Posted on 07/27/2019 1:10:54 AM PDT by moose07
Cars are responsible for a lot of the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, but so is their manufacture. Could plastic made from weeds, modular designs and other innovations help the motor industry reduce its carbon footprint?
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That's why Selena, a research group in Poland, is turning to plants that are not used in the human food chain as a potential source of eco-friendly plastics. It's called the Biomotive project and it has been awarded €15m (£13.5m) from the EU.
Car dashboards and other interior components could soon be made from bioplastics, explains Wojciech Komala, research and development director.
"We lower the carbon footprint by using bio-based sources," he says. "And by trying to develop lighter components for the cars."
Plant chemicals are used to synthesise polymers in the lab - a natural process harnessed for industrial use. The bioplastics that result can be heated and injected into a mould or 3D printed like any conventional plastic.
Although currently an expensive option, it is theoretically greener than using oil since plants are renewable carbon sinks - that is they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
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The motor industry has done quite a lot already to reduce emissions. In the last 10 years, the carbon emissions associated with car production in Europe have fallen by nearly 24%, even though the number of cars produced has increased by more than 40%.
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The production of an aluminium cylinder block consumes 1.8 to 3.7 times more energy than the production of cast iron, Cranfield University's Prof Mark Jolly has calculated.
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"The great majority of cars aren't helping - they're just increasing CO2 emissions," writes Prof Jolly.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
More like passing gas.
West Virginians have had a U-Pullit car parts store hidden in the weeds in their front yards for generations.
LOL,
With grass trimmed seats.
Mercedes used a biodegradable wire harnesses made from plant material in the 1990s...... rats loved it! Owners of cars did not......
Henry Ford was doing this in the 1930’s with soybeans and corn.
CC
True what was old is now new.
Gee, and I thought that weeds would never make anything of themselves. They always make such a mess.
History repeating itself...again.
Creative talent can be mistaken for a mess...take modern art... :)
“junior don’t forget to mow the car!!”
“ok mom”
LOL,
“And weed around the wheel arches ...you hear?”
Squirrels got to my wiring harness a few years ago and the bill was over $4000 bucks.
:)
A dashboard made of PLA? Get it in the sun and if you don’t like the shape just bend it into what you want. Not all plastics are equal and most are not adequate even for the lowly dash board.
Environment Nazis got to my car a few years ago and the bill was over $35,000.
But wouldn’t this require more land to be devoted to growing stuff we can’t eat?
Almost certainly, and i would think lots of it.
A lot of companies went to soy based plastics and fed the mice. I know of several cases of mice eating wires inc my brothers pickup.
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