Brussels, Belgium (August 7, 2012) In addition to environmental protection, automakers and their suppliers now hope to dig out more functional features from non-compostable bio-based materials. One of them is undoubtedly the ability to produce lighter and more cost-effective vehicles. According to PlasticsEurope, based on past experience, every 5% weight loss can save 3% fuel on average.

However, the advantages in weight reduction cannot be fully guaranteed. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) based in Belgium told Plastics Europe that some "classic" bioplastics, such as polylactic acid (PLA), have a higher density than traditional petroleum-based plastics.

ACEA said soy-based seat foam and seat covers may be heavier. Ford and Fiat said that the weight of the soy-based seats used in their models is comparable to that of traditional seats. On the other hand, natural fiber-reinforced plastics, depending on the material they replace, have a weight reduction ratio of between 5% and 15%.

Bioplastics are not as susceptible to oil price fluctuations as petroleum-based materials, which is an advantage that traditional plastics do not have. An ACEA spokesperson said: "With the increasing shortage of crude oil, the importance of [bioplastics] will definitely become more prominent."

However, environmental benefits are still an important factor. Thomas Bauwens, spokesperson for the European Plastics Industry Association, said: "Plastics, no matter what raw materials are used, are lighter and more cost-effective materials. In addition, if bioplastics can further reduce the burden on the environment... Then automakers will be more interested in using bioplastics."

Moreover, manufacturing companies will certainly be more interested in this. John Viera, Ford Motor Company's director of sustainable development business strategy, said that reducing dependence on the fluctuating energy market is another advantage of bioplastics.

According to Viera, Ford's use of soy foam seat cushions enabled its supply chain to reduce the use of oil in the production process by more than 2,300 tons per year, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 9,000 tons.

Although Ford could not reduce the weight of the car with soy-based seats, the traditional plastic with a honeycomb structure saved 20% of the weight, thereby improving fuel economy and reducing carbon emissions. The backrests and cushions of all Ford’s foam seats contain up to 24% renewable materials. Moreover, 75% of Ford vehicles produced every year have soy foam added to their headrests, including 2013 Fusion, F-150, Taurus and Explorer.

Ford is also studying the use of natural fibers to mold plastic parts, such as rice husk and coconut fiber reinforced. This can reduce the use of petroleum in production, reduce the weight of parts, and at the same time, because the addition of long fibers to the plastic is very eye-catching, it can create a more natural appearance.

Viera said: "Our team is studying formulas that add up to 30% natural fiber, which can usually be used to replace talc or glass in traditional automotive plastic composite formulations."

He mentioned the first application of 2010FordFlex to wheat straw-reinforced plastic, which was used in the third row of in-car storage boxes, which saved approximately 9 tons of oil consumption each year.

Ford also uses bioplastics in the doors of some models. Ford replaced petroleum-based materials with a 50:50 polyethylene composite made of fibers from kenaf, a tropical plant, for the door pads of the new Escape. This material, called Lignotock, contains 15% phenolic thermosetting material and 85% wood fiber, which is lighter in weight than traditional glass-reinforced thermoplastics and has better sound damping effects.

Another automobile giant, Toyota Motor Group, has also reduced carbon dioxide emissions from parts production by 20% through the use of bioplastics, said its subsidiary Toyota Canada.

Bioplastic parts are carbon neutral throughout the entire cycle from raw materials to end use. The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is eliminated by living plants, and the scrapped parts are regenerated through a thermal process that re-releases carbon dioxide.

Toyota claims to be the first car manufacturer to use sugarcane-based PET in vehicle linings and other interior surfaces. In North America, Toyota uniquely combines PLA extracted from sweet potato, corn and sugar beet with other polymers.

The processing method of bioplastics depends on the auto parts used. For door trim and trunk area trim, PLA and PET are mainly mixed. For injection molded parts, such as anti-scratch boards and interior trims, finely ground PLA is mixed into polypropylene.

