Chittagong University (CU) has witnessed a notable breakthrough in sustainable innovation, as three students from the Department of Botany have successfully developed high-quality paper using invasive weeds.
The initiative, led by Saikat Chakraborty, Suranjana Tripura, and Lamia Islam, reached fruition on January 15 after months of rigorous scientific experimentation, according to a press release.
The project was motivated by the students’ aim to address environmental challenges on campus. They focused on controlling the overgrowth of water hyacinths in the Science Faculty ponds and the proliferation of weeds like Bhringraj along roadsides, which pose threats to local biodiversity.
In addition, the team extracted cellulose fibers from a variety of sources, including reeds, straw, sugarcane bagasse, rice husk, and jute waste.
Demonstrating a commitment to a circular economy, the students also recycled discarded paper from the recent CUCSU elections into reusable sheets.
According to the students, this is the first time in Bangladesh that a combination of multiple weed fibers has been used for papermaking.
