There’s this relationship that we have with foam.
Most of us believe that the more the foam, the more the cleansing power.
And we are absolutely right.
Soaps are ancient innovations that rely on the simple chemistry of fats and oils.
When these slimy substances react with a highly alkaline material like sodium hydroxide – boom! – the result is a substance that releases foam and cleanses when in contact with water.
Soaps are formed out of two distinct chemical substances – one that loves water (hydrophilic) and the other that hates water (hydrophobic).
So they have – more or less – a split personality.
When tossed in water, the water loving side clings to the watery side while the one that hates water gets suspended in air forming bubbles which we know as foam or suds.
You might be wondering what all this has to do with agrowaste.
Well, most agrowates contain starch and cellulose – these are probably the most abundant natural polymers around.
So whether we’re talking about potato peels, pineapple waste, banana peels etc. we’re not short of sources of starch and other sugars.
Sugar by itself is water-loving.
That’s why it dissolves in your watery tea every morning.
However, still in these same agrowastes, we have substances that are water-hating or hydrophobic.
These substances try their best to avoid contact with water and so appear to have an affinity for air.
So what happens when these two different substances react?
Well, they form a soapy substance called a surfactant.
SURFACTANTS
Ever poured milk in a cup but while doing so keep on lifting the jug higher and higher and higher…
Well, you won’t help buy notice formation of bubbles.
Now that is a surfactant at work.
A soapy- like substance that occurs in nature.
But surfactants are more than this.
They could also be isolated and used to make products we rely on a everyday.
DETERGENTS
Most detergents today rely on lab-based, chemical and energy intensive processes to produce them.
Infact some lab-engineered surfactants such as SLES are known to leave risky by-products present in the soap we use.
Besides, they are known to be harsh to the skin, leaving it harassed and blistered at times.
Despite this anomaly, most modern-day detergents rely on nature-inspired surfactants.
Of great significance are those derived from coconut oil such as SLES, Cocamidopropyl betaine, coco glucoside among others.
The later two are known to be more gentle to the skin compared to SLES.
However there’s a greater push towards isolating natural surfactants – also called buosurfsctants – from all around us by the use of nature’s engineers.
MICROORGANISMS
Take for instance potato peels.
Being full of starch, these agrowastes could be converted to glucose which is then re-engineered into surfactants through bacterial and fungal action.
The choice of microorganisms is key here to prevent conversion into ethanol.
That’s where bacteria such as pseudomonas species have an A-game.
But lactobacillus species found in Yogurt could also play a crucial role in biosurfactant production.
The surfactant forming ability of potatoes is visible through the foaming while rinsing them.
These surfactants could be isolated and concentrated to a level they could be used in detergent formulations.
Same case scenario for orange peels, pineapple waste, banana peels, maize cobs, sugarcane waste etc.
So what if an innovator finds effective ways of isolating these surfactants without the use if harsh synthetic additives?
Is this an opportunity for mass production of eco-friendly detergents?
Mind you, Africa is poised to reap the reward because most of these fruits are tropical in nature.
So next time you eat that papaya fruit, take a look at it’s peels and think through what you can make out of it.
Think about the value you can derive out of it.
Detergents are a good place to start.
