In the view of the growing demand for cheaper and easier to get material, then you got tons of synthetic product, including the fabric and fiber aspect. Kapok filling is still alive despite the reduced popularity and uses. Behind its uses as stuffing, the KSO or kapok seed oil is also as valuable and as good as the former uses. Why? And how this product gains popularity? Here is your answer.
The Wide Range Of Usages
When kapok seed is underdeveloped or underutilized, many researchers said it is a big concern. The production of the kapok fiber can leave out a hefty amount of kapok seed wastes, which is getting worse without any process. The older generation throws a bunch of seeds just because they don’t know the utilization.
But as technologies getting better and advanced, many manufacturers found that the kapok has an oil content. Then, they start to extract the oil using different methods and get crude oil. In this case, the oil is left without any further utilization. But as many people discover the oil, the usage is getting wider.
For example, people use oil as pain relief and to heal wounds. The oil itself contains some antioxidant and healing aspects, that somehow encourage people to use it as a traditional ointment. After that, some of the researchers also found the oil content in the seed is high enough to be extracted, gathered, and turned into soap.
Along the way, people find that the oil is not only a liquid, which is great for healing. Much research is done to find out the potential of kapok oil. One of the great discovery is the potential uses of KSO as biodiesel, which explain that the oil is as valuable as the kapok filling itself. As the oil is extracted, the seed itself turned into a Kapok seed meal (KSM).
The Characteristics Of Kapok
After tons of studies, the manufacturer understands that the oil is not something they just throw it away. The main properties of the seed are very much filled with oil (27,5%), fiber (19.0%), and protein (35,0%). Another thing to consider is the oxidation state of the oil. It is said that the peroxide value and para-anisidine vale are quite low, which means that it is healthy.
Being One Of The Byproduct To Reduce Waste
Talking about the kapok waste, then the worse one is the unutilized kapok seed. It is not a surprise that the big haul of the kapok yield, might resulting in more seed than the fiber itself. Thus, process it as oil is one of the greatest solutions to counter the higher number of wastes. It is also being part of the valuable byproduct that exported to other countries.
Likely, many people don’t realize the potential of KSO. It is very true since the popularity of kapok itself is plummeted due to synthetic fiber production. However, when you considering the properties, usage, and the environmentally friendly aspect, then KSO is valuable. You can look for kapok products and kapok seed oil prices on kapokfibersuppliers.com.