Hi Eric,
Coconut husks and shells are made out of mostly the same kinds of
materials that woods and other nut casings are made out of. These are
living materials, and consist of water, proteins, fats, carbohydrates,
enzymes, and nucleic acids, like DNA and RNA, among other things. The
biggest component of woods (and nearly all of what goes into paper) is
a carbohydrate molecule called cellulose, which is chemically similar
to starch and glucose. Cellulose molecules are long and rigid, and pack
closely and bond tightly to one another, giving plants their firm
structural support. Another important carbohydrate in coconut shells is
lignin, which is hard to separate from the cellulose.
The main elemental ingredients are: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
in carbohydrates. The proteins, fats, and genetic materials also
include nitrogen and sulfur and small amounts of other elements as well
(you'll probably find sodium, potassium, calcium, and many others in
there in small amounts). For the carbohydrate cellulose, there are
approximately equal numbers of carbon and oxygen atoms, and twice as
many hydrogen atoms as carbon atoms.
Tom
(published on 10/22/2007)
