Audi’s pilot job, physical recycling makes blended plastic waste recyclable
Ingolstadt, September 26, 2022
- Audi presents cycles as an essential part of the automobile worth chain
- The pilot stage has actually started: #recycling research study tasks are increasing chemical recycling and mechanical #recycling of plastics from #cars.
- Vision: to produce top quality particles for constant usage in vehicle engineering
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#Audi is pressing forward sustainable item advancement and wishes to present increasingly more cycles. Together with partners from science and market, 4 rings is looking into how material recycling can be enhanced and main products can be conserved. For #recycling, the maker is now checking another technique in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute to recycle #plastics and make them functional for constant usage. As part of Audi #Environment Week, individuals at Audi are dealing with recycling and lots of other concepts for a more sustainable business. This project is being held for the 2nd time this year and is planned to promote networking, exchange and cooperation of different disciplines with the goal of enhancing Audi’s sustainable efficiency.
Audi wishes to make cycles an essential part of the vehicle worth chain. The business is beginning pilot jobs to recycle a growing number of products and devices. Experience needs to be acquired in as lots of processing techniques as possible and reductions produced the future usage of private basic materials. The material cycle has numerous benefits: On the one hand, the requirement for sustainable basic materials and oil is decreased. On the other hand, products based upon product cycles reveal an excellent balance of energy. The 4 rings likewise carefully keep an eye on the energy needed for recycling– which does not make eco-friendly sense will not be kept track of after the pilot stage. In addition, the business’s total sustainability efficiency is increasing due to much better recycling practices.
Different processing approaches for various kinds of plastic
Since not all kinds of plastic can be fixed and processed similarly and even in the exact same method, the 4 rings concentrate on various innovations in parallel: mechanical, chemical and, just recently, physical recycling.
Audi’s vision is to certify increasingly more products for numerous and requiring applications in cars and to recognize the very best approaches of processing and recycling to be able to close the loops. “Our objective is constantly to get as much plastic as possible out of the cars and truck at the end of its life so we can recycle it,” states Mike Herbig from the Polymer Team at Audi.
Cars today typically include more than 200 kgs of different plastics and plastic composites. Bumpers, radiator grilles, numerous parts of the interior, however likewise elements in the vehicle and environment are made from it. This plastic waste, a few of which is not of the exact same type, is very first mechanically broken down and separated from other products. They can then be recycled into plastic pellets in an additional procedure.
The exact same requirements for parts made from recycled and brand-new items
The quality requirements of plastic are high. The very same requirements use to recycled elements for brand-new items. These consist of #accident security, heat resistance, media resistance, for instance versus natural solvents, #oils or water liquids. There is stability of condition and quality, haptics, optics and odor for the whole life of the #car. Progressively, ecological requirements should likewise be thought about. Mike Herbig: “We just utilize the processing product if the elements made from it likewise fulfill the requirements, that is, the quality of the part stays the very same throughout the life span.”
The mechanical recycling of plastics reaches its limitations where various plastics are processed with various mixes and ingredients, colors and fillers such as glass fibers are utilized. In addition, the quality of plastic declines with each action of mechanical processing. As a guideline, they can not be recycled in cars and truck building and construction and particularly for #safety functions.
Together with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and partners from market, Audi has actually likewise established a chemical recycling approach. Blended plastic waste is processed into pyrolysis oil. Pyrolysis oil can change petroleum as a basic material for the production of innovative plastics. Parts made in this method are as important and safe as those made from brand-new items.
Feasibility in physical recycling
In addition to research study tasks on mechanical and chemical recycling, Audi is working together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV as part of an expediency research study to examine the possibility of recycling vehicle plastic waste and recycling it in the vehicle. In this method, you can deal with the greatest degrees of plastic contamination, so that a basic and insufficient sorting from the end-of-life automobile suffices.
Unlike chemical recycling, physical recycling does not ruin plastic. Rather, they are liquified by solvents. There is no chemical destruction response and the polymer chains stay intact. “Things that are totally safe are utilized as solvents,” discusses Dr. Martin Schlummer from Fraunhofer IVV. “Other solids that might be an issue for the brand-new final product are separated.” Compounds that are likewise soluble, such as flame retardants, can likewise be eliminated from the plastic option if required. The invested solvents are lastly watered down and dispersed. After drying, spick-and-span plastic granulate is produced at the quality level of a brand-new item.
The objective now is to produce big amounts of this particle to guarantee technical expediency and inspect financial expediency. For additional experimentation, the next action is to turn the ‘old plastic’ into accessory parts such as the seat height adjuster. This is a little part, however it ought to reach high requirements in regards to production and fragrance. In the future, the numerous recycling innovations at Audi will be utilized to match each other to recuperate plastics from end-of-life automobiles for premium applications.
Further boost the percentage of recycled product in the cars and truck
In the future, Audi wishes to additional boost the variety of recycled in the vehicle. The Audi Q4 e-tron currently has up to 27 elements which contain recycled products. Externally, these are products such as assembly assistance, a function that needs to fulfill high requirements particularly in regards to mechanical residential or commercial properties. In addition, headlight covers, wheel rims, fender covers, flooring panels and wheel spoilers consist of a considerable quantity of secondary basic materials.
In the interior of the Audi Q4 e-tron, recyclates are utilized in insulation and dirt products. In addition, numerous noticeable surface areas have processing centers. This consists of, for instance, the flooring covering and the lining parts of the baggage compartment. In the interior of the S line, Dinamica microfiber product is utilized in mix with synthetic leather as a sports seat cover. Dinamica includes 45 percent polyester fibers, however looks like suede. The fibers are gotten from mechanically recycled #PET bottles, old clothing or fiber scraps.
Audi Environment Week promotes interdisciplinary exchange
Audi arranges Environment Week for the 2nd time: The interactive setting promotes the transfer of understanding and is meant to motivate individuals to question their own habits. More than 50 staff member lectures for workers in addition to professional conversations on environmental management, recycling, #CO 2 #reduction, conserving water and nutrition in addition to spirited difficulties and #participatory activities are the basis of the environment week. Rüdiger Recknagel, Head of Environmental Protection, states: “The slogan of Environment Week is’ Make it your objective– constantly ‘. Sustainability is our top priority.”
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