Quoting from [francis teo]:
Kenaf currently existed in multiple countries are deem as a weed. The commercial value of it is not known to me, until I accidentally found out that pple are using kenaf fiber for electronic board, and automobile dashboard interior. e.g. panasonic for electronic board What other products can this fibrous plant be created into?
If it can be created into automobile dashboard. I bet my life that it can be used for biodegradable tablewares, and other fiber intensive products.
But till date there is no commercial news regarding the exploitation of such plant.
Instead of using food plant like tapoica starch or corn starch, or sugar cane fiber. Kenaf - a weed as a fiber source, will be a much awaited resource.
Answering my own question: But I believe there are more commerical applications undetected.
The kenaf fiber deriving from processing the bark of the kenaf plant is pale yellow in colour and is the most highly valued product coming out of our system.
It has a degree of purity from woody debris and pectins equal to 99% and is highly appreciated in the
construction of mats with thermoset natural fibres for the automotive industry and technical applications.
Only 10% of the fibre, that is the longest and thinnest part, is
used in the textile sector producing at first a yarn with a metric count of from 12,000 up to 25,000 and subsequently fabrics
for both clothing and home furnishings.
Taken from http://www.kenaf-fiber.com/en/fibra.asp
Emerging uses of kenaf fibre include engineered wood, insulation, and clothing-grade cloth. Panasonic has set up a plant in Malaysia to manufacture kenaf fibre boards and export them to Japan, oil absorbent (based on patent issued to H. and C. Willett), soil-less potting mixes, animal bedding, packing material, organic filler for blending with plastics for injection molding (using the technology developed and patented by Fibre Packaging International, Inc.), as an additive for drilling muds, and various types of mats, such as, seeded grass mats for instant lawns to moldable mats for manufactured parts and containers.
Kenaf seeds yield a vegetable oil that is edible and high in omega antioxidants. The kenaf oil is also used for cosmetics, industrial lubricants and as bio-fuel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenaf
