Globalpu News: LANXESS is promoting the development of a circular economy by emphasizing sustainability in its business activities. New Tepex currently being developed from recycled or bio-based raw materials Thermoplastic composites are the latest example of this. Dirk, Head of Global Product Management and Marketing at LANXESS Tepex "With these building materials, we hope to help our customers make more sustainable products that reduce their carbon footprint, conserve resources and protect the climate," explained Dr. Bonefeld. Recently, the specialty chemicals company launched on the market A fully bio-based composite based on flax and polylactic acid has been developed.

Tailored for Structural Lightweight Design

For example, the development of a polyamide 6-based matrix plastic for Tepex dynalite is nearing completion, a product from The production of "green" cyclohexane begins and therefore consists of far more than 80% sustainable raw materials. Therefore, the plastic complies with LANXESS for its new Requirements set by the "Scopeblue" series. It includes products that contain a significant percentage of recycled (recycled or bio-based) raw materials, or have a much smaller carbon footprint than conventional products. When the base plastic is reinforced with a continuous fiber fabric, the resulting semi-finished product exhibits the same excellent properties as its purified stone-based counterparts. Therefore, semi-finished products with green substrates are suitable for Tepex Structural lightweight designs typical of dynalite - such as front brackets, seat shells or battery consoles.

Premium finishes and strong mechanical properties

Another new product range includes modified Tepex materials, in which up to 80 percent of the material is recycled, resulting in a surface with a so-called forged carbon appearance. The corresponding parts have a texture reminiscent of marble. A high proportion of recycled materials is based on carbon fibers from post-consumer and post-industrial waste. These fibers are used as nonwovens or as chopped fiber mats. Various thermoplastics are suitable as matrix materials, such as polyamides 6 and 66, polypropylene or polycarbonate, whereby recycled material types composed of these plastics can also be used.

The fibers in the composite semi-finished product have no orientation preference, which means that the mechanical properties of the resulting part are isotropic (the same in all directions). The mechanical properties of the new carbon composites are close to the high levels of continuous glass fiber reinforced composites from the Tepex series. Dirk "We see great opportunities for these products in applications that require both advanced trim and advanced mechanical properties, such as in automotive interiors and exteriors or housings for consumer electronics," Bonefeld said.

Polyamide 12Bio-based alternatives

Another development focus is new Tepex substrate solutions based on recycled thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as well as bio-based polyamide 10.10. Recycled TPU products are mainly used in sports equipment. One of their advantages is good compound tack with many other injection molding materials when processed using insert molding or hybrid molding methods. For example, semi-finished products based on PET recyclate are a cost-effective alternative to virgin polycarbonate and polyamide. PET comes from used beverage bottles and is also available in large quantities due to the closed recycling chain for these bottles. Bio-based polyamide 10.10 is derived from castor oil. Dirk "Composites made with it are a sustainable alternative to polyamide 12 composites because they have similar mechanical properties and comparable densities," Bonefeld said.