Bio-based semi-finished SMC products

Holger Göttmann

 
The ecological footprint of plastics and their energy-intensive production has long been subject of public criticism. More and more research is considered on environment-friendly alternatives – organic plastics – to improve their CO2 balance.
 

Working on thermoset composite

As part of this, from 2018 to 2020 Lorenz Kunststofftechnik GmbH and the Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe (IVW) worked to find ways to make a thermoset composite with a lower CO2 footprint. The result is a weight-reduced semi-finished product based on renewable raw materials of organic origin. The reduction in density gives this new semi-finished product possibilities for use as a lightweight material in fields like automotive manufacture, e-mobility and infrastructure construction. 

To improve the ecological balance, the company has decided to source raw materials regionally within 500 km for the expected commercialization of the project results. This sustainable plastic is flame-proof to UL 94 V0 4 mm HB and mold-resistant.
 

Financial supports

The research project received financial support from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) as a ZIM subsidy (Central Innovation Program for SMEs).

The first ideas for environment-friendly polymers started making the rounds at Lorenz Kunststofftechnik GmbH after the UN Climate Conference in Paris in 2015. The company, which specializes in thermosets, looked for a suitable research partner and in 2018 found one in the Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe (IVW)in Kaiserslautern.
 

Peter Ooms, director of Sales and Business Development at Lorenz Kunststofftechnik GmbH notes

“In earlier projects we had already provided IVW with semi-finished products, so we could build on a good and effective relationship. In the current research project, we assisted the IVW with our expertise and SMC materials, as well as in the subsequent testing for industrial production. The Kaiserslautern institute did the lab-scale preliminary testing, general research and the development
of the formulations for the new organic SMC”.