Coir Pith Biowaste In Natural Rubber – Chloroprene Rubber Blend
Coir pith a spongy material that binds the coconut fibre in the husk is one of the hardest natural fibres because of its high content of lignin, Coir is much more advantageous in the different applications for erosion control, reinforcement and stabilization of soil and is preferred to any other natural fibres.
Coir is a sufficiently Eco-friendly product and so its application will never sustain any damages to the environment. It contains higher proportions of cellulose besides potash and lignin and it has excellent moisture retaining capacity but is slow in decomposition as its pentosan-lignin ratio is below 0.5. which makes the coir pith a threat to the ecosystem.
Coir pith consists of lignin and cellulose together in a blended form. If we can extract the cellulose from the fibre.It will be eco-friendly and biodiversity supportive Farmers can use it as an organic manure.
We can use techniques where we can remove the lignin from the cellulose-lignin complex of the coir fibre by oxidation, and convert it to microcrystalline structure of cellulose in a very cost effective way.
Using Cellulose Obtained From Coir-Pith
We know that the interaction between Natural rubber and chloroprene rubber is not flexible because of the polar non-polar interaction. To overcome this problem we can use this cellulose obtained from the biowaste to blend natural fibre with chloroprene rubber.
Mechanical properties such as tensile strength, tear resistance, abrasive strength, rebound resistance of the entire blend would increase and enhance
Mechanical properties such as tensile strength, tear resistance, abrasive strength, rebound resistance of the entire blend would increase and enhance making the structure dimensionally stable. This product can also be used for various other purposes.
Coir Pith is widely used as a soil conditioner, surface mulch/rooting medium and desiccant. Composted
coir pith is excellent organic manure for indoor plants as well as for horticulture crops.
Several firms are manufacturing composted coir pith in the country. Compressed coir pith in the form of briquettes for easy transportation is also manufactured. But we need a substantial solution to fill the gap in the constructive utilization or recycling of coir pith by removal of lignin from the cellulose-lignin complex of the coir fibre.
Conceptualised by
Sayan Basak
Second year(3rd semester)
Department of Polymer Science and Technology
University of Calcutta
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