Automakers want to reduce the carbon footprint of their vehicles. Frank Tönniges from Adient explains what savings are possible in seating.

Frank Tönniges: “Polyurethane has no competition. No material can currently hold a candle to it.”

16:9

Streifinger, Florian

Recycling

Umweltmanagement

Polyurethan-Schaumstoffe (PUR)

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Polyurethan

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

“We Are Saving 50 Percent  on Foam Emissions”

The increasing demand for recyclates and the shortage of food-grade PET flakes pose challenges for batch quality and color consistency.

Repi offers various additives for recycling PET, which can be used, for example, to prevent the material from darkening.

Messe K-Kunststoffmesse

kunststoffe-international.com

kunststoffe.de

Polyethylenterephthalat

Thermoplaste

Additive

Compensating for Darkening in Recycled PET

The K 2022 offered an immense range of innovations and application examples for – and with more – sustainable materials. Interestingly hereby was that bio-based versions were extremely popular.

Shoes made from waste gas: genetically modified bacteria produce ethanol from waste gas, which is then used to create plastic, e.g. for the Cloudprime shoes from On.

Thermoplastische Elastomere

Silikone

Masterbatches

Polyethylen

Polylactid

Polyamide

Biokunststoffe

Effektpigmente

Polypropylen

Faserverbundwerkstoffe

Andere Werkstoffe

Silikonkautschuk

Kautschuk / Elastomere

Is Bio the New Standard?

The quality of recyclates is seen as too low. Improvements are possible by using additives, as was shown by the exchanges during the Forum Plastic Recyclates.

Quite clearly, the central theme of this year’s conference  was additives for recycling materials.

Kreislaufwirtschaft

Additives Are Decisive

In general, recycled chocolate molds of PC do not meet the food contact requirements. A new recycling strategy is to provide a remedy.

Polycarbonate is frequently used for molds in chocolate production.

Polycarbonat

The Chocolate Side of Polycarbonate

One of Ascend’s product ranges has demonstrated how the carbon footprint of PA can be reduced. The company has taken an additional stake in a recycler.

Instead of disposing of worn-out carpets in landfills or incinerators, recycling is a better alternative.

Technische Kunststoffe

Old Carpets Become New Polymers

About five million metric tons of aniline are produced annually worldwide; the total volume has been increasing by an average of about five percent every year. Until now, only fossil raw materials had been used for the production of aniline, which plays an important role in the chemical industry and is used as starting material for numerous products.  

Improved CO2 Footprint  

Schaumstoffe und Vorprodukte

Technik Trend

Aniline Derived from Plants 

Sustainable development is the focus of the Israeli company Tosaf’s trade show presence. The company presents functional, color and combined masterbatches for processing by extrusion and injection molding. These will include color masterbatches for recyclates with a special focus on post-consumer plastics as well as biodegradable masterbatches.

Special masterbatches can be used for permanent orange coloring of high-voltage components in electric vehicles

Farbstoffe und Pigmente

Elektromobilität

Mobilität

Messe Fakuma

Farbkonzentrate (Batches)

Farbstoffe

Masterbatches for Current Trends

The plastics industry has a variety of materials and technologies available for significantly reducing the ecological footprint of products. There are very few applications for which it is not possible to replace at least a portion of the fossil material with recyclates or bioplastics. Various methods, standards and software tools are available to determine what savings this can achieve.

Determining CO<sub>2</sub> Savings from Recycled Materials and Bioplastics

Simulation

Software

Normen / Standards

Recht allgemein / sonst.

Reducing the CO<sub>2</sub> Footprint

Under the motto “It‘s all Wittmann”, Wittmann Battenfeld is presenting its machines and systems in the new Wittmann design for the first time.

Automation cell with SmartPlus 90 for manufacturing a spirit level.

Spritzgießen

Schaumspritzgießen

Spritzprägen

Energieeffizienz

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Industrie 4.0

Spritzgießmaschinen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Naturmaterialien

Verstärkungsstoffe

Green DC Current for the Injection Molding Machine

This year, the world’s leading trade show K has succeeded in presenting practical solutions for greater resource efficiency on a broad front. A first foray through the trade show grounds.

