Future green cars from pineapples and bananas

Aclides Leão and his team of scientists in Brazil have developed a renewable plastic that could revolutionise the manufacture of automobiles. The team described its work recently at a meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The nano-cellulose fibres developed by the scientists are about 30-40% lighter but about three to four times stronger than the conventional plastic used in manufacturing automobiles. They are also eco-friendly. That makes the nano-cellulose as strong as Kevlar, the material used to make bullet-proof vests and armor, while at the same time making it completely renewable.