The coconut husk, also known as coir, has become a very useful substance in light of today's environmental and economic concerns. It has some common and not so common uses. Some of its uses are even quite cutting edge!
Husks Ready To Be Put To Use
This may be surprising but coir is a key component in the production of some popular products. Carpets, rugs, door mats, mattresses, car seat covers, brushes, bristles and flower pots are just some items that can be made from coconut husk fibers. Below you'll see a few examples...
Coir Made Into Charcoal
Cleaning Brush Made From Coir
Purse Made From Coir
Some More Uses Of Coir... Did you know that the dried husk makes the best fire for campfires and BBQ cooking? Or... that when you burn the husk you're naturally repelling mosquitoes? How about the fact that it's shredded and used in pillows, mattresses and provides the fiber for making clothing? The husk of a coconut is so versatile, they even make filters for aquariums out of it! A neat thing too, is that it doesn't break down like other fibers do, particularly hemp, and it's resistant to salt water. Within the last few years, an inventor in the Philippines found his own use for husk fibers. He developed an innovative, biodegradable product that protects the environment and increases plant growth thus creating more jobs for poor farmers in his country. His innovation is a tough, biodegradable netting that anchors the soil on sloping land and river banks. As a result, it protects against erosion and encourages the growth of vegetation. The name of his product is Coconet. Often, the husks were nothing but waste material but his coconet has changed everything. Along with finding a good use for husks, jobs are now plentiful.
Other Exciting Discoveries For Coir
Coir Fibers Another exciting discovery for the use ofcoir has been made by a team of researchers at Baylor University in the United States. Believe it or not, they have found a way to use coconut fibers in place of synthetic fibers for automobile parts! The fibers actually produce compression-molded composites for parts of a car. Some of the parts being developed are: bed liners floorboards sun visors inside door covers These are just some of the great uses for the coconut husk. Remarkably, it can be used in so many creative ways! Isn't it wonderful to know how this once throwaway item is changing lives and reforming business practices?
2 Natural fibers as Reinforcements in Bio-composite 2.3.2.1 Natural fiber classification Natural fibers were subdivided based on their origins, whether they were derived from plants (Cellulose or Lignocelluloses), animals (Protein), or minerals. Natural fibers can be classified according to their origin. Plants fibers include bast (or stem or soft or sclerenchyma) fibers, leaf or hard fibers, seed, fruit, wood, cereal straw, and other grass fibers. Animal fibers include silk, wood and hair. While mineral fiber was include asbestos, fibrous brucite, and wollastonite (K. Mohanty et al., 2005). 2.3.2.2 Coconut Husk or Coir Coir fiber was obtained from the fibrous husk of the coconut from the coconut palm, which belongs to the palm family (Palmae). Coir fibers were obtained from the fibrous husk (mesocarp) encasing the fruit of the coconut palm, which was a by-product of the copra extraction process. The term coir was derived from kayar, a rope or cord, and kayaru, meaning to be twisted. Coconut palms were cultivated throughout tropical countries mostly for the high oil content of the endosperm (copra). The oil was widely used in both the food and nonfood industries (e.g. surfactant production). On average, from 100 coconuts 7.5 to 8.2 kg of coir fibers can be obtained (K. Mohanty et al., 2005).
Coir fibers have high lignin but low cellulose content, as a result of which the fibers were resilient, strong, and highly durable. Coir was the one of the toughest plant fibers available. It does not pill and highly abrasion and rot (fungal and bacteria) resistant (Goulart et al., 2000). Furthermore, coir was naturally insulating and sound absorbing, antistatic, and difficult to ignite. Due to the ability of coir fibers to tolerate water immersion for months without disintegrating, they find many applications as 15 horticulture and erosion control product (geotextiles). Recently, the academic and industrial R&D communities have begun seeking ways to develop new application for coir as reinforcement for polymers (K. Mohanty et al., 2005).
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