This is the kind of news I really dig.
If you know me, I don't consider myself a 'tree-hugger', but do like the idea of stewarding natural resources wisely and recycling when viable. I guess you could say I am on board with Scouting's "Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle" philosophy.
Well, it seems a Baylor student has found a way to grind up coconut husks to use in automotive sound-absorbing mats as you might find in trunks, door panels, and on the interior engine bulkhead. Currently, such materials are made of polyester.
There seem to be many advantages of using a fiber composite made of ground coconuts and polypropylene, including:
- Lightweight, fire-retardant, moldable material
- Elimination of an equatorial third-world waste product that currently contributes to disease (discarded hulls collect water, creating breeding zones for mosquitoes)
- Creation of a raw material market for poor countries
Beyond automotive uses, perhaps there are other industrial or residential uses for the new material.
Not to mention the possibility of re-using those 1978 movie posters:
Oh, and by the way, using coconut shells for industrial purposes will use up tons more shells than Wilma & Betty, and Ginger & Mary-Ann ever could...
6 comments:
I swear this is true: I used to have the book Goin Coconuts when I was in middle school. Don't know what happened to it. Oh, and I also have a coconut bra in my attic. I didn't say I was proud of either one.
Very well, then. You made both of these confessions of your own free will.
Don't let Dew know about the bra in the attic...
Umm......
Its no longer in his attic, thats all I'm saying...
Dew
Dew, I know what you're thinking.
Stay away from Granny Obama's house while she's attending the inauguration.
I know you'd just love to swipe her hut roof to make a skirt for your luau ensemble.
The Secret Service will be watching...!
speaking of confessions and a timely post; my daughter went to the grocery store with me yesterday. in the produce area, she picked up a whole coconut and said Dad, how do you open one of these? it's embarrassing to admit I had never opened one. she wanted to try it so we bought one and took it home; I had to look it up on internet how to open it (hint: hammer) but it was an interesting experience!
I would use a drill to drain the liquid, then bandsaw the shell in half (assuming it fits between the guides).
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