Rigid foam from PET bottlesRigid foam from PET bottles
Furukawa Electric Co. (Tokyo) has developed technology for recycling post-consumer PET bottles into high-stiffness foam with potential for use in automotive applications. A foaming ratio of up to two is possible, and reinforcing material can also be incorporated to further improve stiffness.
March 29, 2012
Furukawa Electric Co. (Tokyo) has developed technology for recycling post-consumer PET bottles into high-stiffness foam with potential for use in automotive applications. A foaming ratio of up to two is possible, and reinforcing material can also be incorporated to further improve stiffness.
The process developed by Furukawa Electric employs PET flakes and does not require a chemical blowing agent. The company estimates a PET foam part with foaming ratio of two enables a 30% weight reduction when substituting a polypropylene part, while providing 80% of the stiffness with no reinforcement used.
Three-dimensional parts can be molded with the technology. Besides recycled PET, the foam molding technology can also be utilized with engineering plastics such as PBT and PPS. Other than automotive, target applications include home appliances, packaging, aerospace, and trains.
Currently in Japan, most PET bottle recycling in Japan involves conversion into fibers. In 2010, 429,000 tonnes out of the 595,000 tonnes of PET used in bottles in Japan was recycled.-[email protected]
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