By the second quarter of 2019, Ghana is expected to see the first commercial production of Nano Fibre, known as Magic Fibre, using Nano Technology to revolutionize the use of generic plastic resins.
This was made known by the Business Development Director of M-TechX – Africa Region, Terry Owusu Agyei on Wednesday October 17, 2018 in Accra, when key officials of M-TechX Ghana and Japan met with the Director General of the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA), Professor Alex Dodoo.
Agyei noted that by April 2019, it will start with the production of Magic Fibre in the country.
He said, “we manipulate the particles of Polyethylene Plastics and use that to produce Magic Fibre, which has a great absorptive property,” adding, “we want to penetrate the Ghanaian market as an oil absorbent pad for the off-shore and on-shore oil industry.
Technology
Nanotechnology allows for the manipulation of matter on a near-atomic scale to produce new structures, materials and devices. The technology promises scientific advancement in many sectors such as medicine, consumer products, energy, materials and manufacturing.
Magic Fiber can be applied to many different types of products and has the potential to transform industries. This can be used to replace microfiber to create products with higher performance.
This technology can serve as oil absorbent material, building material for residential homes, sound absorbent material for vehicles, high performance filter/filter for business use, antibacterial sheet/packaging material.
Standards
Currently, the company is at the standardization and testing stage, collaborating with the GSA to develop standards, since Magic Fibre has no standards in the country yet.
Collaborations
Agyei noted that there is an on-going collaboration with the government, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and GSA, to establish a production plant for the Magic Fibre in Ghana, for export to other African countries.
The GSA last year signed an MoU with M-TechX Japan and Ghana to Look at the certification of Magic Fibre.
Professor Dodoo noted that the GSA has already done its own internal work, stating, “we know its ability to stop fires from spreading, among other uses of Nano-Fibre.”
“If you have fibre which has such small particles that can absorb tens of thousands more than traditional materials, then it is efficient, and can be used for so many applications,” He added.
Delegation
Members of the delegation included; Naoto Nikai, advisor of M-TechX Inc and former Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, the Executive Director of the company, Joseph Bonney and Terry Owusu Agyei, Business Development Director in charge of the African Region.
By Joshua W. Amlanu