The green upgrade of plastic is the epitome of the booming application of new materials. According to the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for the Development of New Materials Industry", the average annual growth rate of China's new materials industry during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period is expected to exceed 25%. By 2015, the scale of the entire industry will reach 2 trillion yuan. Five "at the end.

The integration of new material technology with nanotechnology, biotechnology and information technology, the integration of structure and function, and the intelligentization of functional materials are obvious. The environmentally friendly characteristics of materials such as low carbon, green, and renewable cycles have attracted much attention.

Bio-medical materials such as automobile manufacturing, house doors and windows, 3D printing materials, artificial joints, artificial crystals and so on are all from plastic ... Traditional plastics are seeking breakthroughs in environmental protection and high performance, and have promoted the transformation and upgrading of many industries, subverting people's past Hard to degrade, high pollution impression.

Asia's largest international rubber and plastics exhibition opened in Guangzhou on May 20-23, 2015. The reporter learned from the exhibition that in the emerging areas of electronic information, biomedicine, energy saving and emission reduction, environmental protection and intelligent transportation, there will be demand for new functional, lightweight, miniaturized and green materials; In this situation, the promotion of plastics in various fields has accelerated, and green and low-carbon environmental protection has become the industry's development trend.

building

Non-toxic and recyclable using plastic building materials

The application of thermal insulation plastic building materials in the construction of the United States, Japan and other countries has been very mature, and the energy saving effect is good. Large-scale applications in China have just begun, and there is huge room for future development.

After mixing plastic and wood powder in a certain proportion, it can be formed into a plate after hot extrusion, which can be used for furniture and ceiling. "This wood-plastic composite material is not only more durable than wood, but also saves the wood from being recyclable and free of harmful substances such as benzene and formaldehyde."

From a plastic machinery company in Qingdao carrying its latest research and development of wood-plastic furniture board equipment to participate in the exhibition, the reporter saw that the extruded home board has a pattern directly, and no subsequent processing is required.

According to the manufacturer, the product is formaldehyde-free, fireproof, moisture-proof, and pest-free. It can directly replace the existing plywood in the market and can be recycled.

"The promotion of green buildings has stimulated the development of these energy-saving and environmentally-friendly building materials and related manufacturing technologies." Some construction experts have introduced that in accordance with the "Green Building Action Plan" promulgated by China, the required energy-saving renovation targets for old houses are 200 yuan per square meter. Reconstruction standard meter, the future market capacity of building energy-saving materials is as high as 2.6 trillion yuan.

The increase in the use of plastics in building materials is one of the trends in environmental protection and energy saving of building materials.

According to the organizer of the exhibition, plastic building materials are the fourth new type of new basic materials emerging after steel, wood and cement. In recent years, the average annual growth rate of this industry in China has exceeded 15%, and new plastic pipes have been applied in more than 30% of regions, and some provinces and cities have reached 90%; some cities in the three provinces of Northeast China, Inner Mongolia and other places have more than 40% of new construction. Plastic doors and windows are used in the houses; more than 80% of new houses in Qingdao and Dalian use plastic windows.

"Plastic building materials have made more and more contributions in the construction industry and urban construction." Industry experts, for example, using polyurethane insulation materials as an example, using 1 cubic meter of this material can reduce 270 kg of carbon dioxide emissions a year. Calculated based on the consumption of 1 million tons of polyurethane insulation material in one year, it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 7 million tons in one year. By 2030, the use of thermal insulation in building energy conservation will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.6 billion tons.

"The application of the above-mentioned thermal insulation plastic building materials in the construction of the United States, Japan and other countries has been very mature, and the energy saving effect is good. However, the large-scale application in China has just begun, and there is huge room for future development." Lin Yongfei said.

car

Plastic frame interior reduces weight and reduces carbon

Foreign automobile brands have now used plastic composite materials and high-performance engineering plastics on a large scale.

"This is the first time that carbon fiber has been used in mass production." A BMW i3 with a body structure and frame made entirely of carbon fiber reinforced plastic has attracted many people to visit. The black roof and silver-gray frame are transparent. In addition to being cool, its high-performance plastics can not only reduce vehicle weight, but also reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from the perspective of environmental protection effects.

"Car seats are also all plastic, using composite materials instead of metal, which is 20% lighter than traditional seats." Shen Jiahong of BASF China Co., Ltd. told reporters.

On-site experts said that vehicle weight reduction is mainly reflected in automotive optimization design, alloy materials and non-metallic material applications, which in turn reduce the weight of vehicles by 10% to 15%, 30% to 40%, and 45% to 55%.

In fact, attaching great importance to reducing the carbon footprint has long been the consensus of the automobile manufacturing industry. Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Management Requirements for Automobile Hazardous Substances and Recyclable Utilization (Consultation Draft)", which means that the industry's "green" development tone will be further strengthened.

The "Requirement" proposes that automobile manufacturers, as the responsible subjects of pollution control, should actively carry out ecological design, adopt reasonable structural and functional design, choose non-toxic and harmless or low-toxicity and low-risk environmentally friendly materials, and be easy to disassemble and use. Components, the application of green manufacturing technology with high resource utilization, low environmental pollution, and easy recycling.

Plastic materials have a lower carbon footprint than glass and metal because of their lighter weight. Zheng Kai, secretary general of the China Engineering Plastics Industry Association, said that the "weight reduction" effect of non-metallic materials such as engineering plastics is obvious, and more and more automotive parts are starting to use engineering plastics instead of metal parts.

