Can Coconut Shells be of Use?

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Using Agricultural Waste to Create More Environmentally Friendly and Affordable Products and also Help Poor Coconut Farmers

Coconuts are an abundant renewable resource, with 50 billion being harvested annually. However, only the coconut oil and coconut water currently have significant commercial value. The hard coconut shell and the fiberous coconut husk are often discarded as agricultural waste. The goal of this research has been to create composites materials of engineering plastics like polypropylene reinforced by coconut shell (powder) or coconut (coir) fiber, increasing the stiffness of the polypropylene and reducing its cost. Potential applications will be presented and “show and tell” pieces will be displayed.

Lecture by Walter Bradley, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering Baylor University

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