greenhouse impact and creates issues with leachate and odor. Furthermore, as these organic wastes decompose in landfills, toxic substances that produce unpleasant aromas and contaminate soil and aquatic habitats are discharged. The shortcomings of the traditional approach have put pressure on the waste management, farming, and industrial sectors to develop environmentally friendly ways to handle these biodegradable wastes with less pollution. According to the latest survey, the most generated biowaste was rice hull. Rice hull powder (RHP) needs some modifications for extensive applications as filler materials. By using a one-step hydrothermal process, the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were generated and mixed with rice hull powder. The modified rice hull powder (MRHP) was characterized by FTIR, XRD, FESEM, EDX, and thermal analysis. Through the FESEM image, the presence of small spherical-shaped particles clarifies the presence of in-situ generated AgNPs. FTIR study reveals that there is no chemical interaction between silver nanoparticles and RHP observed while generation of MRHP. The Xrd image signifies the presence of a broad hump along with a few sharp peaks clarifies that the semi-crystalline nature of MRHP. The MRHP records a slight increase in maximum inflection temperature at 365 °C due to the addition of thermally stable silver nanoparticles with 28.5 percent of the remaining residual mass. The addition of silver nanoparticles makes the MRHP has significantly improved the diameter of the zone of inhibition by 27.6 mm to 30.7 mm. This impressive change in properties suggests that the MRHP can be utilized as filler along with polymer matrices for high thermal applications.

Graphical abstract In situ generation of silver nanoparticles on rice hull powder