Hyderabad-based IICT develops compostable sanitary napkins from banana pseudostem

The ‘Wealth out of Waste’ technology focuses on commercial production of pulp from agricultural waste, particularly banana pseudostem, for hygiene applications

Hyderabad: A patented-technology to convert agricultural waste, particularly banana psuedostem, into compostable sanitary pads has been developed by the city-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) in collaboration with with its industrial partner, Aakar Innovations.

The ‘Wealth out of Waste’ technology focuses on commercial production of pulp from agricultural waste, particularly banana pseudostem, for hygiene applications. It enables production of affordable, compostable sanitary pads, addressing critical social issues such as menstrual health, especially in rural and underprivileged communities.

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This innovation represents one of the first successful examples of commercial-level agricultural waste valorisation for hygiene products in India, the IICT said.

The eco-friendly process employs sustainable methodologies to extract pulp with superior adsorption and retention properties. The pulp provides a cost-effective and environmentally viable alternative to traditional pinewood-based pulp, reducing dependency on conventional raw materials.

The process know-how was successfully demonstrated on a 50-liter pilot scale between January 7 and 8, at IICT by Dr Vineet Aniya, Senior Scientist, CE&PT, Jaydeep Mandal, MD and Founder of Aakar Innovations, Dr Srinivas Reddy, Director, IICT. The technology transfer (ToT) agreement was formalised on January 17, during the inaugural event of the CSIR Innovation Complex, Mumbai (C-ICM).