Issue Features

K2010 Preview
It is evident that the green revolution is here to stay. Faced with an increasingly eco-conscious society, the industry is stepping up its efforts with materials suppliers meeting customers’ requests for ecologically responsible solutions. At the recently concluded Chinaplas show in Shanghai, bio-based materials were featured and this trend will be repeated at the largest plastics show globally, the K2010, to be held in Düsseldorf later this year. Another trend seen to be emerging is that for composites, with the development of more sturdy materials targeted at replacing metals in automotives.

DSM combines bio with high performance
Dutch company DSM Engineering Plastics is going the whole hog with its sustainability element by targeting recyclable materials and reducing the carbon footprint, the company said at a recent multi-client pre-K press conference.

Speaking to PRA in the Netherlands recently, Michael Koch, Business Unit Director, DSM Europe, said the company’s multi-faceted approach is directed at developing high-performance materials that have a bio tag. “Competitive materials on the market are at the low-end of the scale,” he said, adding, “You can see how serious we are about our efforts. For the last three years, we have been placed at the top of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the chemical industry.”

In Asia, the company’s bio-based products are being sought out by the automotive sector. “We will be setting up a laboratory for automotive materials testing in China to get closer to the OEMs in the country while in India we have solutions for Tata’s Nano car. Other car manufacturers like Toyota are looking at including a certain percentage of bio-based materials in cars and we are in discussions with them,” said Koch.

The company’s first high performance bio-based materials are the EcoPaXX PA and Palapreg Eco composite resin for vehicle body parts, with EcoPaXX to be commercialised in 2011 and Palapreg already used in the body work of a go kart. It has now added on a third to its portfolio: Arnitel Eco+ thermoplastic co-polyester (TPC). Compared to the EcoPaXX that boasts 70% castor oil content, the new addition utilises up to 50% renewable material content (the company would not disclose what is used). It is already being sampled with selected customers for consumer electronics, sports & leisure and automotive interior applications.

A first generation product, it is currently not yet suitable for high temperatures and the company expects more grades to follow. Other innovations in the Arnitel family include the XG halogen-free flame retardant solution for wire and cables and C, a high-heat ageing TPC. The company says that LCA calculations of Arnitel Eco+ show a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, cradle to gate, of up to 50%.

The next extension in its sustainable solution package will be Akulon RC, a PA6 portfolio that utilises post-industrial recycled materials. “It will be a high performance material and not of low quality,” emphasised Koch, adding that this is how DSM differentiates its product range from its competitors. It will include RC grades of Akulon Ultraflow, said to offer exceptional flow and lower processing temperatures to help reduce energy costs.