Greening the Blue Oval: Building the Bio-based Automobile Deborah - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Greening the Blue Oval: Building the Bio-based Automobile

Deborah Mielewski, PhD Senior Technical Leader

Materials Sustainability Ford Motor Company

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Ford’s Rich History in Bio-Materials

…while the automobile provided tremendous benefits to mankind in the 20th century, “it also had a major negative impact on the environment. To be considered a leader in corporate citizenship, an automobile company must demonstrate leadership in addressing environmental concerns.”

• Bill Ford

Environmental Economic Social

Our vision for the 21st century is to provide SUSTAINABLE transportation that is affordable in every sense of the word:

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• Increasing our use of recycled materials
• Continuing to develop plant-based renewable materials
• Eliminating substances of concern
• Addressing end-of-life impacts through improved recyclability
• Working with environmentally and socially friendly suppliers

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS STRATEGY

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SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS IN FORD VEHICLES

• Plastics from post-consumer

recycled waste, such as carpet, beverage bottles, tires and battery casings.

• Work closely with suppliers

to recycle aluminum scraps from the production of the 2015 Ford F-150 to make more vehicles.

• The average Ford vehicle uses 20–40 pounds of renewable materials.

 Soy-oil based foams, seals and gaskets, castor-oil based PA11 and foams, and natural fiber reinforced plastics.

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• This global trend is an opportunity.
• There are strong industry efforts for cost effective ways of improving the

environmental footprint of composites.

• New functionalities and applications.

SUSTAINABILITY IN AUTOMOTIVE COMP.

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 Increased use of renewable feed-

stocks and agricultural products

 Use of recycled or waste products  Reduce dependence on petroleum  Improved LCA-better for the earth  Improved performance in select

functions

 Increased MATERIAL CHOICE  Increased consumer awareness  Some are LIGHTWEIGHT  Revenue for famers

Bio-Materials: Why Now?

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Sustainable Materials-Technical Challenges

• Automotive environment

 -40 °C to 85 °C to 130 °C  10+ years / 120,000+ miles

• Appearance requirements
• New failure modes possible
• Multiple processing methods
• Natural Fibers are hydrophilic: Issues of

compatibility with polymers

• Natural Fibers are hygroscopic i.e.

sensitive to humidity: processability - porosity issues

• Limited thermal stability: Fiber degradation

during processing.

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What is Soy Foam?

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Key Technical Challenges

Formulations:

Optimizing formulation for levels of soy used Balancing gel/blow reactions for soy formulation Blend stability between bio-polyol and petroleum-polyol

Odor:

Odor of blown soy oil and resulting foam

Properties:

Passing material specifications Meeting performance and plant requirements

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One of the first soy-based foams!

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Soy Foam Journey

R&A initiates research project on soy foam

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Model U concept vehicle Completed TDI trials & testing with Lear & Renesol Materials Engineering approval TDI Component approval; Processing Evaluation completed Completed MDI trials & testing with Lear & Bayer United Soybean Board awards R&A 3yr. $230k grant Press release on Mustang soy foam seats

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Implementation of Soy Foam

• n 2008 Mustang

Seat supplier: Lear Corporation Applications: seat cushion & back

Times Square, New York, July 2007

Ford Press and Awards

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Success: Soy Foam migration

100%

There are 31,251 soybeans used in a typical Ford vehicle for seat cushions and backs

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Next Up for Sustainable Foam

• North America

 Soy in excess  Castor oil  Algae oil  Canola oil

• Europe

 Concerns about GMOs  Rapeseed oil

• Asia Pacific / Africa

 Soy important food staple  Palm oil

• CO2

Alternative Feedstocks

• Use of nanomaterials as

performance modifiers in bio- based flexible polyurethane foams.

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Implementation of Wheat Straw

• n 2010 Ford Flex—with IAC

Wheat Straw Wheat Straw / Polypropylene Composite Wheat Straw Composite Quarter Trim Bin reduces petroleum usage by some 20,000 pounds per year and reduces CO2 emissions by 30,000 pounds per year

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4 Implementation The first use of cellulose fiber for a structural component to be announced soon 3 Performance Ford has validated cellulose reinforced plastics – supplied by forest products leader Weyerhaeuser – for performance, durability, and thermal resistance for interior components 2 Structure Cellulose fiber, found in plants and trees, is

• ne of the most

common organic compounds in the

• world. Its fiber

provides excellent reinforcement for plastic composites

Implementation of Cellulose Fiber

December, 2013—with JCI

1 Origin Cellulose is extracted from sustainably grown and harvested trees and related forestry byproducts, such as chips

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Implementation of Rice Hulls launched on 2014MY F150– with RheTech

• 45,000 pounds of hulls used in the first year. PP compound reinforced with rice

hulls is being used to replace talc reinforced PP in an electrical support bracket in the Ford F-150.

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Positive press

“Car parts made from cash?”

nbcnews.com

“Pulp Function: Ford and Weyerhauser collaborate To deliver automotive applications using natural fibers”

“That Ford, it smells like money!” WSJ.com

“Built Ford Green: Sustainable Materials Make America’s Best-Selling Truck Environmentally Friendly and Tough” “Ford spills Coca-Cola technology all

• ver its new car seats”

“Weeds are the Champions…

castor soy palm

Bio-based Foams

fermentation sugarcane corn dandelion

Bio-based Resins

wheat straw cellulose

Natural Fiber Composites

coconut

Recycled Materials

jeans bottles money

Sustainable Materials Research

Oat hulls

algae

bamboo

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FORD : MICRO AND NANOCELLULOSE RESEARCH

TRANSVERSE SECTION CELL WALL STRUCTURE

10 cm 100 µm 10 µm 1 µm 10 nm 1 nm 1 Å

CELLULOSE FIBRILS INDIVIDUAL MICROFIBRIL CELLULOSE MICROSTRCUTURE CELLULOSE MOLECULE SUGAR UNIT CF NFC CNC

FPInnovations; Lin and Dufresne 2014

UFC CP

CURRENT APPLICATIONS TARGET APPLICATIONS

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JOSE CUERVO TEQUILA AND BLUE AGAVE

 Cuervo has been making tequila since 1795 

Largest tequila maker in the world



Takes 7 years to grow

 ~8% weight save over talc filled TPO  “Farm-to-car” parts 

Local supply chains



Provides low cost filler for Ford



Revenue stream for JC and farmers

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AN EMERGENCY: OCEAN PLASTIC POLLUTION

Grantham Institute 2016; The Soneva Dialogue 2016

• The amount of plastic entering the ocean in the year 2010 alone is estimated at

4.7 to 12.7 million tonnes.

• Research and development propositions at the material design level and circular

economy solutions include making car parts from recycled ocean plastics?

Plant PET Collaborative

PTC Mission: To lead the acceleration of knowledge and technology to enable commercially viable, scalable, sustainably sourced, affordable, 100% plant-based PET before 2020.

Ford is a founding member of the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance, working together with WWF and seven other leading brands to encourage the responsible development of plant-based plastics

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Not directly yet, but….

• brand image value
• protecting the business for future unknowns
• reduce environmental impact
• next generation of customers

Do Sustainable Materials Sell Cars?

Non- Competing Partners Chemical Companies Universities NGOs Research Tier 1 Resin Producer Farmers

The Power of Collaboration

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“Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, either way you’re right” -Henry Ford THANK YOU!

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Farm to Car

• A collaboration with the NY Times' T Brand Studio,

this short film documents Ford's recent success with incorporating green technology and sustainable plant- based materials into the production of their cars.

• Ford: #FarmToCar on Vimeo

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