THE USAGE OF THE ACAI STONE AS REINFORCEMENT FOR THE MODELING OF PLANT POLYURETHANE MATRIX COMPOSITE MATERIAL

Resumen

In the north region of Brazil the acai fruit is a typical product that is widely consumed for its nutritional and medicinal qualities, occupying an important socioeconomic role in the country. The residues generated after the extraction of the fruit pulp correspond to 85% of the volume produced, an amount that is discarded in open dumps without adequate planning. The research presents an initial study of the use of the acai stone used as reinforcement to make a composite matrix material in biodegradable resin based on castor oil. The methodological basis for the study was the bibliographical research to associate knowledge about the acai fruit and its residues, and composite materials reinforced with natural fibers. For the development of the new material we used the research Quirino (2010) as a reference for panel molding and for conducting density tests as well as the standard ABNT NBR 14810-1 (2013). The results demonstrate that the process used to produce the composite panel results in high density material, also showing an aesthetic differential and visual quality. The contribution of the study is in the use and economy of natural resources to minimize the negative environmental impacts resulting from the production cycle of acai.