Philippines researchers using native plant to make fabric for filtering toxic pollution

In the Philippines, leading chemists from the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) are recently using native products such as abaca to make fabrics that can deal with pollution by filtering toxic materials and other contaminants.

The composite nonwoven fabric was developed from natural fibers such as abaca and are paired with synthetic polymers that can filter heavy metals dissolved in liquid. Metals such as lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium, mercury and arsenic are hazardous to health as well as the environment.

Abaca continues to be useful and readily available as the Philippines remains its world’s largest producer, accounting for around 85% of the global production. The native material’s natural strength also makes it perfect for withstanding the grafting procedure, allowing it to serve as a base material.