Masters Student in Balochistan Wins 2025 DNFI Award – Discover Natural Fibres Initiative

Mr Mohammad Faraz, a Masters Student at Buitems University in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan, has won the 2025 DNFI Innovation in Natural Fibres Research Award. His co-author is Dr. Qasim Siddiqui and the industry partner is Mr Muhammad Fawad Farooq.

Mr Faraz’s research presents a fully sustainable, end-to-end workflow for producing high-performance banana and Cotton fiber–reinforced epoxy composites using chemical-free, solar-powered mechanical extraction and traceable fabrication methods. The approach addresses critical gaps in current processes for producing natural fiber composites by emphasizing reproducibility, a reduced carbon footprint, and standards-grade mechanical testing that ensures readiness for engineering adoption. The initial application for this process is automotive interiors and also allows it to be used for furniture in combination with home textiles.

Mr Faraz has developed a process to produce biocomposites using mechanically decorticated banana fibres. The fibres are cleaned through water immersion, jet rinsing, and manual removal of impurities, and solar-dried to a stable moisture content of 8–12%. Dried fibers measuring ≥60 cm in length, and with diameters ranging from 50 to 200 μm, are combed and spun into 1.87 Ne (531 tex) yarns using a solar-powered twisting system.

Blended fabrics are woven using cotton warp yarns (32/1 Ne, 66 ends per inch) and Banana fiber weft yarns (15 picks per inch). The resulting plain-weave fabrics are washed and dried and fabricated into composites with an epoxy resin system.

Download press release: Masters Student in Balochistan Wins 2025 DNFI Award

The DNFI Innovation in Natural Fibres Award aims to recognise the innovations as well as the people and institutions responsible for them, with the aim of raising public awareness of the achievements of the natural fibres sector as a whole.

The formal award ceremony to honor Mr Faraz and Dr Siddiqui as well Mr Farooq will be held on Thursday 15 January 2026 in the afternoon during Heimtextil fair in Frankfurt, Germany.

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