TPEs | Innovation
1,4-butanediol (BDO) as a feedstock, and work is well advanced at several companies to produce this on a commercial scale from renewable resources. TPEs containing blocks of polyamide may be able to use castor oil as a feedstock. Thermoplastic polyurethanes, too, have the potential to use bio-based feedstocks. Last year, DSM said it had tested and approved
bio-based BDO made with Genomatica’s process for use in its Arnitel copolyester TPE, which would give it a renewable content of up to 73%. Timing of commercial production depends on availability of bio-BDO from Genomatica licensees, and at the moment, only BASF is producing commercially available volumes. “Any other announcements related to other licensees are currently not public information,” a Genomatica representative told Injection World.
Seeding machines with GreenLife Tires in API TPE
API Mecaplast GreenLife Tire
TPE tyre delivers a longer life
Injection moulder Mecaplast has extensive experience in the production of wheels for the agricultural sector. With the support of API and mould maker Tecnostamp, it recently developed the TPU GreenLifeTire as a more sustainable alternative to tyres made in vulcanized rubber. The TPU tyres are already being used in precision seeding equipment. Depending on their size and position on the equipment, they serve to press the seed into the ground and then afterwards to compress the soil that is laid over the top. GreenLifeTires, which do not needed to be inflated, can be mounted on plastic or metal rims. API, which supplies its Apilon 52 TPU for the application, says
the considerable and prolonged abrasion caused by the ground causes conventional tyres to wear down quickly. GreenLifeTires have higher abrasion resistance, adhere less to the soil, have greater resistance to notching and notch propagation, and they weigh around 25-30% less. Mecaplast offers to take back the tyres at the end of their useful lives for recycling the material into new products. It says versions made with a biodegradable resin are in development. ❙
www.apiplastic.com
22 INJECTION WORLD | April 2014
Drop-in renewability DSM conducted in-depth tests with bio-based BDO to produce PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), one of the building blocks of Arnitel. The tests proved that bio-based BDO made using Genomatica’s process is purer than typical fossil-based BDO. It can be used as a drop-in substitute for petroleum-based BDO and required no changes in DSM’s processes. DSM already produces Arnitel Eco with a bio-based
content of 22-53% depending on the hardness (this uses rapeseed oil as a feedstock in place of mineral oil). The introduction of bio-BDO will increase the bio-based content to up to 73%. Arnitel Eco is being used for a number of soft touch applications in consumer electronics, as well as for films. DuPont’s Hytrel polyester-based product was one of
the first TPEs on the market. It still continues to evolve and find new applications. A rather interesting one is the flexible backrest for an innovative office chair called the DNA Ingo, designed by Colombian furniture company MUMA and US design studio Curve ID. It is made in Hytrel RS, which is 60% bio-based. Alberto Mantilla, a partner at Curve ID, says: “We were looking for a very specific material that few companies could offer. We needed a range of characteristics including strength and flexibility and we needed a partner to work with us collaboratively on an interna-
Left: Tablet covers are a key application sector
for TPEs. This example is produced in a
Multibase TPSiV grade
www.injectionworld.com
PHOTO: MULTIBASE
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