wood fibre reinforced composites - scionresearch.com · toyota bamboo, kenaf interior panels,...
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Natural fibre reinforced plastics
• Injection moulding
• PP most common polymer
• Growth driven by automotive sector
• Competing with glass reinforced or mineral filled
polymers
Alfa Romeo Dashboard
Ford battery holder
– PP/Weyerhauser cellulose
5 star chair base
– PP/Woodforce
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• Glass fibres or mineral fillers used to make plastic stronger and stiffer
• Natural fibres can be used
– Lighter
– Improved Environmental profile
– End of life/recycling benefits
– Potential cost savings
– Reduced tooling abrasion
– Improved processing cycle times
– Good dimensional stability
Advantages of Natural Fibres
Mercedes C class
TMP fibre - Woodforce
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Biocomposites in the Automotive Industry
Review of the Applications of Biocomposites in the Automotive Industry,
Akampumuza et al, POLYMER COMPOSITES, 2016
Company Fibres Applications
Ford Flax, kenaf, coir Interior, door panel, load floor
Mercedes Benz Flax, hemp, coir, sisal Interior panels, spare wheel
well, seats
Toyota Bamboo, kenaf Interior panels, speakers,
spare wheel cover
BMW Flax, sisal Interior panels
Fiat Wood, coir Interior panels and trim
GM Wood, kenaf, flax Trim, rear shelf, seat backs
Chrysler Wood Interior panels and trim
Many of these use compression moulded sheets made from fibre mats.
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Natural Fibres for Injection Moulding
An area of growth and development.
Fibre type Description Example
producers
Disadvantages when compared with the
advantages Scion fiber
Hemp Industry in EU, supported
with subsidies, complex
regulations
Faurecia Odor, quality, consistency, long retting
process, global availability, scalability,
logistics, seasonal
Flax, sisal, jute,
ramie.. other
Other dedicated plant
fibres
Primarily research Odor, quality consistency, global
availability, scalability, logistics, seasonal
Straw, bagasse..
other
Agricultural residue A. Shulman,
Rhetech –
supporting Ford
Odor, quality consistency, global
availability, scalability, logistics, seasonal
Kraft pulp Chemical wood pulp,
cellulose rich fibre
Thrive,
Formi, Fribomer
Symbio, Greencore
Expensive, difficult to process, sold as a
compound/masterbatch, negates
advantages of supply chain
Micro cellulose Further refined and
purified cellulose
Primarily research Very expensive and very difficult to process
Nano cellulose Highly refined and
purified cellulose
Primarily research Extremely expensive and extremely difficult
to process
Wood Fibre Scion Wood Fibre Dice Scion licences and
their customers
Readily available all year long and world
wide, low odor, consistent, easy to
process, compound, and scale, etc.
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Woodforce Manufacture
“A patented method for manufacturing wood fibre rich
pellets, that can be fed into plastics processing
equipment to reinforce thermoplastic.”
• A drop-in technology
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Technical Benefits
• Lowest cost way of reducing chip to fibres
• Consistent, reliable supply from MDF mill
• Easy to handle
• Free flowing
• Low odour
• Minimised dust and explosion risk
(cf wood flour or loose fibre)
2.5 kg
2.5 kg
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Automotive • Approved as a material in Eu.
• Prime benefits:
• Weight reduction
• Dimension stability
• Environmental
• Scratch resistance
• Most industrially compatible
natural fibre
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Elix ABS Natural Fibre
ConclusionELIX Polymers, with its keen focus on sustainable innovation and continuous attempts toenhance customer value, has introduced the best-in-class ELIX ECO ABS-NF product. Thisproduct has delivered a high aesthetical value to the final ABS-NF molded parts, comparedto PP-based natural fibre composites. The product’s mechanical properties have provencomparable to, or superior, in certain instances, to glass fibre composites. The product’sease of process ability and reduced number of process steps have proven its success inthe industry.With its strong overall performance, ELIX Polymers has earned the 2016 Frost & SullivanNew Product Innovation Award.
https://www.elix-polymers.com/uploads/fd870e3489f19c3974fd92473f0fd8924ebf2dc8.pdf
Compounding World (March 2017) describes Elix ABS using Woodforce.
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Cellulose Nano Fibre (CNF)
Diagram from Nippon Paper
• Area of much R&D
• Japanese Government pushing strongly
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CNF Application in plasticsNatural ‘carbon fibre equivalent’ in the future
High viscosity, low solids
Mainly test samples made
• High tensile strength (500MPa – similar to aluminium)
• Target US10/kg (Ref Thermoplastics M. Biron 2018)
• Generally supplied as 3%w/w solution
– handling and cost issues. 3kg fibres need to remove 97kg water during processing
• Technically and price wise compared with carbon fibre (Nikkei Asian Review 2017)
– CNF 5,000 yen to 10,000 yen cf 3,000 yen for carbon fibre
• Commercially supply and processing challenges
Automotive Dashboard Estimated Costs
- Natural Fiber/PP composites = $30
- CNF = $1000
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