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Abstract
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.
Highlights
Nanotechnology has become one of the most promising research fields at the beginning of the 21st century due to its leading technology of the new industrial revolutions
The nanofibers have been applied for many environmental problems such as removing pollutants from the air by filtration [79], water treatment [80], antimicrobial treatment [81], environmental sensing [82], for heavy metal removing as adsorbents [83,84], and agricultural/environmental remediation [78,85]
A comparison between natural fibers and nanofibers was discussed in this review, besides different sustainable applications of nanofibers in fields of biomedicine, agriculture, and the environment
Summary
Nanotechnology has become one of the most promising research fields at the beginning of the 21st century due to its leading technology of the new industrial revolutions. Due to the growing environmental concerns of natural fibers, they have occupied a great position in the research community, which have many advantages such as recyclability, cheaper, high specific properties, lower density or lightweight, and biodegradability [1,2]. Natural fibers are considered renewable raw materials, which has become an obligatory issue for safe living [3]. The synthetic material-based composites should be replaced by natural ones in several manufacturing industries, such as the field of textiles, which flax was used in ancient Egypt nearly 7000 years ago [3]. This review focuses on the difference between fibers and nanofibers, their applications, and their methods of fabrication especially using agro-wastes in producing nanofibers. The sustainable applications of nanofibers in the field of agriculture and the environment ( in wastewater treatment) are discussed in the review
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