Solution To Delhi’s Pollution? CSIR Researchers Successfully Convert Stubble To Eco-Friendly Hybrid Wood

A waste-to-wealth technology that converts toxic ashes into evergreen hybrid wood can promise a green solution to stubble burning in Haryana and lesser pollution in neighbouring Delhi. It can also lower the consumption of timber wood, reducing deforestation to a large extent.

Making it possible, the researchers at CSIR's Advanced Materials and Process Research Institute (AMPRI) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, have successfully cracked the code of converting stubble into eco-friendly hybrid wood.

They developed an internationally patented technology that makes evergreen hybrid ply and composite wood using stubble and other industrial waste and fibres as raw materials. According to the researchers, evergreen hybrid wood created from agro-waste materials is 20 per cent stronger and 30 per cent cheaper than conventional particle plywood.

Environmental experts feel that such technology can solve the typical north-India problem of stubble burning and pollution that harms people's health. The technology can also use stubble to make doors, roof sheets, partition panels and thermal insulator materials.

Technology Prepared For Commercialisation

While commenting on the waste-to-wealth technology, the chief scientist at CSIR-AMPRI said, "We just need polymer and parali for this. The technology ready for commercialisation produces high-quality, glossy finish composites that use 60% parali in a polymeric system," NDTV reported.

He added, "This has great potential for converting parali into cash and generating income for farmers. As compared to particle board and ply board, they are far better. We had interaction with many stakeholders in Punjab and Haryana for recycling parali. We have also filed for a patent in India and the US."

The CSIR lab researchers in Bhopal started inching towards an eco-friendly solution to toxic ashes generated by thermal power plants in the Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh and nearby areas in 2010. After a decade of hard work and determination, the researchers led to the development of hybrid wood from fly ashes.

The product was given the front row at the India International Science Festival (IISF) in Bhopal, inaugurated by the Chief Minister of state, Shivraj Singh Chouhan. According to developers, the product can be launched in the commercial market in the next two years.

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