Future Cars Could Include Parts Made of Pineapples & Bananas

Your next new car hopefully won't be a lemon, but it could be a pineapple or a banana. That's because scientists in Brazil have developed a more effective way to use fibers from these and other plants in a new generation of automotive plastics that are stronger, lighter and more eco-friendly than plastics in use now.

Researchers said the fibers used to reinforce the new plastics may come from seemingly delicate fruits such as bananas and pineapples that are actually super-strong. Some of these so-called nanocellulose fibers are almost as stiff as Kevlar, the renowned material used in armor and bulletproof vests. Unlike Kevlar and other traditional plastics, which are made from petroleum or natural gas, nanocellulose fibers are renewable.

Read more at: LiveScience