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TITLE:
Producing Particle Board from Coconut Husks: A Composite Material from an
Abundant, Renewable Resource
SPEAKER:
Professor Walter L. Bradley,
TIME: Thursday Mar. 8, 2007 at 4:00 PM
PLACE: George P. Williams, Jr. Lecture Hall, (Olin 101)
Baylor University
Waco, Texas
Refreshments will be served at 3:30 PM in the lounge.
All interested persons are cordially invited to attend.
Coconuts are an abundant, renewable resource within 20 degrees of the equator. However, the coconut husks are routinely burned, redeeming at best a small amount of energy. The possibilities of hot pressing coconut husks into particle board are being investigated to see if binderless particle board can be made from this essentially free feedstock. Whether the pith (primarily lignin) behaves like a natural thermosetting polymer or a natural thermoplastic will determine the best processing path. How much fiber is useful to optimize mechanical properties is also being investigated.
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 100 Olin Physical Laboratory, 7507 Reynolda Station Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7507 Phone: (336) 758-5337, FAX: (336) 758-6142 E-mail: wfuphys@wfu.edu |
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