H.E. Mr. Woravat Auapinyakul, Minister of S&T presented highlights research projects to promote awareness to the importance of S&T during the recent Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra meeting with governors from the northern provinces and senior officials of Ministry of Interior in Chiang Mai on December 27. The theme of the exhibition was “Using S&T to increase income and reduce expenses for local entrepreneurs”. NANOTEC a member of NSTDA was invited to participate as one of the exhibitors to provide research information in the area of using nanotechnology for the fabric (fabric care) and agricultural (fertilizer, and smart soil) sectors.

For increasing the value of Thai fabrics, NANOTEC is using coating and encapsulation process to lock compounds that will act on local fabric such as silk and cotton for easy care, water repellent, and aromatic characteristics.

 For the agricultural sector, NANOTEC is using coating process to coat urea 46-0-0 (a type of fertilizer) that will cause slow release of urea for up to 3 months in a single use. In doing so will help reduce the cost of unnecessary spraying of fertilizer by farmers.

 NANOTEC was also requested to present research work in the area of converting biomass to smart soil using nano-catalyst to speed up converting process. The benefits of this project are both for flood control and improve soil conditioning to increase agricultural income.

Minister Woravat will also showcase these exhibitions on Jan 4-5, 2013 in Phrae province. NANOTEC will also participate as one of the exhibitors in this event.