review · Sustainability
Natural polymers derived from plants, animals, minerals, and agricultural waste can be converted into nanofibers with high specific surface areas. When reinforced with nanomaterials, these bio-composites and nano-bio-composites offer superior properties compared to conventional alternatives. These materials support sustainable agricultural practices by encapsulating agrochemicals, such as pesticides, phytohormones, and fertilisers, allowing for targeted delivery to enhance plant growth and protection. Within the food industry, nanofibers serve functional roles in active and intelligent packaging as well as freshness monitoring. Furthermore, their high operational efficiency enables the extraction of pollutants from soil, water, and air. Prospective uses extend to agricultural gas detection for carbon monoxide and ammonia, alongside protective personal equipment such as face masks.
Utilising agricultural wastes to manufacture high-performance nanofibers offers an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional synthetic materials. These functional fibres can boost crop yields through targeted chemical delivery, clean contaminated water and soil, and reduce food spoilage via smart packaging. This approach addresses pressing environmental challenges across farming, manufacturing, and resource management.
The identified applications encompass agrochemical delivery, water filtration systems, intelligent food packaging, and air-filtering face masks. Likely end users include agricultural chemical producers, municipal or industrial wastewater operators, and food packaging manufacturers. Because the text presents a broad review of potential uses, future agricultural gas sensors, and conceptual benefits, the underlying technologies range from early-stage research to applied development rather than immediately ready market products.
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Natural fibers are an important source for producing polymers, which are highly applicable in their nanoform and could be used in very broad fields such as filtration for water/wastewater treatment, biomedicine, food packaging, harvesting, and storage of energy due to their high specific surface area. These natural nanofibers could be mainly produced through plants, animals, and minerals, as well as produced from agricultural wastes. For strengthening these natural fibers, they may reinforce with some substances such as nanomaterials. Natural or biofiber-reinforced bio-composites and nano–bio-composites are considered better than conventional composites. The sustainable application of nanofibers in agricultural sectors is a promising approach and may involve plant protection and its growth through encapsulating many bio-active molecules or agrochemicals (i.e., pesticides, phytohormones, and fertilizers) for smart delivery at the targeted sites. The food industry and processing also are very important applicable fields of nanofibers, particularly food packaging, which may include using nanofibers for active–intelligent food packaging, and food freshness indicators. The removal of pollutants from soil, water, and air is an urgent field for nanofibers due to their high efficiency. Many new approaches or applicable agro-fields for nanofibers are expected in the future, such as using nanofibers as the indicators for CO and NH3. The role of nanofibers in the global fighting against COVID-19 may represent a crucial solution, particularly in producing face masks.
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DOI: 10.3390/su14010464
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