K 2022 gave numerous practical examples showing visitors how recyclates can be reliably processed with digital aids.

State-of-the-Art Injection Molding Solutions for Greater Resource Efficiency.

State-of-the-Art Injection Molding Solutions at K 2022

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

Solar / PV

Energieerzeugung

Erneuerbare Energie

Temperiertechnik

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Condition Monitoring / Prozessüberwachung

Instandhaltung

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Handling, Handhabungstechnik

Automatisierungstechnik

Elastomer-Spritzgießen

Oberflächentechnik

Digitalisierung

Compoundieren

It Can Be Done!

With the processing of increasingly “green” plastics, Bausano, an Italian manufacturer of extrusion lines, is opening itself up to the circular economy.

Bausano tested a wide variety of material mixtures of more sustainable plastics on its extruders. 

Extrusionsanlagen

Bausano Processes Plastics from Recycling and Biomaterials

Origin Materials and Husky have successfully processed recyclable PET polymer containing FDCA into preforms.

Novel hybrid polymer “PET/F” expected to deliver enhanced performance compared with traditional PET plastic and have up to 100% bio content.

Verpackungsmittel aus Kunststoffen

Kunststoffverarbeitung

New Hybrid Polymer for Preforms

In Scheplast‘s own words, the company combines injection molding and sustainability. Real ambition or empty promise?

At their site in Schwendi/Hörenhausen,  Scheplast combines plastics processing and farming.

Nachhaltigkeit

Ehrhardt, Melanie

Injection Molding in Rural Idyll

Innovative materials provide simplicity and enhanced functionality.

The high functionality of the concept vehicle should even allow users to stand on the hood and roof.

Automotive

Fahrzeugbau

Citroën and BASF Unveil Electric Concept Car Oli

Calculating and Reducing the Carbon Footprint

Drawing on various joint projects conducted with customers, BASF will demonstrate how to significantly improve carbon emissions from products.

Drawing on various joint projects conducted with customers, BASF will demonstrate how to significantly improve carbon emissions from products. The projects were spread across the automotive, construction, E&E, packaging and consumer sectors.

“They range from products that have net-zero or low product carbon footprints to new products made from recycled raw materials to conserve fossil raw materials,” says Dr. Martin Jung, President Performance Materials at BASF. To this end, the company has developed various materials that reduce the carbon footprint through the use of renewable or recycled raw materials. A corresponding bio-based polyurethane, for example, is already being used for a safety shoe. The constituent material is REDcert2 certified. Also on display at the booth will be Vaude-brand outdoor pants made of PA6 Ultramid Ccycled. The raw materials for the PA are sourced from chemically recycled end-of-life tires, among other things.

Pyrolysis Oil Turns into a  Circuit Breaker

The sustainability of products can also be increased through a long service life and reduced weight. At the trade fair, BASF will feature various examples to show how this can be achieved. On display, for instance, will be safe and durable PAs for high-voltage components aimed at the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

The company will also present an environmentally sound miniature circuit breaker (MCB) for the E&E sector that it has developed in cooperation with Schneider Electric. It is composed entirely of a PA6 compound obtained from pyrolysis oil sourced from end-of-life tires. The switch’s ruggedness has not been compromised as a result, says the company.

Another focus of BASF will be on digital and data-driven value chain models to help customers transition to carbon-neutral products. To this end, the chemical company has introduced a tool for calculating the carbon emissions of some 45,000 of its products.

With a view to improving recycling itself, BASF will introduce various additives from its IrgaCycle range. These are said to enhance the quality of mechanically recycled plastics waste.

BASF SE  

https://www.basf.com

Vaude’s outdoor pants use a PA6 from BASF made from chemically recycled car tires. 

PA6 made from chemically recycled  end-of-life tires is used in Schneider Electric’s circuit breaker.