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GE adds recycled resins to environmental plastic range

Automotive plastics supplier GE has added to new resins to its “ecomagination” range of products, stemming from an initiative by the company to seize new business opportunities by targeting environmental issues faced by OEMs and suppliers.

Launched in Japan, Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ result from a two year programme aimed at energy conservation, reduced CO2 emissions and reducing post-consumer waste.

Denso is validating applications that use the new materials.
GE says that they are ideal for electrical connectors, lighting bezels, energy absorbing elements and body panels.

The iQ resins consist primarily of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) polymers, using up to 85 per cent post-consumer waste (typically drinks bottles) as their basic feedstock instead of crude oil. Polycarbonate is the other main constituent.

The manufacturing process is not recycling – rather, a method of regenerating solid waste back into base polymers.
Using this method, GE claims that:
• CO2 emissions would be cut by a minimum of 1.7kg per kg of resin
• 8.5 barrels of crude oil saved per 1000kg of resin
• If all PBT was replaced in 2005 with its resins, it would use 562,000 tonnes per year of PET waste.

The claims have been validated by GreenOrder of New York City, which says that if all PBT production used iQ resins, CO2 emissions would be reduced by 1.4 million tonnes per year.

GE is developing a second generation Valox iQ that will combine post-consumer waste with a bio-based feedstock, further reducing oil usage and providing further reductions of CO2 emissions.

Other recent developments include a new flexible grade of its Noryl material, more commonly used for body panels, to be used as wiring harness insulation. Offering improved abrasion resistance over PVC, the material is also more heat resistant, meaning thinner coatings can be used in conjunction with thinner copper wires. This reduces weight, costs and offers greater design freedom because harnesses can have more wires for a given bundle diameter.