Bioplastics are cropping up in many different forms, most recently as a crystal clear version of Plexiglas. Altuglas International's Plexigas Rnew bio-based resin, introduced at the NPE2012 show in Orlando, Fla., is an alloy of Altuglas's polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and NatureWorks' Ingeo biopolymer.
The Plexigas Rnew alloy's constituent polymers are both completely miscible and evenly distributed during the melt phase, Frank Diodato, segment director for durables and distribution for NatureWorks, told us at the show. "This gives a certain amount of latitude for varying the components in custom mixes." Altuglas can tailor the properties of the alloys, including characteristics such as impact resistance and chemical resistance.
A crystal clear version of Plexiglas with superior strength has been formulated by combining Altuglas' polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) with NatureWorks' Ingeo biopolymer. (Source: Altuglas International)
Rnew retains the optics, scratch resistance, color acceptance, and surface aesthetics of its Plexiglas parent. Some of its basic properties have been improved, such as greater melt flow and lower processing temperatures, compared to other Plexiglas formulations. The two alloy ingredients also have similar refractive indices, which is how the extreme transparency is achieved.
Previously, there have been no transparent durable polymers with a middle range of impact strength between ABS on the low end and polycarbonate on the high end, and polycarbonate is known for not having either good UV resistance or scratch resistance.
In environmental stress cracking tests, Rnew showed a significant improvement over polycarbonate. In impact resistance, it showed superior performance that was much better than existing acrylic resins, and comparable to polycarbonate and co-polyesters, said Diodato.
Altuglas expects that applications for Rnew will include several in the durable plastics area. For example, these include objects made of injection-molded and durable plastics, such as small and large appliances, displays and signage, lighting, and probably some sheet applications, said Steve Davies, global director of marketing and public affairs for NatureWorks.
Also, Rnew may be used in transportation applications, including automotive small parts such as tail light and interior light covers, as well as a number of consumer uses. In its opaque form, Rnew may also be suited to some applications with higher-impact requirements.
Rob, the Ricardo report at this link appears to be an assessment of the viability of vehicle CO2 lifecycle analyses, rather than an actual analysis. It claims that tailpipe analysis is not enough, and that "CO2 emissions resulting from the generation of the fuel, or those embedded within the vehicle production" should also be included. It then gives an exhaustive analysis of all the possible factors that can impact CO2 production, including fuel generation, design-for-disassembly, components sourcing, recycling and other EOL issues, and lots more. There is a notation toward the end that hybrids and EVs significantly decrease CO2 in use (=tailpipe analysis), but tend to increase emissions during production, compared to cars that run on petro-based fuel. However, there's no discussion in this report of how composites stack up against steel in an LCA. I'd be interested to see the steel industry's claims verified by a truly third-party independent analysis: they may well be right.
Yes. The gist of the report, if I remember right, is the claim that composites require more energy and the manufacturing process than steel and that steel is far easier to recycle at the back end.
Thanks, Rob. Scanning this report makes me consider the complexities of LCA (lifecycle analysis), meaning, there are so many factors to consider for a single product that such analysis must get quite complicated. No wonder the practice, and even the concept, is still just getting off the ground, and only in some industries.
Sure, Ann. Last fall I did a story on the steel industry's effort to tout steel's relatively clean carbon footprint. The arguement is that steel is greener than many of the alternatives if you look at the entire lifecycle of the materials.
Yes, I've seen the steel association pushing the value of strong lightweight steel. Their big push is that when you combine lightweight steel with the easy recycling of steel, you get a product that beats composites for birth-to-grave green. It's an interesting argument.
Your reference to steel is apt. That's one industry that can't easily adopt sustainable developments and simply add those developments to its existing supply chain. That also explains why steel is fighting so hard lately to prove its value.
Yes, I think those two situations are parallel. This also explains why so much that has been developed so far are in the form of, more or less, engineering design and manufacturing drop-in replacements. Even the mushroom based packaging is designed to compete directly with Styrofoam, and, as we saw, the makers of Styrofoam are interested in it, too. This is a different situation from steel makers being challenged by composites. since the entire manufacturing and supply chain is quite different.
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Using almost 200 light-emitting diodes in the front and back of the new 2014 CTS, Cadillac designers are showing how LEDs can change the character of a vehicle.
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