New uses of sisal
Brazilian sisal: a competitive product with a guaranteed supply. Brazil is the largest producer in the world and has the potential to produce much more, being able to easily double production. Apart from this, the Brazilian sisal industry has a strong social nature as it produces more than half a million jobs in deprived regions.
Sisal composites substitute synthetics in the furniture industry.
In the car industry the composites are in panels, bumpers and door, ceiling and floor coverings, providing lightness, resistance and economy and they are also ecological.
The composites make electrical goods and household appliances lighter and more resistant.
Sisal is also present in the footwear industry and for making hulls and parts in the nautical industry.
The United Nations decided that 2009 was the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF NATURAL FIBRES and when you think of sisal, it becomes clearer that there could be no better choice whether due to its versatile technical characteristics or sustainability, as Brazilian sisal is natural, biodegradable and renewable. It is for these reasons that big names in advanced technologies from a broad range of sectors already use composites in their products.
It shows that you have a commitment to the planet’s future. Give priority to natural products. Use Brazilian sisal.
NEW USES OF SISAL ARE DISCUSSED WITH UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO) REPRESENTATIVES
Apart from substituting asbestos in construction, sisal can be a raw material for cosmetics and sweeteners.
Despite Brazil being the largest sisal exporter in the world, with Bahia, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte as the largest national producers, there is still little use of the plant. Only 5% of sisal is extracted for its most common use, which is string manufacture.
With studies and research developed both inside and outside of universities, new possibilities for the plant’s use have arisen as an alternative to revitalize the activity which was at its peak in the 1960s. Today it is seeking new markets to encourage small and medium-sized producers in the sector again.
Use of sisal sap as a raw material for cosmetics is one of these alternatives announced during a meeting to present the “Sisal as Fibre Cement Project”. The event, in João Pessoa on Friday September 8, 2006, brought together specialists and technicians that study the sisal agro-business in the country along with Common Commodity Fund (CFC) representatives connected with the FAO, an institution that is already financing research at the Federal University of Campina Grande (Universidade Federal da Campina Grande – UFCG).
Research should identify the economic viability of sisal in fibre cement composition, substituting asbestos in the construction industry within three years. Apart from being cancerigenic, asbestos is pollutant and its use has already been prohibited in some countries and in towns in São Paulo such as Osasco and Bauru.
The manufacture of soaps based on sisal sap is also an innovative alternative. It is still made in a handmade way and is being developed by researchers in the local authority of João Câmara, in the Mato Grande region in Rio Grande do Norte. “Chemical tests have already been carried out and the product has a great ecological appeal. The idea is to obtain financing for the project together with institutions such as the CFC to create mini-factories and train small rural producers from settlements”, pharmacist Clementino Câmara Neto explained, who coordinates the work with support from the Agency to Support Entrepreneurs and Small Businessmen (Agência de Apoio ao Empreendedor e Pequeno Empresário – Sebrae/RN).
Another use for sisal sap which has had little circulation is production of natural sweeteners. According to Clementino, Mexico has already discovered that the fructose present in the plant sap produces a high quality natural sweetener which could be a major differential in the dietetic product market.
“The difference is that the sisal species there is the American agave and ours is the sisal agave but the two species have the same quantity of fructose”, the pharmacist added.
TECHNICAL VISITS
Making use of their stay in Paraíba, event participants including CFC and FAO representatives Sietse Van der Werff and Brian Moir, visited Campina Grande on Saturday, September 9, 2006, to see the Embrapa Cotton office and UFCG Department of Agricultural Engineering.
The visitors were able to see both projects developed in the area of sisal and also work carried out with coloured cotton at Embrapa. This is a process to genetically improve the fibre, aiming to increase resistance to mechanical traction, allowing the industry to spin at the same speed as white cotton with 120,000 rotations per minute.
“Sietse’s visit to Brazil is related to both the sisal project and “Cotton Meeting” to be held in Goiânia, so his awareness of the work carried out on coloured cotton in Paraíba is very interesting”, Antônio Felinto, the Sebrae Paraíba sisal project manager confirmed.
The Fibre Cement Project office was inaugurated at the Federal University of Campina Grande, based at the Department of Agricultural Engineering. “We showed a part of what has been developed until now in terms of mixture variation, types of materials produced, kinds of tiles and plates, as well as different moulding and pressing technologies”, Antônio Farias Leal, a Department professor explained.
The trip also covered the local authority of Pocinhos, where a technical visit was made to the Mixed Farming Cooperative of Pocinhos (Cooperativa Agropecuária Mista de Pocinhos – Coopam) and some sisal production fields.
According to Odilon Ribeiro, an Embrapa researcher, there has been a recovery of approximately 3,000 hectares of sisal areas in the region and newly planted land of around 600 hectares. “The price paid to producers for dry fibre was R$0.30 centavos per kilo in 2003. Today, the price guaranteed by the government is approximately R$1.00. Therefore the price has more than tripled in four years and this has really encouraged producers”, he explained.
EXPECTATONS IN THE SECTOR
There are 45 hectares with an average production of 2,000 kilos of fibre at the Malhada do Rio farm. Approximately 1,500 kilos of dry fibre are extracted each from each hectare per week. The property generates approximately 10 stable jobs for almost all of the year, which is a considerable number for the size of the business and as it is based in a semi-arid region. All of the production is offloaded through Campol which buys the fibre from local producers for R$1.20 per kilo.
“With the cooperative’s formation and fiscal incentives and financing from the Banco do Brasil, we were able to take part in trading, increasing the production price even further. We used to sell everything for a paltry sum to middlemen”, Antônio de Pádua, the Campol president explained.
The cooperative has 50 associated producers and 50 defibring machines, which produces more than 500 direct jobs just in the fields. There are a further 11 jobs in the processing area. “We hope that the Fibre Cement Project is successful so that there is an even greater demand for fibre. Our aim is that the production volume will double or triple in three years’ time”, Pádua commented.
However for the Sindifibras (BA) president, Wilson Andrade who offered some guidance to producers during the visit, there is still a great need to improve planting and harvesting.
“We saw a low-cut at the first farm: the producer is not cutting the leaves sufficiently, as well as keeping various suckers around the mother plant, preventing the plantation’s development. The opposite takes place at the second farm: exaggerated cutting causes the plant to die. The producers lose money in both cases”, Andrade explained. “Sisal is going through a good period, it is time to correct the defects and improve techniques in order to guarantee competitiveness”, he added.
Source: Bahia Commodities Market.