HEXPOL TPE present bioplastics for automotive interiors at Plastteknik
At this year’s Plastteknik exhibition (08 & 09 May, Malmö) international compounding group, HEXPOL TPE will demonstrate how biobased compounds from renewable biomass are making it easier for the automotive industry to go green. At the show the company will present the latest developments in Biobased Thermoplastic Elastomers at their stand C04.
Thomas Nilsson, managing director at HEXPOL TPE AB commented, “We’re seeing that interest in biobased materials in the automotive industry has accelerated over the last few years and it’s an upward trend”. Dryflex Green Biobased TPEs are being adopted for several applications previously using conventional TPE compounds, both as a drop-in substitution, without the need for mould or tool modification, and also for new developments.
Since most biobased raw materials in the market are quite hard on their own, a major challenge has been to develop compounds with high renewable content at low hardnesses, while at the same time maintaining mechanical properties at acceptable levels. With grades from 15 Shore A, Dryflex Green TPEs divert from other soft thermoplastic materials on the market, by also including soft materials with high levels of renewable content. Depending on the hardness, compounds with a renewable share of over 90 % (ASTM D 6866) are possible.
Alongside their sustainability credentials, materials used for automotive interiors also need to meet stricter requirements for Vehicle Interior Air Quality (VIAQ) and legislation regarding odour, fogging and VOC. New Dryflex Green Biobased TPEs with low emission values will be presented, for example a 65 Shore A compound with a renewable content of 40 % showed a very low amount of VOC (82 µg/g) and Fog (142 µg/g) in the thermodesorption test according to VDA 278. Odour, flame retardancy and processability performance also show good comparability with petroleum based compounds. Dryflex Green TPEs can be used in automotive interior applications such as floor mats, cup holder liners, fascia, trim and inlay mats.
