
BananaPlac
banana fibers for material panels
6 January 2011
When developing new materials, more and more companies are relying on the use of organic waste such as wood shavings, the spindles of corn cobs or cellulose fibers from the remains of apple juice production. Because these are usually available in large quantities and would otherwise have to be disposed of in a different way.
Fiber material from banana trees
BananaPlac is the result of a student project at the University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). Fiber material from banana trees is used to produce a thermally formable panel material. In South America, the waste from banana plants has long been used in interior and furniture design. In addition, good experience has been gained with the use of natural fibers as a substitute product for GRP in vehicle construction and they have been successfully used in fiber-reinforced concrete.
In the production of BananaPlac panels, the fibers are combined with biologically produced polyurethane as a matrix material and pigmented in different colors. With its natural feel, the material is now also available in Europe and can be obtained from Barktex, a bark cloth manufacturer. With this, the company is expanding its range of products and materials manufactured in-house.
image: Barktex
Cocoboard
13 April 2022
NaturLoop has been developing a technology for biocomposites from agricultural…
Ultraleggera – Lightest chair in the world
20 August 2021
The Ultraleggera 1.660 is the lightest chair in the world. Oskar Zięta designed…
MotorSkins morphing textiles
19 April 2022
Berlin based start-up MotorSkins designs and produces textiles with embedded…
3D Pioneers Challenge 2022
15 December 2021
The 3D Pioneers Challenge 2022 adresses tech pioneers who pave the way for…
IGNIS – Light from waste heat energy
12 August 2020
The availability of affordable, independent and, above all, clean electrical…
Brake disc with reduced fine dust
21 April 2021
Fine dust endangers our health. One of the main sources is traffic, especially…
BladeBUG maintenance robot
26 January 2021
The British company BladeBUG has developed a six-legged robot over the past few…
Hydrogen power plant for your own home
11 March 2022
A research initiative of the Fraunhofer IAP aims to produce hydrogen by…
Xarvio – Digital Farming
8 January 2021
BASF Digital Farming GmbH has received the renowned Crop Science Award for the…