Recycled Content and Bio-Based Polyols Featured in Suppliers' Concept Car

March 1, 2015

Kami Buchholz

The CASP concept vehicle (shown at the 2015 NAIAS) features product innovations that use closed-loop processing to reduce the environmental impact on landfills and renewable polyols that enable CO2 emissions reduction.

The Concepts for Advanced Sustainability in Polyurethanes (CASP) vehicle features polyurethane foams made from recycled content and bio-based polyols.

Styled and built by Rochester Hills-based Advanced Automotive Technologies, the static concept car was on display during the 2015 NAIAS in Detroit.

The CASP car's rear driver's side fender features an innovative coating from LINE-X Protective Coatings.

Auburn Hills, MI-based Unique Fabricating; Malaysia headquartered Emery Oleochemicals; Media, PA-based FXI Inc.; and Huntsville, AL-headquartered LINE-X are showcasing the CASP concept car to promote sustainable polyurethane products.

“The concept car’s parts are intended to demonstrate a broad range of possibilities for INFIGREEN and EMEROX polyols in automotive polyurethane applications,” Mark Kinkelaar, Senior Market Development Manager, Eco-Friendly Polyols for Emery Oleochemicals, said in an Automotive Engineering interview.

Infigreeen and Emerox parts featured on the CASP vehicle include driver and passenger seating pads and topper pads, structural insulating foams, carpet backing acoustic pads, and headliner foams.

“Emery’s Infigreen product line is intended to meet the industry’s recycled content needs for automotive polyurethane applications, and our Emerox polyols product line is intended to meet the industry’s renewable content needs,” Kinkelaar said.

Unique Fabricating’s polyurethane foam offal is shipped to Emery for conversion into new polyols, enabling a closed-loop process. FXI uses Emery’s recycled polyols in its formulations for components featured on the CASP car.

A cutaway drawing of the CASP concept car shows a few of the innovative application areas.

The CASP concept also features an aliphatic coating designed for direct-to-substrate applications, such as metal, fiberglass, and foam, according to Terry Pe, Vice President of Product Development for LINE-X Protective Coatings.

“This new coating incorporates renewable content, offers excellent strength and abrasion resistance as well as UV stability,” noted Pe. “The CASP concept car is the first step in a continued effort to develop protective coatings from renewable material.” The concept car’s rear driver side fender features the innovative coating.

Throughout 2015 and 2016, the CASP car concept will be on display at various automotive industry functions.