Kapok finds use in bedding and upholstery industries, in the
production of life-saving equipment, and in the construction of
thermally insulated and soundproof covers and walls. On account of its
buoyancy, freedom from water-logging and weight-bearing capacity, it is
the material par excellence for the manufacture of lifebuoys and belts,
waistcoats and other naval life-saving appliances. The buoyancy of
kapok is about five times as great as that of cork and about three times
that of reindeer hair. During the war, kapok was employed for
insulating tanks, for lining aviation suits, for filling floats of army
assault-bridges, and generally for replacing cork wherever lightness,
moisture-resistance and floating power were needed.
The kapok
fiber once used in floatation vests and has been used as building
insulation has a hollow fiber and looks like glass fiber under the
microscope. The hollow fiber has air inside allowing combustion deep
inside the material. Smoldering fire and open flame travel quickly
within the material.
- Kapok was considered unsuitable for textile purposes, because the fibre is brittle, smooth and slippery.
- Refined kapok seed oil is used for the same purposes as refined cottonseed oil. The wood is light and soft and is suitable for making canoes and toys. It is used for matches. The root bark yields a fibre.
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