Coconut is one of the most common food and industrial crops,
mostly found in the coastal provinces of Thailand due to its tropical
climate.
The coconut coir fiber can be removed from the coconut
husk by hand or machine and is widely available to use as a raw
material in fiber cement products due to its quantity, price, suitable
mechanical properties, non-toxicity and chemical reactibility
However, there is waste from coconut processing that when
discarded or burnt may create problems for the environment.
Brown and white coconut coir fibers are two commercially
available types of coirs. Brown coir is extracted from fully mature
coconuts, whereas white coir is obtained from green coconuts.
Normally, the coconut coir fiber is 350 mm in length, 0.12–
0.25 mm in diameter and 1250 kg/m3 in density. Coconut fiber
has one of the highest amounts of lignin coating, which makes it
stronger than most other types of natural fiber: only banana fiber
has a greater tensile strength. Its resistance to microbial degradation
and salt water is also unique.