Source | Envalior
Envalior (Düsseldorf, Germany), a thermoplastic composites (TPC) manufacturer, has recently conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) for a widely used composite — Tepex dynalite 104-RG600(x)/47%, from its Tepex product range — which has been critically reviewed by the international testing and certification company TÜV SÜD (Munich, Germany).
The original Tepex material comprises a polypropylene (PP) matrix reinforced with continuous glass fiber rovings. It is primarily used in lightweight automotive construction — e.g., vehicle underbodies and safety-related structural components, such as front-end carriers and seat pans.
“With this TÜV SÜD critical review, we go one step further than most of our competitors,” says Dr. Lisa Tölle, project manager of material development at Envalior. “We are responding to trends among OEMs in the automotive and electrical/electronics industries to determine complete life cycle analyses for their products in order to optimize their sustainability. This requires that they receive the necessary input from their raw material manufacturers.”
In addition to the LCA study, Envalior has developed a variant of Tepex dynalite 104-RG600(x)/47% based only on sustainable raw materials, leading to carbon footprint reduction of approximately 50%. [Company note: When comparing cradle-to-gate including biogenic uptake carbon footprint values of Tepex dynalite 104-RG600(x)/47% conventional version with its sustainable alternative.]
The results of the ISO 14040/44-based LCA analysis show the environmental impact of 1 kilogram of semi-finished composite sheet that has not yet been customized. All impacts that arise until the composite leaves the Envalior factory gate were considered via a cradle-to-gate assessment, such as the impact on soil, water, climate change, resources and human health.
The new Tepex variant, made from 100% sustainable raw materials, consists of 70% continuous glass fibers produced from glass waste. The remaining 30% of the material is derived from attributed bio-circular PP. The sustainable origin of all raw materials is verified using a certified mass-balance approach, according to the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus standard. The composite is completely identical to its purely fossil-based counterpart. It has the same chemical, physical and processing properties and the same quality, and therefore meets the same technical specifications and certifications with no need for requalification.
“Our customers can therefore use it directly as a drop-in solution and replace the fossil-based counterpart in the ongoing production process,” says Tölle. “The substitution does not incur much effort because the existing processing machines can be used under the same process parameters.
Information on Envalior’s materials can be found at MaterialAdvisor, which provides digital tools and services that customers can use to find, select and evaluate materials.