COIR BOARDS

PRESENTED BY: TARISHI JAIN , 2ND SEM ,MBEM , SPA

CHAPTER 1

COIR – The Renewable Natural Fibre

Coir is a lignocellulosic natural fibreIt is bio-degradable and environmental friendlyIt is tough, durable, versatile and resilientIt is extracted from coconut husk, the fibrous mass covering the coconut

Types of coir fibre

There are two main types of coir fibre: Brown coir,

from fully ripened coconut husks; strong and resistant to abrasion, it is used in brushes, floor mats, and upholstery padding;

white coir, from husks of coconuts harvested just before they ripen; softer and less strong, it is spun into yarn, used for ropes and mats.

Coir - Proven Properties

StrengthResistance to Weather conditions

Coir composites-the wood substitute

Made using natural fibres such asCoir and Jute.

Replaces plywood in all itsapplications.

Ideal for furniture, ceiling,partition, doors etc.

Brings better value addition toCoir.

Reduces the consumption oftropical timber products.

Coir - Comparison to wood

Coir fibre has 45.84% lignin as against 39.84% in Teak. Hence

Coir is more durable than Teak. Coir is available in abundance.

Coir is available in abundance.

Coir is renewable every 45 daysas against 60 years for a tree.

Coir - Comparison to wood

A 90 year old tropical tree with height -15 mtrs. if cut, would give lumber of 3.5cu.mtrs.

60% timber recovery would be 2.25cu.mtr.

Further wastage of 20% on conversion. Hence total recovery from a similar tree

would be 1.80 cu.mtrs. One unit of Coir Composite Building

materials would produce 40 cumtrs aday, whereby 22 tropical trees couldbe saved every day.

Different Grades of Coir CompositeBuilding Materials

Hard Board Grade

Plywood Grade

Medium Density Fibre Board Grade

Door Grade

CHAPTER 2

Production

Coir products are made from fibre from the husks of coconuts, using for the most part production techniques that barely changed in the past century. Traditional products have mainly revolved around the production of mats and matting. However, increased mechanization is happening, particularly with regard to fibre extraction and weaving.

The process begins with the coconut seed being stripped of its hard outside layer skin and a 2-3 inch intermediate layer of fibrous pulp, the husk. Fibres from the husk form coir.

Extracting the fibres initially requires that the husk is broken down through a process of ‘retting.’ This is a curing process, during which the husk partially decomposes, allowing it to be separated into coir fibers and a residue called coir pith. This used to take 6-9 months, but is now accomplished in less than 10 days.

Production

The fibres are then separated through beating. This used to be done manually, but is now done mechanically.

The fibre is then spun into yarn, using labor intensive techniques.

The yarn and raw fibres are then bleached or dyed (if necessary) and used to make both mats and matting. These are usually woven on hand-operated looms, though recent years have witnessed increased automation.

Advantages of Coir Composite Products

Is an Environment Friendly substitute to wood Naturally Termite and Insect Resistant Flame Retardant Carpenter Friendly Excellent Nail and Screw Holding Properties Attractive natural look Can be painted, polished or laminated Water proof with minimum surface absorption Economical Strong and rigid conserve forest resources. Excellent insulation properties Reusable after each application

Usage of Coir Compositesfor

Disaster Management

Requirements for immediate rehabilitation Sheds

Semi Permanent Shelters for rehabilitation during construction of permanent shelters Walls and Roof

Permanent Shelters Doors Shutters

Furniture

Rapid Building Mechanism

Shelters made using CoirComposites for walls and roof - fixed on steel structure

Faster installation – 300 –500 nos per month No heavy particles that

could cause damage in case of reoccurrence of disaster

Longer life – 12 to 15 years Minimum Maintenance

Rapid Building Mechanism

500 shelters For Gujarat Earthquake Victims

Rapid Building Mechanism

Contributionstowards Sustainable Development

Environment Protection Gender Empowerment Employment Creation Poverty Alleviation Improving lives of underprivileged Rural Development Meeting National / international Objectives

CHAPTER 3

Coir-CNSL Board

This is a composite material, which utilises the coconut fibres as re-enforcing material and CNSL as the natural binder.

The developed material is suitable for moderate temperature insulation purposes such as ceiling insulation, insulation of air-conditioned built spaces, industrial instruments e.g. heat exchangers , water coolers, fluid supply systems, etc.

Coir-CNSL Board

The Coir-Board is a wood alternative which can be used for surfacing, door and window shutters, partitioning, false ceiling, panelling, furniture, cabinets, packaging, etc.

It is a single layer flat pressed class Medium Density Fiber (MDF) Board. It has low water absorption, negligible change in dimensions due to water absorption, workable with normal wood working tools, paintable, pre-laminable, nailable and screwable, passes IS-3087. The board is eco-friendly and can replace wood or re-constituted wood by 100%.

Salient features of Coir-CNSL Board

Both the starting materials i.e. coconut fibre and cashew nut shell liquid are available substantially in coastal areas and are renewable agro-wastes.

Technology is developed at pilot level and ready for transfer.

The technology and product both are patented. Technology is techno-economically viable as

per pre-estimates. The estimated cost of the board is around 30%

cheaper in comparison to commercially available similar products such as MDF board, plywood, and block board.

COIR (Coconut Fibre)-Cement Roofing Sheet

CBRI has developed another technology for production of coir (coconut fibre)-cement roofing sheet having a thickness of 6-8 mm. The manufacturing process involves soaking of coir fibre in mineralised water and then mixing with dry cement in the ratio of 1:5 by weight. A sheet is made with this wet mix of cement coated fibres and is held under pressure for 4-8 hrs. The long-term performance under actual conditions has been ascertained.

Roofing sheets

Roofing Sheets

Medium density composite doors

Major constituents: coir fibre, cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) as natural resin and paraformaldehyde

Coir fibre contributes mechanical strength to the composite CNSL with paraformaldehyde act as a binder. Coir is impregnated with CNSL and is compression moulded under

high temperature. The pressure required during casting of the board/sheet depends upon the required density of the final product.

These boards can be used as wood substitute for paneling, cladding, surfacing and partitioning and other interior applications.

The boards have density between 0.5 – 0.9 gms/cm3 and can be cut, sawed, nailed & screwed.

The boards have very low water absorption and negligible swelling.

Coir composite Door panels

Jute-based Composites

80% of the material used in the composite are renewable natural fibres such as jute and coir. The coir fibre contains 45.84% lignin as against 39% in teakwood. Therefore, it is more resistant than teakwood against rotting under wet and dry conditions and has better tensile strength. Similarly low cellulose content in coir (43%) as against 63% cellulose in wood makes it more durable than teakwood.

Two major categories of composite boards namely, coir-ply boards (jute + rubber wood + coir) as plywood substitute and natural fibre reinforced boards(jute + coir) as medium density fibre (MDF) board substitute have been developed.

These natural fibre composite boards can be used in place of wood or MDF boards for partitioning, false ceiling, surface panelling, roofing, furniture, cupboards, cabinets, wardrobes etc. Panel & flush doors made of jute-coir composite boards have also been developed and tested as per IS-4020. 

Jute-based Composites

coir-ply boards with oriented jute as face veneer and coir plus waste rubber wood inside.

A very thin layer of jute fibres impregnated with phenolic resin is used as the face veneer for improved aesthetics and to give a wood like finish.

The orientation & uniformity of jute fibre improve with carding and this also helps in better penetration of resin into the fibre. As colour of jute is important for appearance, a mixture of brown & white jute gives better appearance like natural wood than completely white fibre.

The thin jute face veneer is supported by a sheet of craft paper and this also serves as an impervious layer helping in reduced consumption of paints while finishing the board.

Jute-coir composite boards enjoy excellent applications in railway coaches for sleeper berth backing, for building interiors, doors & windows and also in the transportation sector as backings for seat & backrest in buses. Conventional MDF boards do not prove well on the grounds of moisture absorption & screw holding strength.

Cabinet made of jute-coir composite boards

Jute Face Veneer

The jute slivers (dried earlier in a chamber by circulating hot air) are passed through a bar with a number of pins to obtain a layer of combed and aligned jute. A craft paper support is given by continuously feeding the paper along with the jute layer running at almost the same speed. The jute layer is then sprayed with phenolic resin followed by drying with hot air (at around 120oC) to form the veneer.

Composite Board Assembly

After making oriented jute face layers & inner coir layers, the assembling is done manually at the press plant. The assembling is carried out by placing oriented jute layer with paper back-up at two outer faces with semi-cured coir felt sheets inside. For the boards containing rubber wood waste, the resin impregnated wood pieces are arranged as intermediate layers during assembly. The number of intermediate coir and rubber wood layers depends on the board thickness.

The moisture contents of both inner & face layers are checked before assembly. Curing is done in multi-plated hydraulic press with continuous monitoring of temperature, pressure & time. All the cured boards are removed from the press and are cooled in a cooling press with cold water circulation. After trimming, the boards are inspected for dimension, surface finish, delamination etc. Sample specimens are tested for mechanical properties at the laboratory. 

Schematic process flow-chart

Inner Coir & Rubber Wood Waste Layer 

In the needle felt plant, the coir is passed through the feeding system consisting of openers, air feeding device, distributors and conveyers. The web of coir is needle punched to give a continuous felt. A specially formulated coir compatible phenol-formaldehyde resin with reasonably fast curing properties is sprayed on coir felt. The resin impregnated coir felt is then dried in the hot air dryer. The pieces of rubber wood waste are manually impregnated with phenolic resin.

The mechanical properties of a natural fibre composite depend on many parameters such as fibre strength, modulus, fibre length and orientation, in addition to the fibre-matrix interfacial bond strength. Fibre-matrix interface plays an important role in the composite properties.

A good interfacial bond is required for effective stress transfer from the matrix to the fibre whereby maximum utilization of the fibre strength in the composite is achieved. In addition, it improves resistance to moisture induced degradation of the interface and the composite properties.

For effective reinforcement, the elastic modulus of the fibre should be higher than that of matrix.

COIR COMPOSITES FOR PANELING

Coir -Ply

Coir composite for interior decoration

Coir composite for interior decoration

Coir composite for interior decoration

Coir composite for interior decoration

HIGH DENSITY BOARDS

CHAPTER 4

COMPARISON OF COIR PLY WITH OTHER WOOD PRODUCTS

COMPARISON OF COIR PLY WITH OTHER BIO PRODUCTS

COMPARISON OF COIR PLY ASBESTOS SHEET

COIR-PLY Pricelist

CHAPTER 5

Coir Composites – Market Scenario

Coir Composites are presently standardized and approved by:

Building Material Technology Promotion Council Bureau of Indian Standards( IS 14842 - 2000) Indian Railways Defence Forces ( Army, Navy, Airforce) Central Public Works Department of India State Public Work Departments of India HUDCO Rural Housing Corporations of India State Road Transport Corporation of India State Health System Projects in South India

Production of Coir Fibre in India2004-2005

Key Markets and Trends

India’s coir exports have been growing at a healthy 12% on average. However, growth in value has trailed growth in quantity over the past few years by an average of 5%. This is largely a result of: downward pressure on prices from increased

competition both from within the coir sector and from similar/substitute products

migration of the coir product mix towards lower priced products such as geo-textiles and PVC mats.

India’s exports to the US have grown at an average of 9% a year, accounting for most of the US market’s growth. Other countries averaged 1% p.a. in comparison.

Key Markets and Trends

USA44%

UK9%

Nethds4%

Italy4%

Germany9%

RoW30%

Top 5 Indian Coir Buyers (share of export value, 2005/06) Total Coir Exports (US$ millions)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

2001

/02

2002

/03

2003

/04

2004

/05

2005

/06

Exp

ort

va

lue

($

M)

CAGR: 12%

Causes of poor acceptability of innovative materials

Lack of knowledge about new materials. In-appropriate environment for research and

development. Ineffective and improper publicity. Unawareness among users. Poor competition among new materials manfacturers. Negative attitude of engineers/architects towards non

scheduled items. Lower confidence in quality.

Conclusion

From the point of view of wood substitution, natural fibre composite boards could offer an excellent eco-friendly solution as wood substitutes. With ever-depleting forest reserves and corresponding premium on wood, a composite based on renewable resources such as jute, coir, sisal etc. is poised to penetrate the market.

Any value-added application avenues for these fibres would directly contribute to the economic benefits of their growers. Indigenous wood supply for plywood industry in India having been stopped virtually and with increasing landed cost of imported plywood veneers, the jute composite boards provide very good value for the users without any compromise in product quality.