U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2024





- ARS@Work
- Blog
- Down on the Farm
- Image Gallery
- News Archive
- Podcasts
- Press Room
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Tellus
- Under the Microscope
- YouTube Channel

**Finding the “Silver Lining” in Cotton Gin Waste** Contact: Jessica RyanEmail: Jessica.Ryan@usda.gov **April 9, 2024:**  Cotton gin waste, also known as cotton gin trash, is a byproduct of the cotton ginning process and occurs when the cotton fibers are separated from the seed boll. For cotton gin waste, the treasure is its hidden potential to transform silver ions into silver nanoparticles and create a new hybrid material that could be used to add antimicrobial properties to consumer products, like aerogels, packaging, or composites. Silver nanoparticles are highly sought-after products in the nanotechnology industry because of their antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, electrical, and optical properties. These nanoparticles have an estimated global production of 500 tons per year and are widely applied to consumer goods such as textiles, coatings, paints, pigments, electronics, optics, and packaging.  /ARSUserFiles/news/CottonGinWaste_Photo_3.jpg *Cotton gin waste. (Photo by Sunghyun Nam)* In a study published in ACS Omega, researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) revealed the ability of cotton gin waste to synthesize and generate silver nanoparticles in the presence of silver ions. “Our method not only lets cotton gin waste act as chemical agents for producing silver nanoparticles, which makes it cost-effective and environmentally friendly but also enables embedding the nanoparticles within the cotton gin waste matrix,” said Sunghyun Nam, research engineer at ARS's Cotton Chemistry and Utilization Research Unit in New Orleans. “By embedding them in the cotton gin waste, these materials acquire antimicrobial properties.” Nam said the researchers used a simple heat treatment of cotton gin waste materials in water containing silver ions that produced silver nanoparticles without the need for additional chemical agents. /ARSUserFiles/news/CottonGinWaste_Photo_1.jpg *Jacobs Jordan (left) shows a sample after nanoparticle synthesis, Sunghyun Nam (center) takes scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of cotton gin waste nanocomposites, and Michael Easson (right) shows cotton gin waste. (Photo by Michael Santiago Cintrón)* This finding is significant since making silver nanoparticles usually requires chemical agents which can be costly and pose environmental concerns. Embedding nanoparticles into a material can also be challenging. Developing nanoparticle embedding technology is not new for Nam and her team. They previously developed washable antimicrobial wipes by using raw cotton fiber that produced silver nanoparticles inside the fiber. The embedded silver nanoparticles can continue to kill harmful bacteria wash after wash. Large quantities of cotton gin waste are generated annually, and the cotton ginning industry is always seeking new sustainable processes that upcycle crop residue. “Our research paves the way for new material applications of cotton gin waste that can protect against microbial contamination,” said Nam. A provisional patent application on the self-embedding silver nanoparticle biomass waste compositions has recently been filed. *The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.* ###


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov