BIO-BASED MATERIALS HELP TO TAKE SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Founded in 2004 the BioMobile.ch prototype project looks at ideas for promoting sustainable mobility, while focusing on individual mobility at a project level, in an attempt to lower fossil energy consumption. Since its inception, the BioMobile vehicle has gone through three development stages and the latest adaptation sees the replacement of the remaining non-renewable structural components with renewable materials. The body, chassis and most of the structural parts are now made entirely from various vegetable fibre reinforcements impregnated with a specially developed epoxy system from Huntsman Advanced Materials which contains over 50% bio-based resin. Commenting on the selection of Huntsman's bio-based resin system, Michel Perraudin, project manager for BioMobile.ch said: "The successful integration of a blend of renewable vegetable fibre and bio-based resin represents a significant factor in increasing the performance and uniqueness of the BioMobile. "Huntsman's bio-based resin system proved particularly advantageous with its easy handling and processing capabilities," he continued. "In helping to optimise the mechanical properties of the prototype, it also played an important role in enabling us to demonstrate that individual mobility with a lower energy signature is possible within both manufacturing and vehicle usage." The BioMobile's fuel consumption rate is approximately 0.12 litres per 100 km and it now runs on X41, a biofuel made from organic waste. Originally developed as an energy-efficient vehicle for international competitions such as the Shell Eco-marathon, which challenges teams to go the furthest they can using the least amount of energy, the BioMobile has been updated over the years to integrate new bio-based fuels and renewable materials. Developed within the Haute Ecole du Paysage, d'Ingénièrie et d'Architecture de Genève ¬– part of the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland – the prototype's development has involved the participation of a number of young people from schools in Switzerland and France as well as several European industrial partners. Recent research undertaken by Huntsman Advanced Materials indicates that it is now commercially possible to produce resin systems for industrial applications with a bio-based content that is higher than 80% - when combining up to 100% bio-based resins and up to 80% bio-based hardeners. New generation aircraft The growth in the use of lighter and stronger carbon-fibre composite parts to build aircraft and other weight sensitive structures has only taken off because of resin systems such as Araldite multifunctional epoxy resins. Huntsman supplies the high-performance epoxy resins and curatives found in the majority of composite parts used in the newest generation of aircraft today. The use of these lighter and stronger materials has dramatically grown over the past decade, resulting in greater fuel efficiency and lower costs for the airline industry. According to a recent article in Composites World magazine, fuel purchases represent up to 40% of a transport aircraft's direct operating costs and jet fuel prices continue to climb, up 18% in the past five years. "Every pound on a 'plane – from passengers and luggage to airplane parts – equates to about $10,000 in fuel costs every year. If you can reduce the weight [of the aircraft], you will reduce your fuel needs and lower operating costs," said Carl Holt, Aerospace & Composites Marketing Manager. Huntsman has been providing products to improve airplane construction for more than 60 years. Its Araldite adhesive was first used on the De Havilland Mosquito fighter plane manufactured in Europe during World War II. Today, Huntsman's multifunctional epoxy resins are used, along with carbon fibre, to create prepreg materials that go into carbon-fibre composite airplane parts.