10 Years Automotive
10 Years Automotive Application News ‘Organic Plug’ made from Bio PA T ago he fischer group of companies of Waldachtal, Germany recently presented its first prototype of an ‘organic plug’. The material of the fischer Universal Plug UX consists of polyamide by DuPont which is mainly made of renewable substances. UX with staying power The fischer UX Universal Plug made of conventional nylon has been established in the market for many years, giving users the feeling of reliability and safety. With every turn of the screw, the plug tightens more and more – until it is safely expanded inside the drill hole or knotted inside the cavity. A true all-rounder, the plug gets a perfect grip in any wall, whether in plasterboard, solid bricks, perforated bricks or concrete. Same retaining power as the standard plug The ‘Organic Plug’ is made of the Zytel ® RS polyamide by DuPont, 58 % by wt. of which consist of renewable base materials. “Extensive tests and long-term trials have shown that the UX made of this new material has the same values as the tried and tested product made of conventional nylon”, says Rainer Fischer, head of synthetics development at fischer. In continuous tests, the ‘Organic Plug’ consistently shows the same retaining values as the conventional UX. Investigations involving the performance at high temperatures also show the same temperature resistance for both plugs. The UX Plugs recently shown at FAKUMA, a German plastics trade fair, are the first prototypes presented to a wider public. “Our aim is not only to demonstrate that we can make plugs from sustainable and renewable materials”, says Rainer Fischer. “We also want to fathom out the market acceptance because the ‘Organic Plugs’ can currently not be made with the same cost structure as the standard plug”. www.fischer.de www.renewable.dupont.com Published in bioplastics MAGAZINE In November 2019, Joachim Schätzle, Head of Research and Predevelopment at fischer said: Sustainability and environmental protection have been major concerns of the fischer Group of Companies for many years. Active sustainability management is our contribution to ensuring that we and future generations can still enjoy an intact environment. We are aware of our responsibility when it comes to using finite resources. This is why we started the greenline project in the first place – and it has never been more actual than today. Following this strategy, the German fixings specialist presented the first prototype of an organic plug in 2009. After three years of extensive testing, the UX GREEN plug saw the light of day as the first of its kind. Shortly after, fischer launched the FIS GREEN 300 T, the world’s first chemical injection resin made from renewable components. Chemical injection resins are complex products made from a multitude of different base substances, including many special chemicals without biobased equivalents. We could not simply replace one component with another as we did with the UX GREEN. We had to create a whole new formula for the FIS GREEN 300 T. Today, the fischer greenline comprises seven different fixing systems for a variety of applications. All of them are made from at least 50 % renewable primaries. The base for one of the most important synthetic components is castor oil extracted from the seeds of the castor-bean plant, a plant which does not compete with food, animal feed or with the appropriate crop areas. By definition fixings must always be safe. This is why we made absolutely sure that our biobased fixing systems comply with all technical requirements. Therefore, the green plugs have the same performance features and load-bearing capacities as the grey originals – and they are naturally just as long-lived. tinyurl.com/fischer-2009 (Photo: fischerwerke) 32 bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/09] Vol. 4 36 bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/19] Vol. 14
Brand Owner Brand-Owner’s perspective on bioplastics and how to unleash its full potential “Biobased plastics are an interesting alternative to fossil-based plastics, and they could play an important role in a circular economy to decouple from finite sources. While the material offers benefits and potential with regard to sustainability, there are also aspects to be considered: To enable a closed loop, it is not enough to focus on the opportunities of a sustainable cultivation but also to ensure that the material is fully recyclable. Touching upon the topic of cultivation, as for all natural resources, sustainable farming practices must be in place, deforestation must be prevented and acreage shouldn’t be in competition to food,” says Dr. Thorsten Leopold, Head of International Packaging Technology Home Care at Henkel. Dr. Thorsten Leopold Head of International Packaging Technology Home Care at Henkel www.henkel.com Philippe Blank Head of Sustainability - International Packaging Development Beauty Care at Henkel “As part of our commitment to foster a circular economy and developing sustainable packaging solutions, we at Henkel are exploring the potential of biobased plastic for product packaging. First Henkel products with product packaging made of bioplastics are already in the market and we continue to evaluate opportunities to use these materials for further applications in the future,” continues Philippe Blank, Head of Sustainability - International Packaging Development Beauty Care at Henkel. ORDER NOW www.bioplasticsmagazine.com/en/books email: books@bioplasticsmagazine.com phone: +49 2161 6884463 BOOK STORE bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/19] Vol. 14 37
