Owing to the growing environmental concerns around menstrual sanitation waste, scientists have in the past pondered over ways to make sanitary napkins more environmentally sustainable.
- Now, the scientists at Stanford University have reported a method to produce menstrual hygiene products from sisal leaves (Agave sisalana).
key points
- As per the research paper published in Nature Communications Engineering, the material can potentially replace cotton, wood pulp, and chemical absorbents in sanitary napkins.
- The absorption capacity of the material is higher than those found in commercial menstrual pads, says the research.
- The ancient Aztec and Mayan civilisations were perhaps the first to begin making paper out of sisal leaves. Since then, the stiff, green sword-like leaves have been used to make twine, cloth, and carpets.
- Sisal is a xerophytic, monocarp, semi-perennial leaf fibre producing plant. The plant itself is also used to make mezcal, a distilled alcoholic beverage.
- Like all succulents, which are plants with thickened parts to store more water, sisal has an uncanny ability to store water and thrive in drought-prone areas.
- The lifespan of a sisal plant is about 7-10 years, during which it produces 200-250 usable leaves.
- Each leaf has about a thousand fibres that can be used to make ropes, paper, and cloth. Now, it could be used to make a highly absorbed material as well.
Source: Nature communications
