Omani Researchers Convert Wastepaper into Bioplastic, Bioethanol and Biodiesel

March 15, 2018

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(Muscat Daily) The wastepaper which accounts for more than 35 per cent of the total lignocellulosic waste of the municipal solid waste could be a potential feedstock for value-added products due to its rich cellulose content, researchers in Oman have found.

Municipal solid waste management is a challenging problem for the sultanate. Solid waste in Oman mainly consists of wood, paper, food materials, plastics, metals and glass. Municipal solid waste contains high amounts of cellulose, which is an ideal organic waste for the growth of most of microorganisms.

Most of the carbon dioxide and methane are produced from biodegradable cellulosic wastes such as wood, leaves, other agricultural residues and waste papers. Hence the use of cellulosic waste materials as a substrate for bacterial fermentation would reduce the problem of waste management to a reasonable extent.

With the help of the grant received from The Research Council, Dr Sivakumar Nallusamy, assistant professor at the Department of Biology, Sultan Qaboos University, and his team successfully converted the wastepaper into commercially valuable products. A team consisting of one post doctorate and three PhD students are working in this project. READ MORE