The bioeconomy at work: UK finances development of biodegradable plastics for car components
Over the past few years, a lot of effort has gone into the development of efficient, environmently friendly car engines and propulsion technologies. But, as we said earlier, a car itself is still largely made up of products that require a lot of energy to make. These structural components can't be recycled nor do they biodegrade.
To counter this and open the era of oil free, cradle-to-cradle design, the UK announced a research program for the development of super-strong, light-weight plastics made from plant products, which harmlessly biodegrade at the end of their lives. The country's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is providing £278,000 (€414,000/US$546,000) funding towards the £777,000 (€1.1/US$1.5 million) "Combine" ("Commingled Biomaterials from Nature") project to develop plastics durable enough for car doors and boat hulls, which are light-weight, but environmentally friendly, led by bio-plastic developer, NetComposites.
In the 2 1/2 year project, hemp and flax fibres will be processed, spun into continuous filaments and woven into high performance fabrics. These will be combined with bio-plastics such as PLA (polylactic acid, made from starches and sugars) and moulded into parts through vacuum bag moulding and compression moulding. Surface treatments will be used to enhance the bonding of the fibres to the resin. Joining and finishing techniques will be developed for the materials and environmental degradation, compostability and recyclability will be assessed:
biomass :: energy :: sustainability :: bioplastics :: biopolymers :: natural fibers :: hemp :: flax :: automotive :: bioeconomy ::
Gordon Bishop, Managing Director of NetComposites said: "The Combine project aims to develop high performance plant-derived plastics for structural parts like car doors by using innovative combinations of natural fibres and bio-plastics. It also aims to create products which are biodegradable, for the first time creating structural materials and products from renewable resources."
NetComposites is also leading a second consortium, called FuturePlas, to develop the next generation of stronger, light-weight recyclable plastics, using high-strength plastic fibres inside plastic products. This 2 1/2 year,
£715,000 project will manufacture and test an industrial safety helmet and prototype a car front-end, as lighter bodies for cars increase performance, while reducing fuel consumption. This is also being part funded with a
Technology Programme grant from the DTI of £316,000.
A spin-off company, Aptiform, has already been created to supply components from these new types of plastic materials.
Picture: field of blooming flax plants.
To counter this and open the era of oil free, cradle-to-cradle design, the UK announced a research program for the development of super-strong, light-weight plastics made from plant products, which harmlessly biodegrade at the end of their lives. The country's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is providing £278,000 (€414,000/US$546,000) funding towards the £777,000 (€1.1/US$1.5 million) "Combine" ("Commingled Biomaterials from Nature") project to develop plastics durable enough for car doors and boat hulls, which are light-weight, but environmentally friendly, led by bio-plastic developer, NetComposites.
Normal plastics have a half-life of thousands of years. The plastics being created in this project will be strong and lightweight, but will be made from plants, which means they'll eventually and be composted into harmless plant products. Lots of hard work has been done to create greener engines for cars, this takes us the next step by creating environmentally friendly plastics for cars and boats. - UK Minister for Science and Innovation, Malcolm WicksThe project aims to create a new generation of bioplastics combined with natural fibres. Currently, natural fibres are only available as short fibres for injection moulding or as random mats for compression moulding, neither of which offer sufficient strength or stiffness for structural components. Natural fibre yarns are normally twisted which makes impregnation with viscous thermoplastic resins difficult.
In the 2 1/2 year project, hemp and flax fibres will be processed, spun into continuous filaments and woven into high performance fabrics. These will be combined with bio-plastics such as PLA (polylactic acid, made from starches and sugars) and moulded into parts through vacuum bag moulding and compression moulding. Surface treatments will be used to enhance the bonding of the fibres to the resin. Joining and finishing techniques will be developed for the materials and environmental degradation, compostability and recyclability will be assessed:
biomass :: energy :: sustainability :: bioplastics :: biopolymers :: natural fibers :: hemp :: flax :: automotive :: bioeconomy ::
Gordon Bishop, Managing Director of NetComposites said: "The Combine project aims to develop high performance plant-derived plastics for structural parts like car doors by using innovative combinations of natural fibres and bio-plastics. It also aims to create products which are biodegradable, for the first time creating structural materials and products from renewable resources."
NetComposites is also leading a second consortium, called FuturePlas, to develop the next generation of stronger, light-weight recyclable plastics, using high-strength plastic fibres inside plastic products. This 2 1/2 year,
£715,000 project will manufacture and test an industrial safety helmet and prototype a car front-end, as lighter bodies for cars increase performance, while reducing fuel consumption. This is also being part funded with a
Technology Programme grant from the DTI of £316,000.
A spin-off company, Aptiform, has already been created to supply components from these new types of plastic materials.
Picture: field of blooming flax plants.
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