Bulletproof Vest from Empty Palm Oil Bunches

Researchers from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences IPB University have succeeded in developing a bulletproof vest whose raw material comes from the fiber of empty palm oil bunches.

Until now, Indonesia is one of the largest palm oil producers in the world. In the processing of fresh fruit bunches of oil palm, crude palm oil (CPO), kernels, empty fruit bunches, mesocarp fiber, shells, and liquid waste (POME) are produced. CPO processing usually leaves 40-60 percent of solid waste. It consists of the trunk, midrib, shell, and empty fruit bunches of oil palm (TKKS). Especially for TKKS, each hectare of oil palm plantations can produce around 7.7 million tons of EFB. As an illustration of the potential of TKKS in Indonesia, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture in 2019, the area of ​​oil palm cover in Indonesia reached 16.38 million hectares. This area, of course, consists of various ages of oil palm plantations which also determine its productivity. By innovator from the Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) IPB University, Siti Enjoys, the solid waste from palm oil processing, namely TKKS, is finally processed into natural fiber as raw material for bulletproof vests. This is good news for the utilization of palm oil waste. In addition, this innovation can contribute to saving the country's foreign exchange and support Indonesia's independence in producing the raw materials for military equipment. This is because bulletproof vests produced in Indonesia currently still use synthetic kevlar fiber which must be imported.

|•SOURCE•| Articles : | Image :KOMPAS |

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