Historically, the coconut was known as Nux indica (the Indian nut) and also
the Nargil tree, the tree of life. Western literature has also mentioned the
Malayalam name Tenga for the coconut palm which relates to Tamil ‘Tennai’,
believed to be of Sri Lankan origin. Its geographical dispersion was aided
by travelers and traders. Botanically, the coconut palm is a monocotyledon
and belongs to the order Arecaceae, family Palmae and the species is known
as Cocos nucifera Linn.
The Philippines, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka account for 78% of
coconut production. The most important and economically valuable product
of coconut palm is its fruit popularly known as the ‘nut’. It is made up of
an outer exocarp, a thick fi brous fruit coat known as the husk and underneath
lies the hard protective endocarp or shell. Lining the shell is a white
albuminous endosperm or ‘coconut meat’ and the inner cavity is fi lled with
a clear sweet liquid called ‘coconut water’. In this chapter, utilization of
coconut fi ber/coir fi ber in composites is discussed.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is carried out to understand why
the mechanical properties of composites prepared from treated and
untreated coir are different and also to understand the effect of fi ber
treatment on the fi ber–matrix interfacial adhesion