Turning sugar waste into light, and job opportunities.

How to turn sugar waste into light, and job opportunities.An alternate use for sugarcane waste has been proposed by a research team in India. Sugar is falling out of favor around the world, sugarcane residue is becoming a useful commodity. From Britain to Mexico, countries are considering sugar taxes to reduce consumption and curb the global obesity epidemic. In 2014, about 600 million people, roughly double the population of the United States, were obese. Addressing the problem earlier this year, the World Health Organization pointed the finger at high sugar consumption, in particular through sugar-sweetened beverages. At the same time, sugar industry associations and sugarcane growers warn for huge job losses if countries discourage their citizens from consuming sugar. In South Africa, for example, the industry warns that a mooted sugar tax will cut at least 60,000 jobs. Indian researchers have found a new use for sugarcane pulp, as a source of highly fluorescent carbon quantum dots, in a study published in Applied Surface Science. This alternate use of sugarcane waste, or bagasse, could not only reduce the amount of agricultural waste contaminating the environment but also offers a new revenue stream for farmers. The scientists developed a simple, low-cost and efficient method for green synthesis of fluorescent carbon quantum dots from sugarcane bagasse. These dots are tiny carbon nanoparticles, which are about four nanometers across. For an idea of scale, 110 billion of these dots, more than the number of stars in the Milky Way, would fit on the head of a pin. They emit light and are non-toxic, carbon quantum dots can serve as biosensors, in light-emitting diodes and even to deliver drugs around the human body. For example, researchers have injected liquids containing carbon quantum dots into a living body to image it from the inside. This research demonstrates a new method of producing these versatile nanoparticles. To begin with, the Indian team cut the sugarcane bagasse into small pieces and sun-dried it for six days. After burning the dry bagasse, they chemically oxidized and exfoliated it. While this approach produces a useful substance, it also removes agricultural waste from the environment. More than 90 countries produce sugarcane, and by extension, sugarcane waste. Huge quantities of agricultural residues -- rice husks, sugarcane bagasse and coconut husks -- are produced annually around the world, and these are vastly underutilized. Continue