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panels composed of potatoes; fueled with waste chocolate, beef fat and cheese factory residue; and a steering wheel made of carrots. Despite the veritable bounty on board, the car reached 125 mph. That demonstration vehicle, which was 95 percent biodegradable, captured headlines and interest for what biomaterials could do in a punishing racetrack environment. However, today Kirwan is realistic about the feasibility of biomaterials in the mass market, particularly when it comes to their biodegradability. In other words, don't expect to see compostable cars any time soon. "The truth of the matter is most cars will end up being shredded and there will be a mechanical recovery of metals through recycling, and then a lot of polymer stuf will be burned," Kirwan comments. "Biodegradability doesn't really come into it, because it just adds another layer of complexity. With biodegradable polymers, a lot of the challenge is to not inhibit or damage the existing recycling stream, because if you bring a biodegradable polymer into it, thatcan cause problems." And, that's another of the attributes of biomaterials–one that doesn't appear in the automotive marketing materials: They burn easily. Flammability over glass-fber polymers is a feature, not a bug, when it comes to using hemp-flled, wood- flled, fax-flled or other composites. Nagging issues of scale and material consistency remain inhibitors to growth as well, Kirwan says. Production of natural materials are more susceptible to things like weather patterns impacting how crops are grown and harvested. Biodegradable thermoplastic polymers, such as polylac- tide (PLA) may forsake petroleum-based origins, but PLA still requires corn starch, sugarcane or other food-based feedstocks. The supply chains that enable synthetics like polypropylene and polyamide materials, for instance, are far more established and more stable. Add relatively cheap petroleum, and therefore relatively cheap petroleum-based polymers to the mix and the challenges to natural fbers really add up. "If car manufacturers decided tomorrow it wanted a million tons of PLA for the umpteenth-million cars they wanted to produce, that would cause a massive potential issue," Kirwan points out. "The focus needs to be second-generation feed- stocks, waste feedstocks, to derive these polymers." Many suppliers are mindful of the food-versus-fuel debates of a few years ago that are inherent in biofuels like ethanol, and have focused on waste inputs like orange peels and coconut husks instead. But those feedstocks only go so far. Kirwan today is focusing on a new sustainable luxury project. Warwick researchers are considering what consumers truly comprehend as a luxurious material and how those This is not an advertisement for a Formula 3 race car sponsored by a grocery store. Rather, those vegetables are amount the materials that are used in the production of that car. The work was performed by Kerry Kirwan and a team at the Warwick University Manufacturing Research Group, Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing. Potatoes for the body panels and carrots for the steering wheel—and a top speed of 125 mph. www.ADandP.media AD&P; ∕ JULY 2016 SUSTAINABILITY 35