Injection Moulding Asia Automotive
Going green in the car sector Biobased materials, which currently are being produced from various feedstocks such as castor beans, corn, sugar beets, sugarcane, sweet potatoes, husks, to cite a few, are found viable, yet still enmeshed with challenges for various applications, especially for car parts.
Challenge of going green recent news item about a squirrel found nibbling on biobased parts of a parked Toyota Aygo car in the UK may strike as peculiarly funny, yet it is reminiscent of the concerns surrounding biobased materials: how can these materials compete with food production? Some experts believe that market demand for biobased materials in car parts, which is forecast by Transparency Market Research to achieve US$7.8 billion value by 2018 (in various applications), can have pros and cons. Reducing the carbon footprint combined with increased fuel efficiency and consumer demands for lighter, more aerodynamic parts have undoubtedly spurred the trend for automotive makers to go green. However, it is putting pressure on manufacturers to switch to biobased materials. The US Department of Energy says that by a mere 10% reduction of weight in a vehicle can improve fuel economy by 6%-8%. By 2050, the US Department of Energy assumes a target vehicle weight reduction of 50%. This target, however, can only be achieved if availability and cost affordability of the lightweight materials are assured. Biobased car parts have been around since the early 1940s when Henry Ford’s Michigan-headquartered Ford Motor Company started using what it called agricultural plastic, based partly on soybean and hemp. Development of these material types was meant to boost the agriculture sector at the time; make cars lighter and also to conserve metals (which would have been scarce during the war era). There may be limiting factors for biobased materials for cars. According to the Biobased Automobile Parts Investigation report released in 2012 for the USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, at the time of the study, constraints included the cost to manufacture the part. While cost is a main factor, other considerations (to determining the best material for manufacturing vehicle parts) also counted. These include part performance, owing to sound insulation of improved performance characteristics offered by biobased materials.
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Ford, which pioneered soy plastics in the ‘40s, introduced the soy foam car seat in 2007
Part weight is also a factor because biobased materials may require heavier parts due to lower material strength. Durability is also taken into consideration since biobased materials may affect durability depending on the biodegradability nature of the material and safety, which may require that biobased materials undergo substantial testing to ensure that safety standards can be met. Then again, the question of biobased materials competing with food supply for human consumption cannot be swept under the carpet. Thomas Wodke, of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology, says that every acre of land used for renewable resources could also be utilised for food, hence there would be, what he terms as, area and utilisation competition. He also cautioned about the aspect of environmental pollution to “acidification of bodies of water and over-fertilisation of soils”. Making nanocellulose work tarting last year, the American Process Inc (API) and researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Clark Atlanta University, Swinburne University of Technology, and the USDA’s Forest Products Laboratory have collaborated on developing ultra-strong, lightweight automotive structural components reinforced with nanocellulose, which are extracted from wood fibres. The team wanted to produce a material that is as durable as steel for car parts, yet more economical than the expensive carbon fibre composites. API’s proprietary manufacturing technology makes nanocellulose, which has strengths equivalent to Kevlar and costs like conventional polymers. The company says that it will begin commercial sales of nanocellulose by end of first quarter 2015, when it starts up its Georgia demonstration plant.
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Injection Moulding Asia Automotive EcoTechnilin has been credited for developing FibriRock, a flame-resistant flax/bioresin prepreg
API says that cellulose is a renewable and compostable organic material that is in abundant supply. Its technology has made the natural material less expensive, more thermally stable at high temperatures, and given it functionality to blend with hydrophobic polymers – thereby enabling market applications on the road to commercial production. Also engaged in developing nanocellulose is Sappi, a South African-headquartered producer of wood pulp, speciality and packaging papers. Working with scientists from Edinburgh Napier University, Sappi has developed a cheaper form of nanocellulose that could be used to build greener cars, thicken foods and even treat wounds.
Also in the upcoming International Conference on Biobased Materials in April in Cologne, Germany, companies have been nominated for the innovation award including German firm Evonik Industries for its 100% biobased polyamide 12 based on palm kernel oil. Germany-based Hib Trim Part Solutions has also been nominated for its Nature 50, natural-fibre reinforced plastic (Hemp/PP), including a long fibre ratio >50% for injection moulding along with Germany’s TwoBEars for its bioFila PLA blends with optic and haptic properties for 3D printing. In a similar vein, automotive makers are working alongside resin makers to innovate new developments. For instance, Japanese Mazda Motor Corp together with Mitsubishi Chemical have jointly developed a biobased engineering plastic for exterior car parts. The material, used initially in the latest Mazda MX-5, which will be commercially launched this year, and in exterior parts in other production models, is said to display a mirror-like finish even without painting. Nevertheless, the material can also be dyed and doing so, emissions of volatile organic compounds associated with the painting process are reduced It may also render the parts a deep hue and smooth finish, says Mazda. The plant-derived material ensures lesser environmental impact and use of petroleum. Mazda has previously developed biobased plastics for the industry, such as the heat-resistant bioplastic for interior parts as well as biofabrics for seat upholstery made entirely from plant-derived fibres. Meanwhile, a group of suppliers recently debuted a sustainable concept car at the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit, Michigan. The car uses renewable and recycled polyurethane (PU) foam and biobased polyols. The group consists of Michigan-based Unique Fabricating, Malaysia-headquartered Emery Oleochemicals, Philadelphia-based FXI and Alabama-headquartered LINE-X, showcased the Concepts for Advanced Sustainability in Polyurethanes (CASP) concept car to promote sustainable PU products. Also featured in the CASP is an aliphatic coating designed for direct-to-substrate (metal, fibreglass, and foam) applications. The coating, which is used in the rear drive side fender, has renewable content, and offers strength/abrasion resistance as well as UV stability, according to Line-X.
Sappi developed a cheaper form of nanocellulose for green cars
The aim is also to be able to produce the nanomaterial on a commercially viable basis, but without producing large volumes of chemical waste water associated with existing techniques. Sappi is building a nanocellulose producing pilot plant towards the end of the year, based on its energy saving plan. The scientists assure the industry that the breakthrough technique will not require expensive chemistry. As well, the chemicals used can be recycled and reused without generating large volumes of waste water, they said. Sappi says that nanocellulose is gaining commercial interest and is projected to serve a 35 million tonnes/year market by the 2020s. Staging new material developments eanwhile, companies are innovating new biobased materials to up the ante for properties and functions. UK-based flax nonwovens specialist Ecotechnilin recently received the Sustainability Innovation Award at the 2015 JEC Composites Show in Paris for its latest development called FibriRock, a flame-resistant flax/ bioresin prepreg similar to a version developed for ceiling tiles. It has a woven basalt reinforcement which, when used with a Nomex-type core, results in a very rigid composite with excellent fire/smoke performance and fast processing times of less than 150 seconds. The product is suitable for aircraft and rail applications (including underground carriages) and will first go into production in 2015 in a lightweight galley cart.
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