Mitsubishi Motors (MMC), working with Eidaikako, MRC Pylen and Toyota Tsusho, has developed a new floor mat made using plant-based bio-polyethylene (bio-PE) fibre to add to its lineup of proprietary plant-based ‘green plastic’ products. The company plans to start production of the new floor mats in summer 2012.
Bio-PE is a plant-based resin made using sugarcane molasses, a thick syrup produced in the refining of raw sugar. The company has developed the bio-PE fibre for use in floor mat piling with an eye toward reducing usage of petroleum-based plastics and cutting CO2 emissions. Compared with conventional petroleum-based floormats, the fibre in this new floormat has a core-sheath structure in which the bio-PE core is covered with conventional petroleum-based polypropylene (PP) sheath which allows it to meet the high levels of performance demanded of car floor mats, including abrasion and heat resistance.
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In-house calculations indicate that the new bio-PE fibre floor mat achieves a 15% reduction in life-cycle CO2 emissions over a similar mat made using petroleum-based PP fibre.
In its efforts to stop global warming and reduce dependence on petroleum, MMC is conducting research and development of a series of proprietary plant-based ‘green plastics’ to replace petroleum-based plastics used widely in car parts today. The company’s current range of plant-based products includes materials made using liquefied wood-based phenolic resins and interior surface materials which combine PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and cotton fibres.
