The bioeconomy at work: bioplastic fuel lines to handle aggressive biodiesel

Tropical biofuels are allright, but they are used in cars. Now it takes quite a bit of energy and petroleum to manufacture a car in the first place. So why not make the car itself a bit more 'bio'? Indeed, many auto makers are trying exactly that. In the near future, we will be driving biofuel powered cars made almost entirely from biomaterials.
It is nice to see how, more and more often, designers imagine concept cars that tap deeply into the bioeconomy. The recent Los Angeles Auto Show design challenge featured an interesting fresco of bio-cars, from pure fantasy concepts (a Hummer made from a breathing, 'phototropic shell' filled with algae that suck up CO2 from the atmosphere and release pure oxygen - see pic) to more realistic vehicles (the entirely reclycable Mercedez-Benz RECY that uses laminated wood body panels and a lot of natural rubber). No doubt, concept cars broaden our horizon and stimulate our minds. But in the meantime, engineers are working humbly and in silence to develop real-world applications that work in real cars.

The list of greenhouse gas reducing, oil-free biocomponents already used in our cars is growing steadily. Just a few examples:

• the almost-entirely-oil-free biopolymer car tire has arrived: the amount of biobased materials used for it is raised from 44% to 70% by replacing synthetic rubber with natural rubber, carbon black with silica, mineral oil with vegetable oil and synthetic fiber with vegetable fiber (earlier post).
• car seat foams made from soybeans are here; they replace 50% of the oil used in the normal variant
• bamboo-fibre reinforced bioplastic interior parts for car cabines are here; the plastic is called polybutylene succinate, made from sugar cane, and replaces oil-based panels
• a high-strength heat-resistant bioplastic similar to polypropylene for car parts has been developed, made from starches and sugars

So what more do we need? Oh, yes, bioplastic fuel lines. But if we use biodiesel or ethanol, fuels that are considerably more aggressive than gasoline or diesel, then we need a strong, heat-resistant fuel line with superior chemical properties and mechanical ageing resistance. Is it possible to skip petroleum and use plant material to manucature such a high performance fuel line? Apparently it is.

French specialty industrial chemicals group Arkema announces [*French] that its bio-based Rilsan PA11 polyamide (to which we referred earlier) has been approved by several automotive contractors for biodiesel fuel lines in Europe and Brazil. Rilsan PA11 indeed features superior ageing resistance to biodiesel at high temperature. The entirely renewable high performance bioplastic is derived from castor seeds:
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: biodiesel :: bioplastic :: ricin :: bioeconomy :: Brazil ::

Today’s increasing use of biofuels has led Arkema to develop a new Rilsan grade, "M-BESN Noir P210TL", specifically for biodiesel. Biofuels are in fact much more aggressive than traditional crude oil based fuels. Arkema’s Rilsan biodiesel grade benefits from the inherent properties of polyamide 11 that ensure superior performance compared to polyamide 12, in particular with its outstanding chemical and mechanical ageing resistance at high temperature in the presence of pure biodiesel.

Arkema has been renowned for many years for its specific polyamide grades for fuel lines in diesel cars. Rilsan PA11 BESN Noir P20TL is now the reference material for diesel fuel lines thanks to its outstanding resistance to high temperatures in the under-hood environment of vehicles. Used instead of rubber and metal assemblies, Rilsan also enables significant cost savings.

In addition, biobased Rilsan PA11 can be combined with conductive Rilsan PA11 -- also made from ricin -- whenever electrical conductivity complying with Standard SAE J1645 is required (Rilperm 2101 multi-layer fuel line technology).

By adapting its product range to the requirements of carmakers, Arkema aims to strengthen its position as a dedicated high-performance polyamide supplier to the automotive industry.

Arkema is committed to sustainable development by developing and marketing products for today’s generations, and not at the expense of tomorrow’s generations. The use of renewable source fuels such as biodiesel and flexfuel combined with the use of biobased Rilsan PA11 can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.