Automotive Giants Enable Bioplastics Worldwide
April 01, 2023
In addition to environmental protection, automakers and their suppliers now want to tap more functional features from non-composting bio-based materials. One of them is undoubtedly the production of lighter, more cost-effective vehicles.
According to PlasticsEurope, from the past experience, every 5% weight loss can save an average of 3% of fuel.
However, the advantages in weight loss cannot be completely guaranteed. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) in Belgium told the European Plastics News that some "classical" bioplastics, such as polylactic acid (PLA), are denser than traditional petroleum-based plastics.
ACEA said that the soy-based seat foam and seat cover may be even heavier. Ford and Fiat said that the weight of soy-based seats used on their models is comparable to that of traditional materials. On the other hand, natural fiber-reinforced plastics have a weight loss ratio of between 5% and 15% depending on the material they are replacing.
Bioplastics are not as vulnerable to oil price fluctuations as petroleum-based materials, which is an advantage that traditional plastics do not have. A spokesman for ACEA said: "As the shortage of crude oil becomes more serious, the importance of [bioplastics] will become increasingly prominent."
However, environmental benefits are still an important factor. Thomas Bauwens, spokesperson for the European Plastics Industry Association, said: “Plastics, regardless of the raw materials used, are lighter, more cost-effective materials. In addition, if bioplastics can further reduce the burden on the environment... Then car manufacturers will be more interested in using bioplastics."
Moreover, manufacturing companies will certainly be more interested in this. John Viera, director of business strategy for sustainable development at Ford Motor Company, said that reducing dependence on the volatile energy market is another advantage of bioplastics.
Viera said that Ford's use of soy foam seat cushions has enabled its supply chain to reduce the use of oil by more than 2,300 tons per year in production, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 9,000 tons.
Although Ford could not reduce vehicle weight through soy-based seats, traditional plastics using a honeycomb structure saved 20% in weight, which improved fuel economy and reduced carbon emissions. All Ford models' foam seat backs and seats contain up to 24% renewable material. Moreover, 75% of the Ford cars produced each year have added soy foam to their heads, including 2013 Fusion, F-150, Taurus, and Explorer.
Ford is also researching the use of natural fibers to mold plastic parts such as rice hulls and coconut reinforcing fibers. This can reduce the use of oil in production, reduce the weight of parts, and create a more natural appearance by adding long fibers in plastics.
Viera said: "Our team is working on formulas that add up to 30% natural fiber, which can often be used to replace talc or glass in traditional automotive plastic composite formulations."
He mentioned that the 2010 FordFlex's first application of straw reinforced plastic was used in the third row of storage boxes, which saved about 9 tons of oil per year.
Ford also uses bioplastics in the doors of some models. Ford replaced the petroleum-based material with a 50:50 polyethylene composite made from the fiber of kenaf as a tropical plant used in the new Escape door pad. This material, called Lignotock, contains 15% phenolic thermosets and 85% wood fibers, which are lighter weight than conventional glass-reinforced thermoplastics and provide better sound attenuation.
Another car giant, Toyota Motor Group, also used bio-plastics to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its parts production by 20%, according to its subsidiary Toyota Canada.
Carbon-neutralization is achieved throughout the entire cycle of bioplastic components from raw material to end-use. Elimination of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is achieved by living plants, and expired parts are regenerated by a thermal process that releases carbon dioxide again.
Toyota claims to be the first car manufacturer to use sugarcane based PET in vehicle linings and other interior surfaces. In North America, Toyota has uniquely combined PLA and other polymers extracted from sweet potatoes, corn and sugar beets.
The processing of bioplastics depends on the automotive components used. For door trim and trunk area trims, PLA and PET are mainly mixed. For injection molded parts such as scuff plates and upholstery, finely ground PLA is mixed in polypropylene.
Many Toyota models use soy-based seat cushions, including Prius, Corolla, Matrix, RAV4, and LexusRX350. The Lexus HS250 uses a large number of bio-based components, including trunk trims, side wall trims, seat cushions, door scuff plates and toolbox areas. Toyota aims to increase the proportion of bioplastic-based plastic parts in its models to 20% by 2015.
