MUNDOMATERIAL

A while back I wrote a post about Bicycles and the materials they are made of. I gave some examples of bicycles made with renewable materials, like composites reinforced with flax fibres. I’ve already show you a few pics of bicycles made with bamboo that I’ve found while visiting Expoquimia. Today I’d like to show you more bamboo bikes, adding laminated bamboo and engineered wood ones. First is the Bamboosero Bikes project, lead by Craig Calfee. It helps developing communities to produce bamboo bikes, which are then sold around the world. The ease to find the raw material and to work with it to produce sustainable and reliable bicycles is clearly shown in the video below. Right now this project is set in Ghana, but the promoters would like financial support to export the idea to other countries. Renovo Hardwood Bikes (Portland, USA) builds hollow frames with engineered wood and complete bikes with laminated bamboo. Although Bamboosero bikes are a more complete project... 
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Traditionally considered a coarse fibre, kenaf is finding its place in the automotive and electronics market thanks to its use as reinforcement in composites. Its combination with PLA, a bioplastic sourced from corn, may illustrate the new focus of materials’ development nowadays. 2009 has been declared by the FAO the International Year of Natural Fibres. This is post is the third in a series dedicated to natural fibres. What is Kenaf? Kenaf, or Hibiscus Cannabinus, belongs to the Malvacean family and producers are based around the globe, although India and China are the major producers. Often compared with jute and hemp, kenaf applications could be classified as it follows: traditional uses, low value: rope, twine, clothing, animal bedding and feed Innovative Applications, medium value: Paper, engineered wood, environmental mat, oil and liquid absorbent material Kenaf Oil: edible oil, can also be used in cosmetics, lubricants and production of biofuel Composite materials, high value:... 
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DuPont and Denso corporation have collaborated to launch an automotive part made with a renewably sourced polymer. The novelty here is that the part is a radiator end tank that is going to be exposed to harsh underhood conditions. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me a very important breakthrough for bioplastics, going from disposable products to pure high performance. Of course, DuPont is not an ordinary plastic producer and Denso is not just a client. DuPont/Denso bioplastic radiator The part: automotive radiator end-tank The material: nylon The grade that made it: DuPont™ Zytel® 610 DuPont Renewably Sourced Materials The launch of a bioplastic underhood car part is well framed within DuPont’s strategy towards better environmental practices, it is certainly not an isolated movement. Through an alliance with Tate & Lyle, of which I have already written here, DuPont can now commercialised several plastics with renewable content, as well as polyols. DuPont... 
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I’ve already written a couple of posts about bloguers boycotting plastic, not purchasing items made with it. Anti-plastic bloguers are a good source of information if you are looking for trends in the way the general public perceives plastic. The economic downturn suggests that austerity will define many markets, forcing down demand for non-essentials items that are particularly hated by anti-plastic bloggers. It is up to you to decide the importance that the blogging community may have, but like many other activist movements that inspire them, they are now profitting from social networks. I’d like to discuss which methods they are currently using and how they are ideas are being incorporated into society. Anti-plastic bloggers are similar to other activists in their effective use of new technologies to spread their message. For example, A month without plastic had a reporting format that is becoming common nowadays – the 30 days experience. Morgan Spurlock made Super... 
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I wanted to write about materials used in cars for a while, in particular about the main uses of plastic. The automotive sector is being hardly punished by the crisis, both OEMs and tiers suppliers. For example, in 2008 in Spain both the automotive and the plastic markets suffered job losses of 39.080 y 11.480 respectively (Source: La voz de Galicia, 16 February 2009). Plastic is essential in cars today, it’s used everywhere. I invite you to have a look at your car and try to guess which parts are made in plastic, apart from the terribly obvious ones. It is not easy, if you consider that around 20% in weight of a car manufactured today is plastic. The advantages that plastic offers are low weight, low cost and ease to mass produce parts. In fact, it is thanks to plastics that our average car consumes less, simply because they make it lighter. Plastic was first used in car interior, in the dashboard, the foam of your seats, the driving wheel, etc. Today it is more difficult to say... 
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