The University of São Paulo Polytechnic School has developed a new technique to produce carbon nanotubes, microscopically thin cylinders of carbon atoms, using the gases generated by burning sugar cane bagasse, a by-product of sugar production. Nanotubes are one ten-thousandth of the thickness of a human hair and are extremely strong and resistant, as well as excellent conductors of heat and energy. They are used in microelectronic and nanoelectronic circuits, as an additive to polymer materials to make them more resilient, and to absorb heavy metals in effluents.

“Brazil has already mastered nanotube technology, but with costly procedures,” physicist Joner Oliveira Alves, who is leading up the research project, told Tierramérica.

“The sugar cane industry produces millions of tons of bagasse a year, and making use of the gases from the burning of these residues reduces the cost of the production of nanotubes, as well as offering an appropriate means of disposing of this waste,” he explained.