Get ready for a bananamobile or a pineapple wagon.
Scientists in Brazil say they've developed a way to use fibers from the fruits to make strong, lightweight plastics that could be used to form car parts.
"The properties of these plastics are incredible," the leader of the project, Alcides Leão of Sao Paulo State University, said in a press release. "They are light, but very strong — 30 per cent lighter and three to four times stronger. We believe that a lot of car parts, including dashboards, bumpers, side panels, will be made of nano-sized fruit fibers in the future. For one thing, they will help reduce the weight of cars and that will improve fuel economy."
The product is almost as strong as Kevlar, used in bulletproof vests, Leão said in presenting his team's work to the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, California, over the weekend.
Among the plant products that could provide raw material for the fibers are pineapple leaves and stems, bananas, coconut shells, agave, and cattails, the scientists say.
Besides their light weight and high strength, the new plastics are more resistant to heat, water and spilled gasoline than conventional plastics, the researchers say.
They could find their way into vehicles within two years, Leão said.
Funding for the research came from Brazil's government, Pematec, Toro Industria, Comercio Ltd. and other companies, the scientists said.
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Brasil is seeking to take a leap forward by... resurrecting the Trabant?
@jacob – bananas are almost 100% grown in tropical climate. So there is no question of winters (severe) there. The only time the crop will be destroyed is when there is severe cyclone or massive gale winds that causes the entire plant being uprooted. It is a perennial crop bearing fruit year round. So there is no justification for the corner grocery store to jack up the price on bananas by almost 100% !!!
Haha you got me there, I was thinking maybe supply/demand. When the weather outside is frightull people yearn for a tropical pickmeup. Boosting banana prices. But that would be a stretch. I'm out of shows to watch on hulu and need some way to entertain myself. And hey, if you're a scientist, is there a reasonable reason why hemp isn't a more viable option for a lot of products on the table these days?
Plastic made from fruit fibers is great but is it biodegradable?
I'm assuming this is a little different than the Traubant the East Germans used to make. The problem they found with using food materials: the rats liked the cars as well.
oh great! now all the homeless will go through our trash to find our banana peels so they can sell them like the cans lol
Is it a bird? Is it a plane ? No, it is banana man!
what wonderful news! could these fibers be used in any type of goods, or only in car parts?
Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say banana
RG: I remember that one from grammar school. The way you wrote it is funnier. Good one. lol I think bananas are a good source. I still choose pizza over a gun. I know it's from a different thread. So sue me.
Considering that we have a finite supply of oil, and that plastics are made from fossil fuels in one form or another (ever heard of polyurethane?), imagine what this means for the world. Once the oil is gone we will still be able to make our most common artificial material: Plastic!
Here about the banana that tried to peel out? Well it lost control and rear ended the peach.
There are 1000s of starving people and were thinking about using food sources for items other than food? I realize the article is talking about the peels/rinds of fruit, but what about the fruit itself? You peel a trillion pounds of bananas to make car parts. What are they going to do with the teillion pounds of actual fruit? Itll be car part manufacturer/food processor. Just dont see it working. Too much risk on wasting too much food.
This development opens up a world of possibilities for the cars of the future. The benefits of using plastics in automobiles, such as reduced weight, improved safety, and increased fuel efficiency, have long been known, but the ability to use organic materials such as fruit stems to produce lightweight fibers in the plastics allows the use of the material that could have been tossed in the trash. Very Innovative.
Read more about plastics in cars on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/plasticcar
Great innovation. Global Warming is at hand, I guess this is the scientist's way of contributing to the environment.