It is reported that in developed countries, the amount of plastic used in automobiles is an important indicator of the level of design and manufacturing of automobiles. The amount of plastic used in each car has increased from 100 to 130 kg in the 1990s to 152 kg in 2004 and 174 kg in 2006. It is 230kg. At present, German vehicles consume the most, accounting for more than 15% of the total vehicle materials. Experts predict that by 2020, the average amount of plastic used in automobiles will reach 500 kg / vehicle, which will account for more than one-third of the total vehicle materials.

Many experts also said that foreign automobile brands have now used plastic composite materials and high-performance engineering plastics on a large scale, while domestic independent brand cars have relatively few applications (weight ratio) in plastic composite materials. This also reflects that the level of lightweight technology of our entire vehicle needs to be improved.

3D printing

Degradable plastics become the new favorite

3D printing using environmentally friendly plastics can also localize product production and reduce transportation needs. Customers can print the required products locally by making design drawings, which reduces the need for long-distance transportation and greenhouse gas emissions.

Exquisite handicrafts and glasses can be printed out, and degradable plastic is used. The reporter saw at the booth of Guangdong Jubilee Technology Co., Ltd. that the two 3D printers were surrounded by groups. The staff demonstrated that the three-dimensional image data on the computer was sent to the 3D printer. The printer contained "printing materials" such as liquid or powder. After connecting with a computer, the "printing materials" are layered on top of each other according to the three-dimensional image data to make a real object.

"The materials used for 3D printing have almost no waste, saving both costs and environmental benefits." Said Su Guanwang, a sales engineer in the company's 3D printing division. He pointed to the various colored wires next to him and told reporters that the 3D printed material is very important, and it determines the environmental protection value of production. The degradation rate of "PLA biodegradable wire" has reached 90%, and the printed plastic products can be treated with landfill if they are not needed, and the degradation time needs to be determined according to the humidity of the landfill.

What is worth noting is that throughout the 3D printing process, the reporter did not smell the pungent odor during the traditional plastic processing, but instead smelled a corn-like fragrance. "PLA Chinese name is polylactic acid. It uses natural corn extract as a raw material. It can be used in food packaging materials and surgical sutures in medical treatment. If you print a cup with PLA, you can also use it to drink water. "Su Guanwang explained to reporters the environmental and non-toxic properties of PLA.

It is understood that 3D printing using environmentally friendly plastics can also achieve localization of product production and reduce transportation needs. Customers can design the products and print the required products locally, reducing long-distance transportation requirements and greenhouse gas emissions.

Not only used for 3D printing, the green environmental protection of raw materials has become the goal pursued by many plastic raw material suppliers, and gradually established a traceable channel through the certification system.

At this international rubber and plastics exhibition, a well-known foreign company launched another sustainable measure-eco-label. At present, the label has been promoted in all business units of the enterprise. The eco-label includes a sustainability assessment consisting of 36 criteria that take full account of social responsibility, product performance and environmental protection factors. The products that have obtained this sustainable excellence label certification are highly differentiated, but eco-labeled products can actively assist customers to improve the sustainability of their products without reducing the performance of the products. "At present, we have reviewed 80% of our products and put eco-labels on 50 of them." The company's executives said.

challenge

Higher costs affect business choices

China is the world's largest country in terms of plastic consumption, exports of plastic products, and production and sales of plastic machinery.

"However, the current per capita consumption of plastic products in China is still lower than the global average, and the Chinese market has huge growth potential." A market leader of a foreign-owned chemical company told the author.

"However, in the Chinese market, cost is also a very important consideration. When most manufacturers choose materials, they tend to build products at the lowest price." When talking about the bottleneck of the promotion of energy-saving and environmentally friendly new materials in the Chinese market At that time, Lou Jianfeng, vice president of the Asia Pacific region of BASF's Performance Materials business, said.

According to industry insiders, the popularity of new plastic materials for some products with lower added value is not smooth. Degradable plastics encounter this dilemma. "In the beverage and food packaging materials industry, the annual production demand for packaging materials reaches 67 million tons, and most packaging materials pose a serious threat to the ecological environment. Therefore, the promotion of degradable plastics has become a top priority."

"The market price of degradable plastic is 2-3 times that of ordinary plastic products. If it is successfully sold, the profit level is 10%, and the profit level of ordinary plastic is 1% -3%. In this case, the degradable plastic At present, plastics have large sales resistance, high costs, large capital occupation, and poor acceptance of downstream enterprises. Some manufacturers point out that at the same time, degradable plastics have a certain shelf life. If the sales of the company are not smooth, the risk of loss is greater. Enterprises are caught between the consideration of cost and profit, which makes the degradable plastics still in the promotion stage.

In industries mandated by the state, such as disposable plastic cups, lunch boxes, cutlery, and other daily plastic products in the catering industry, the proportion of degradable plastics is relatively high, while in industry and agriculture, the use of degradable plastics is relatively low .

Lou Jianfeng suggested that from the perspective of sustainable development of enterprises, when looking at materials, on the one hand, enterprises should see whether it meets performance requirements and environmental protection requirements, and on this basis, find reasonable materials and processing technologies, " The input cost has increased slightly, but the product can be sold several times. Why not? "

"Low carbon, environmental protection, 100% recycling, can reduce the cost of products by 20% -30% in the long run, Haier New Materials' sales in 2014 reached 1.1 billion yuan." Li Pengjun, director of marketing of Haier New Materials, said The target increase for 2015 will be 10%. At the same time, he revealed that the company will strengthen the research and development of new material products, allocate more than 3% of the total revenue as research and development expenses, use engineering plastics, high reliability and safety materials, and low VOC environmental protection materials for research and development, and promote Haier new materials to electronics, Automotive, construction and other fields.