INNOVATION | AUTOMOTIVE


published in May. “While the recycled TPO could not be a direct replacement for virgin TPO in a high-demand application like bumpers, the material exhibits very good properties that could make the material appropriate for non-critical applications on vehicles or feedstock for manufac- turing in other industry sectors. All results and learnings were promising in Phase I, so workgroup members agreed that further demonstration work was warranted to prove out replicability and scalability in Phases II and III.” The goal of Phase II was to replicate collection


and recycling success from Phase I with more auto recyclers and more plastics recyclers, in conjunction with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and their members, which collected used bumpers for testing. The team working on Phase II was able to affirm that the current ISRI bale specifi- cation for post-consumer TPO plastic automotive bumper covers is appropriate. If bales are prepared according to the specifications, it is possible for them to be processed and yield a high quality TPO material. A directory was compiled of ELV recyclers that are currently capable of processing ELV bumpers.


However, the report noted that opening addi- tional collection channels for TPO bumpers through auto shredder companies would be challenging. Each of the auto shredders has a different process that makes adding the necessary step for bumper removal difficult to do. These companies are typically set up to focus on the metal stream that comes from car shredders, and they would need to make additional investments to effectively remove bumpers prior to shredding. In the report’s conclusion, it was recommended


that “auto scrap yards and shredder yards consider adding this [bumper separation] activity to the work flow if either new facilities are being built, or expansions and improvements are being made. The workflow and space constraints may be overcome if this is an activity that is planned to fit within the operations process, ultimately yielding a different economic outcome for auto recyclers and shredders”. Phase III of the ELV Project involved more


plastics recycling, compounding, additives and technology companies which carried out material evaluations to confirm sample consistency and data reproducibility of the good results in Phase I.


JLR and BASF explore chemical recycling


BASF has joined Jaguar Land Rover in a chemical recycling pilot project to convert domestic plastic waste into a high-quality material for use in the automotive industry. The ChemCycling project is using a technology to convert plastics to pyrolysis oil using a thermochemical process. This is then fed into BASF’s production chain leading to a “premium grade” material, said JLR, matching the performance of virgin plastics. An important feature for JLR is that the material “can be tempered and coloured, making it the ideal sustainable solution for designing the next-generation dashboards and exterior-surfaces in Jaguar and Land Rover models”. JLR and BASF are currently testing the pilot phase material in a Jaguar I-Pace prototype front-end carrier overmoulding to verify it meets the stringent safety requirements of the existing original part. JLR noted another project in which a high-qual-


32


The recycled plastic material is being tested in a Jaguar I-Pace prototype front-end carrier


ity seat material for the Range Rover Velar and Evoque SUVs combines a wool blend with a technical suede cloth that is made from 53 recycled plastic bottles per vehicle. Chris Brown, Senior Sustainability Manager at JLR, said: “At Jaguar Land Rover, we are proactively increasing recycled content in our products,


PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | July/August 2019


removing single-use plastics across our operations and reducing excess waste across the product lifecycle. The collaboration with BASF is just one way in which we are advancing our commitment to operating in a circular economy.” � www.jaguarlandrover.com � www.basf.com


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


PHOTO: JLR


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