AD&P; > March 2013 > FEATURE > DuPont���s Approach to Bio-based Plastics > Gary S. Vasilash >
DuPont���s Approach
to Bio-based Plastics
Addressing the demands of OEMs for more sustainable
materials and recognizing the changes in the cost
and availability of petroleum, DuPont is working to
develop bio-based plastics that are, in some cases,
even better than their traditional alternatives.
by Gary S. Vasilash
> Editor-In-Chief
Alternative materials. Alternative biobased materials. Hear either one of
those, and the thought that immediately
comes to mind is something along the
lines of: ���Chances are these materials
are, in some way, going to be less than
what has ordinarily been used. Sure, they
may be better from some environmental
standpoint���assuming, of course, that they
truly are seriously bio-based and not just
something that a little ���green��� has been
sprinkled in so as to provide a marketing
platform���but presumably they���re going to
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require substantial changes in the process
and the resulting parts are going to be
sort of grainy and crunchy and not exactly
what we���re looking for in terms of ���nish
and performance.���
vanes, or louvers, for the HVAC outlet in
the instrument panel of a car. The car,
admittedly, is a Toyota Prius. Which might
bring to mind the aforementioned ���it���s
green so it is going to be not as good as it
otherwise might be.���
So you might think.
So you might think.
��� ��� ��� ��� ���
Richard L. Bell, development manager,
DuPont Performance Polymers (dupont.
com), describes the development of the
The vanes for the HVAC outlet had
been made with a glass-reinforced PBT
(polybutylene terephthalate). A whole
gang of participants went to work on the