## 8 Applications of Natural Fibers Reinforced Epoxy-Based Composites
### Automobile Applications  
NFRCs owing to their lightweight, high-strength advantages have found their application in automobile industries. The lightweight features of the NFRCs lead to better fuel economy for automobiles. In addition, emissions to the environment also reduce during the manufacturing of the NFRCs. In 1941, the first composite automobile (car) was developed, weighing 907 kg or 454 kg less than a steel car. Several investigations have been conducted in Europe to increase the use of NFRCs in the automobile sector, particularly in seatbacks, parcel shelves, boot linens, front and rear door linens, truck linens, and door-trim panels. Besides internal use in vehicles, NFRCs with synthetic polymers have been utilized outside, such as the area between the headlights and fenders of passenger buses [170; 171; 172; 173]. In the United States, straw-based NFRCs are being explored as construction materials. Hybrid composites of basalt and hemp fibers are being investigated for various building applications [174; 175]. The lightweight and high-impact characteristics of flax fiber composite lead to use in the automotive application (bonnet). The mechanical properties of Caryota fiber were found suitable for automotive components [82]. Leucas Aspera epoxy-based composite thermal and mechanical properties have been found suitable for use as brake pads [82]. Figure 5 shows different components made from NFRCs in automotive applications. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline
**Natural Fibers** & **Applications** & **Ref.** \\ \hline Hemp fiber & Rope, paper and packaging, furniture, electrical, banknotes, and pipes manufacturing. & [24] \\ \hline Oil palm fiber & Structural insulated panels, windows, door frames, fencing, roofing, docking, and & [24] \\  & sliding materials & \\ \hline Wood fiber & Window frames, railing systems, door shutters, docking, panels, and fencing & [24] \\ \hline Flax fiber & Window frames, panels, docking, railing systems, fencing, bicycle frame, fork, seat & [24] \\  & post, snowboards, and tennis rackets & [24] \\ \hline Rice husk fiber & Building panels, bricks, frame of the window, docking, and railing systems & [24] \\ \hline Sisal fiber & Core in elevator steel wire cables, agricultural twine or baler twine, and & [161] \\  & freight handling & \\ \hline Stalk fiber & Panels in building, furniture, as bricks, constructing drains and in pipelines & [24] \\ \hline Kenaf fiber & Packing material, mobile case, bags, insulating material, clothing-grade cloth, soilless & \\  & potting mixes, and animal bedding & [162] \\ \hline Cotton fiber & Furniture, textile composites yarn, goods, and cordage & [24] \\ \hline Coir fibers & Paper weight, filling material for seat upholstery, seat cushions, cover, brush, brooms, & [24; 163] \\  & ropes, yarns for nets, bags, mats, and padding for the mattress & \\ \hline Coconut fiber & Seat bottoms, back cushions and head, rope, mats, mattress, brush, and upholstery & [161] \\ \hline Ramie fiber & Sewing thread, packaging material, fishing net, filter cloths, upholstery, canvas, & [24] \\  & and clothes & \\ \hline Bagasse fiber & Fencing the frame of the window, panels, docking, and railing systems & \\ \hline Jute fiber & Building panels, roofing sheets, door frames, door shutters, transport, packaging, & \\  & geotextiles, mobile casing, indoor elements in housing, and chipboards & [162; 164; 165; 166] \\ \hline Abaca fiber & Under floor body panels & [167] \\ \hline Pineapple leaf & Automobile componentss, textile, and mats & [161] \\ \hline Date palm & Textile for the indoor house, mats & [161] \\ \hline Banana fiber & Floor protection for passenger cars & [168] \\ \hline Roselle fibers & Automobile seat cover, visor in a two-wheeler, name plate, and indicator cover & [169] \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 6: Natural fibers and their constructions and automotive applications.