Plastic Car Parts Made From Bananas and Pineapples

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Your next car may be of banana or pineapple, yes it's true! Scientists in Brazil have developed a more effective way to use fibers from these and other plants in a new generation of automotive plastics that are stronger, lighter, and more eco-friendly than plastics now in use. They described the work, which could lead to stronger, lighter, and more sustainable materials for cars and other products.

According to Alcides Leão, Ph.D., the fibers used to reinforce the new plastics may come from delicate fruits like bananas and pineapples, but they are super strong. Some of these so-called nano-cellulose fibers are almost as stiff as Kevlar, the renowned super-strong material used in armor and bulletproof vests. Unlike Kevlar and other traditional plastics, which are made from petroleum or natural gas, nano-cellulose fibers are completely renewable.

If there is a downside to the newly discovered technology it is that the process used to produce the renewable plastic is costly. The process consists of placing the plant fibers into a device equivalent to that of a pressure cooker. Over several cycles, chemicals are added to the plants while the mixture is heated. When completed, a fine material of nano-cellulose is produced that looks like talcum powder. The good news is that while the process is costly, it only takes one poind of nano-cellulose to produce 100 pounds of the new plastic material.

Read more at American Chemicals Society Press Release.