Many Toyota models use soy-based seat cushions, including Prius, Corolla, Matrix, RAV4 and LexusRX350. LexusHS250 uses a large number of bio-based components, including luggage compartment trim, front side trim, seat cushions, door anti-friction panels and tool box areas. Toyota strives to increase the proportion of bioplastic-based plastic parts in its models to 20% by 2015.

Fiat, the Italian car manufacturer, has also begun to transform into the bioplastics field. A spokesperson for CentroRicercheFiat, a research institute under Fiat, said: "The use of bioplastics makes our products more eco-friendly, while at the same time it is possible to guarantee the same or even better performance at the same cost."

Fiat has used castor oil-derived polyamide and soybean-derived polyurethane to replace traditional petroleum-derived plastics in more than 1 million Fiat models, and plans to continue to do so in the future. In this context, Fiat Automobile Group delivered nearly 2.2 million vehicles worldwide in 2011.

Fiat’s models launched in Brazil use polyurethane seat foam and add about 5% of soy polyol. Fiat continues to seek breakthroughs in this area; for example, the content of biomaterials added to the foam seat cannot exceed 5%, otherwise it will lose its elasticity.

Fiat is also considering increasing the number of bio-fillers that it uses to reinforce plastic and elastomer materials in some models. In 2011, Fiat used castor oil-based ZytelRS polyamide 1010 provided by DuPont in some of its fuel lines, and won the Environmental Category of the Automotive Innovation Award issued by the Plastics Engineers Association of the United States and Europe.

Through DuPont's technology and strategic cooperation to create a novel high-performance material production method derived from renewable resources, it has been put into use by some well-known large automobile manufacturers in recent years.

DuPont's ZytelRS series of bioplastics is a long-chain nylon product from renewable sources, with a biomaterial content of 60%-100%, and can be adjusted for high-temperature applications. DuPont also provides SoronaEP series 20-37% starch-based polymer resins, and HytrelRS series 20%-60% non-food grade biomass thermoplastic polyester elastomers. Toyota’s Prius’A’alpha model launched in Japan uses DuPont’s SoronaEP on the dashboard air conditioning system socket.

Japan’s Mazda Motor Company claims to have created two precedents in the automotive industry: one is the use of plant-based materials with a content of more than 80% in the interior parts of the PremacyHydrogenRE hybrid vehicle; the other is the use of the seat cover 100% plant-based biological cloth.

Johnson Controls of the United States will also provide the German BMW Group with door panels that combine wood fiber and plastic, which are 20% lighter than traditional materials. This type of material will be used in the new BMW 3 Series car, which will improve its fuel efficiency.

For the same reason, Daimler also mixed kenaf, flax and sisal in the plastic door liner. The Mercedes-Benz Biome concept car is conceived as a "lab-grown" car using organic fibers, which are stronger than steel but lighter than metal, and can be composted at the end of their life.

So far, bioplastics have not been used to produce automotive exterior parts. 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 obstacle because the scale of production of such external parts is not yet comparable to the scale of internal parts. .

Frederic Scheer, CEO and chairman of Cereplast Corp., a provider of starch-based resin pellets, said: "[Moreover] Bioplastics may not meet the requirements in terms of strength."

But Williams predicts that it will not take long for the durability of bioplastics to be improved. He said: "I have seen mainstream development that has not yet launched this type of material application, and will eventually be applied on the outer panel."

Williams also predicts that with the continuous development of this field, coupled with the possibility of rising oil prices, the gap between the cost of renewable plastics and traditional plastics will shrink.

Thomas Bauwens from the European Plastics Industry Association predicts that with the gradual recovery of European car production, the overall market for cars with higher fuel efficiency and lighter weight will expand.

He added: "As the European automotive industry now lists'green cars' as the industry's development focus, the demand for automotive plastic materials may rise."

Cereplast also sees Europe as a growth market. About 80% of the company's sales come from the European continental market, and its business in this region continues to expand. It just established 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 top priorities in 2012, 2013 and beyond. Bioplastics will mature day by day, and one day they will replace the big ones we see today. Some traditional plastics."