Fiat, an Italian automaker, has also begun to shift to the bioplastics field. A spokesman for CentroRicercheFiat, a Fiat-based research organization, said: "Using bioplastics makes our products more eco-friendly, and at the same time it may guarantee the same or even better performance at the same cost."
Fiat has replaced conventional petroleum-derived plastics with polyamides derived from castor oil and polyurethanes derived from soybeans in more than one million Fiat models, and it intends to continue doing so in the future. In this context, Fiat Auto Group delivered nearly 2.2 million cars to the world in 2011.
The Fiat model launched in Brazil uses a polyurethane seat foam and adds about 5% of soy polyol. Fiat continues to seek breakthroughs in this area; for example, the amount of biomaterial added to the foam seat cannot exceed 5%, otherwise it will lose its desired elasticity.
Fiat is also considering increasing the amount of biological fillers it uses to enhance plastic and elastomer materials for some models. In 2011, Fiat used the DuPont-produced castor-based ZytelRS polyamide 1010 in some fuel lines, winning the Automotive Innovation Award for the Environment Award from the Plastics Engineers Association of the United States and Europe.
Through DuPont's technology and strategic cooperation to create a new high-performance materials production method derived from renewable resources, in recent years by some well-known large-scale automobile manufacturers have put into use.
DuPont's Zytel RS series of bioplastics is a renewable source of long-chain nylon products with 60%-100% biomaterial content that can be adjusted for high temperature applications. DuPont also offers Sorona EP Series 20-37% starch-based polymer resins and Hytrel RS Series 20%-60% non-food grade biomass thermoplastic polyester elastomers. Toyota's Prius'A'alpha model, introduced in Japan, uses DuPont's Sorona EP on the panel air conditioning system socket.
Mazda Motor Co. of Japan claimed to have pioneered two pioneering projects in the automotive industry. One is to use plant-based materials with a content of over 80% in interior trims of the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid; the other is used in seat covers. 100% plant based biological cloth.
The United States Johnson Controls Ltd. will also provide German BMW Group combined with wood fiber and plastic door panel, its weight is 20% lighter than traditional materials. This type of material will be used in the new BMW 3 Series car, which will increase its fuel efficiency.
For the same reason, Daimler also mixed jute, flax and sisal in a plastic door lining. Mercedes-Benz's Biome concept car is conceived as a "lab-cultivated" car using organic fibers that are stronger than steel but lighter than metal and can be composted at the end of life.
To date, bioplastics have not been used to produce automotive exterior components. John Williams, head of energy and industrial materials at the National Non-Food Crops Center (NNFCC), a non-profit organization in the United Kingdom, said that high prices are a major hurdle because such external parts are currently not able to reach the scale of internal components at the scale of production. .
Frederic Scheer, CEO and Chairman of Cereplast Corp., a supplier of starch-based resin pellets, said: "[And] bioplastics are not necessarily strong enough to meet the requirements."
But Williams expects that it will not take long for the durability of bioplastics to improve. He said: "I have seen the mainstream development of this type of material application not yet available and will eventually be applied on the external board."
Williams also expects that with the continuous development of this area, coupled with the possibility of rising oil prices, the cost gap between renewable plastics and traditional plastics will narrow.
Thomas Bauwens from the European Plastics Industry Association predicts that with the gradual recovery of European automobile production, the overall market for higher fuel efficiency and lighter weight will expand.
He added: "With the European automotive industry now seeing 'green cars' as an industry development priority, the demand for automotive plastics materials may increase."
Cereplast also sees Europe as a growth market. About 80% of the company's sales come from the European market. Its business in the region continues to expand. It just set up a new headquarters in Germany last year and bought a production plant in Italy.
Cereplast’s Scheer said: “We have listed Europe as one of our company's primary priorities for 2012, 2013 and beyond. Bioplastics will mature in the future, and one day they will replace what we see today. Part of traditional plastic."
Shenyang Zhongda Huanxin Refrigeration Technology Co., Ltd.
