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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Banana-based plastics for cars Brazilian scientists have developed a way of using fibers from bananas, pineapples and other plants to create plastic that is stronger and lighter than the petroleum-based stuff. So-called nanocellulose fibers rival Kevlar in strength but are renewable, and the researchers believe they could be widely used within a couple of years. “The properties of these plastics are incredible,” Alcides Leão, a researcher at Sao Paulo State University, said in a statement. “They are light, but very strong — 30 percent lighter and three to four times stronger.” That could reduce the weight of new vehicles, which would increase fuel economy. Several automakers are cutting weight in their campaigns to maximize mpg. Ford, for example, hopes to trim 250 to 750 pounds from its vehicles and is exploring nanotechnology to do so. Beyond being lighter and stronger, Leão says nanocellulosic plastic is more resistant to heat, gasoline and water. He sees it being used for dashboards, bumpers and some body panels. Cellulose comprises the primary cell wall of green plants. Intensive processing of wood and other plant materials yields nanocellulosic fibers so small that 50,000 fit within the diameter of a human hair. These fibers can be added to other raw materials to produce reinforced plastic. Leão tells us the nanocellulosic plastic is made entirely of renewable materials and is biodegradable. The nanocellulose could be combined with petroleum-based plastic if a specific application required it, he says, but the resulting product would not be biodegradable. Pineapple may be the most promising source of nanocellulose, Leão says. Others include bananas, coconut shells, agave and curaua, a plant related to pineapple. The leaves and stems are cooked in a device similar to a pressure cooker, yielding something resembling talcum powder. It’s expensive stuff, but there’s no word on just how much the nanocellulosic plastic costs because Leão and his team are working in small quantities in the laboratory. Leão says the cost would come down as the scale of production rose, especially if the auto industry embraced the technology. One pound of nanocellulose can produce 100 pounds of plastic. “So far, we’re focusing on replacing automotive plastics,” Leão says. “But in the future, we may be able to replace steel and aluminum automotive parts using these plant-based nanocellulose materials.” Leão presented his findings today at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, California. From among the comments on Wired: Pickup line of the future: Wanna ride my banana? # www.HowleyGreenEnergy.com/ John Howley This is too much. Del Monte just announced single serve bananas wrapped in plastic grn.bz/fcbbrT So, some day they will be able to wrap their bananas in banana peels? Isn’t that how it works naturally? John Howley www.HowleyGreenEnergy.com # profiles.yahoo.com/u/KH3VWQ5KN7UKPPXBMIDQ2P6XWI Anonymous Ford did this in the 1930’s. He made body parts from Soy beans. www.thehenryford.org/research/soybeancar.aspx Had big tire/rubber research center/factory in the Amazon. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordlândia # pulse.yahoo.com/_H2MPSBDFEKBB7NGLRMF6M2WNVE Eric “The leaves and stems are cooked in a device similar to a pressure cooker, yielding something resembling talcum powder.” Sounds like they’d be using the parts we don’t eat, so if they are just using the peels, the actual food is still usable [granted, they need a cheap airtight seal for freshness]. Since most people don’t componst anyways, a couple grams of plastic wrap in place of the peel seems like a good trade-off to me. Even if they need to use the fruit. They are claiming 1 pound = 100 pounds of plastic. Per ChaCha dot com, Americans buy about 8M cars per year. Lets assume that manufactures replace 500 pounds of petrolium based plastics with 350 pounds of banana plastics. So, that means 3.5 pounds of bananas per car, times 8M equals 28 million pounds of bananas. That is alot, but keep in mind that (1) the US consumes that many bananas in less than 2 days [0.44% of what we eat], (2) presumably peels are useful for this and we don’t eat that part and (3) how much petroleum did it take to make that four billions pounds of replaced plastic.
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