Car Parts from the Coconutty Professor

January 06, 2009

There is clearly not enough news involving coconuts. Fortunately, Baylor University in Texas is remedying that with a way to turn unwanted coconut husks into useful car parts.

While we haven't reached the coconut carburetor point, engineering professor Walter Bradley and his team of researchers envision the renewable fiber replacing the synthetic polyester that is used to make trunk liners, covers for interior doors, and floorboards. The team chose husks because they're inexpensive, nontoxic, and have the potential to work just as well as polyester.

Currently the Baylor team is testing the coconut car part prototypes, which were made at a local processing company, for safety. If they succeed in creating a new market for the husks, coconut farmers worldwide could see the price for their product go up, bringing a much-needed increase in annual incomes. Nothing nutty about that.

Image: Coconuts in Thailand. Credit: Komgrit Trakoontiwakorn.