Kanpur: National Sugar Institute, Kanpur got patent for developing innovative technique for “Production of Graphene Oxide from Sugarcane Bagasse”. The technique has been developed by Dr. Vishnu Prabhakar Srivastava, Assistant Professor of Organic Chemistry under guidance of Prof. Narendra Mohan, Director.
We are continuously working on developing newer techniques for production of bio-chemicals and bio-energy from the by-products of the sugar industry and “Graphene Oxide” is one such product which we have developed after several years of research work, said Prof. Narendra Mohan, Director. The process involved catalytic carbonization cum graphitization, subsequent treatments with acid and other solvents, followed by oxidation.
Graphene oxide can be used for production of graphene. Currently, graphene production is very high cost affairs and it is mostly prepared from Graphite. The current market price of “Graphene Oxide” is Rs. 85-300 per gram depending upon the purity. Due to extraordinary properties, graphene and graphene oxide can be applied in many applications. Graphene Oxide is used for fabricating sensors & bio-sensors, storage of high capacity energy, in solar panels, production of ant-cancer drugs and for fabricating flexible displays.
Considering the cost and availability of raw material i.e. bagasse and technology developed for its conversion to “Graphene Oxide”, it would be possible to produce it at a lower cost, said Dr. Vishnu Prabhakar Srivastava, Assistant Professor of Organic Chemistry. With utilization of bagasse as raw material, the cost of production is estimated to be Rs. 30-35 per gram of Graphene Oxide, he said.
