Researchers Create Coconut-Based Car Parts

Texas researchers are making car parts out of coconuts as an alternative to polyester. Coconuts are an abundant natural resource in many areas of the world including Indonesia, India and the Phillipines, and the husks are normally thrown away. The researchers used fibers from the outer husks of coconuts to make trunk liners, floorboards and car-door interior covers.

This is the first time that coconuts have been used in such a way, according to Walter Bradley, an engineering professor who is leading the project at Baylor University.

From MSNBC:

“The fiber has very good strength, stiffness and ductility, and potentially can be used for all kinds of things,” Bradley said, including a more environmentally friendly particle board (used in construction) that requires no binders.

The husk fibers are blended with polypropylene fibers before being hot-pressed (compression-molded) into required shapes. The coconut fiber provides a rigid architecture for the lightweight, yet stiff, composite.

Preliminary testing shows that the coconut composites can meet the specifications for industrial tests, Bradley said. In fact, the mechanical properties of coconut fibers are just as good, if not better, than synthetic and polyester fibers when used in automotive parts, he said. Also, coconuts also do not burn very well or give off toxic fumes, which is key in passing tests required for their use in commercial automotive parts.

Bradley’s team is currently working with a Texas-based fiber processing company that supplies unwoven fiber mats to four major auto companies, creating a 600-lb roll of the composite material for safety tests and certification. Preliminary testing has shown that the coconut composites can meet industry standards and actually perform better than synthetic fibers. They don’t burn well or give off toxic fumes.

What an interesting way to use a material that would otherwise not just go to waste, but cause health hazards. In Ghana, for example, discarded coconut husks pile up in mounds, collecting water and providing a breeding ground for malaria-causing mosquitoes. What was formerly trash can now be a source of income for coconut farmers.

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

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