Jamiu Mosebolatan Jabar

By Jamiu Mosebolatan Jabar

Most textile materials are potential substrates for microbial growth. In order to make textile materials suitable as functional materials, the microbial growth must be reduced to the barest minimum or quenched due to their undesirable effects; such as offensive odor, discoloration, degradation, mechanical strength reduction etc. Chemical finishing of textile materials (such as application of silver nanoparticles, quaternary ammonium compounds, chitosan, some synthetic and natural dyes to mention a few) is capable of imparting this functional property among others to the textiles. Although, mechanism of antimicrobial activities of treated textiles is yet to be clearly defined, but in most cases, antimicrobial action of treated textiles usually occurs through interaction of cation in antimicrobial agents with anionic charged microbial cell wall. Antimicrobial treated textiles are usually less prone to offensive odor, discoloration, deteriorating mechanical properties and make the consumers free of skin problems. In fact, they can be used as cheap materials for production of hospital gowns, hand gloves and face masks for containing microorganism borne diseases, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Part of the book: Textiles for Functional Applications

By Jamiu Mosebolatan Jabar

Thermochemical decomposition of post harvest agro-wastes (biomass) to solid carbonaceous material called as bio-char, condensable vapors (bio-oils and bio-tars) and non-condensable vapors (bio-gas or syn-gas) is referred as pyrolysis. The yield of these products from biomass pyrolysis depends on temperature and other conditions (such as vapor retention time and heating rate) of thermal decomposition in air or oxygen excluded reactor. Bio-char is often used as adsorbent in treatment of water contaminated with dye effluent from textile industry and/or emerging contaminants from other industries. It is also used in production of supercapacitor for energy storage, fertilizer composite and soil amendment for slow release of nutrients for plants and stabilizing pH, enhances water holding and ion exchange capacity of soil. Bio-oils are used for transportation fuels, soaps and other cosmetics production. Bio-tars are also used for transportation fuels but with high heating values and also as organic solvents in chemical, biological and biochemical laboratories. Non-condensable vapors are mostly used as bio-fuels. Products of biomass pyrolysis are potential alternative eco-friendly precursors for chemical and allied industries.

Part of the book: Recent Perspectives in Pyrolysis Research