Chanda ranga: Replacement Car Parts

Sunday 5 August 2012

Replacement Car Parts

In April, Dutch chemical company introduced a castor oil-based polyamide engineering plastic for automotive application under the name EcoPaXX. The polyamide contains 70% castor oil-based materials, says Nico Gerardu, member of the DSM managing board of directors and responsible for DSM's performance materials cluster.
EcoPaXX, as far as we know, is the first high-heat-resistant engineering plastic which has more than 50% bio-based origin but the same performance profile as its traditional counterpart," says Gerardu.
"Automotive applications of EcoPaXX are mostly in the engine compartment, and so we expect a long approval procedure, which is typical for general engineering plastics, before we can see their commercial use in vehicles," he adds. Commercial sales for EcoPaXX are expected in the first quarter of 2011.
Alongside EcoPaXX, DSM also launched its Palapreg ECO composite resin, which contains 55% renewable-based resources, for use in exterior auto panels. DSM would not disclose the bio-based component for the composite resin as its patent has not yet been published.
Palapreg ECO is the highest bio-based content resin available on the market today, says Gerardu. Both Palapreg ECO and EcoPaXX are involved in final approvals by several customers in the automotive industry.
US-based says the bulk of its renewable-based polymers - such as its Sorona EP thermoplastic polymers, Hytrel RS thermoplastic elastomers and Zytel RS nylon - are already available to the automotive market today. The bio-based thermoplastic grades were commercially launched in 2009.
"Automotive is one of the several market segments driving toward greater use of high-performance bio-based materials to meet their sustainability challenges," says Richard Bell, global development manager for renewable materials, DuPont Automotive Performance Polymers.