Agricultural Palm Waste as a Sustainable Resource for Bio-Based Composite Materials in the Automotive Industry

This chapter aims to explore a novel approach to managing agricultural palm waste and increasing its value as a renewable resource by utilizing it to produce sustainable automotive materials. It focuses on the potential of palm fiber as a sustainable technical textile and reinforcement material in automotive composites, particularly for interior applications. By emphasizing its role in reducing environmental impact and promoting the circular economy, the chapter highlights how converting agricultural palm waste into high-value materials can drive sustainability while fostering economic opportunities across the agricultural, manufacturing, and automotive industries. The effect of palm fibers on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of conventional textile fibers such as wool and polyester, as well as polyester and epoxy resins, is the focus of this chapter. Palm fiber, especially from the washingtonia tree, can be efficiently processed into needle-punched nonwovens, which are then coated with waterborne polyurethane and waterborne acrylate finishes. These materials offer excellent visual appeal, mechanical strength, and flame retardancy, making them ideal for use as textile finishes in interior applications. Moreover, palm fibers demonstrate good adhesion to polymeric matrices, such as polypropylene, polyester and epoxy resins, used in automotive applications.