(20c) Integrating Sustainable Biocarbon in Lightweight and Durable Biocomposite Solutions for Automotive Applications

Due to modern efforts to curb pollution through policy and regulations, the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has become a critical aspect for new innovation in the automotive sector. The most simple solution for this issue is to reduce the weight of new vehicles, thus reducing fuel consumption. However, it is of paramount importance to reduce weight without compromising safety or performance. Natural fibre reinforced composites have been investigated and adopted by several manufacturers in recent years. Unfortunately, these materials have several flaws, such as their poor thermal stability, and processing odours, which prevent their use in engineering thermoplastics. Engineering thermoplastics such as polyamides are necessary for automotive components which will be subjected to high temperatures, pressures and stresses.

In this research, hybrid carbonaceous biocomposites of nylon based blends have been reinforced with combinations of biocarbon and other secondary fillers used to tailor various aspects. Biocarbon is a renewable, sustainable filler with excellent thermal stability suited for polyamide resins. Biocarbon is economical and also presents a green solution, as it is a carbon-neutral material. Through hybridization with other additives and heat ageing additives properties such as tensile modulus, thermal stability, heat deflection temperature, and coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) and durability can be precisely tailored. These hybrid biocomposites can be used as drop-in resins for injection moulding applications, and can have up to a 15% reduction in weight compared to conventional glass fibre/mineral filled nylon composites.

Acknowledgements

This research is financially supported by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), Canada/University of Guelph-Bioeconomy for Industrial Uses Research Program Theme (Project # 030176); the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canada−Discovery Grants (Project # 401111); Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Competitive Green Technologies (CGTech) through AgriInnovation Program (Project # 053407); and the Ontario Research Fund, Research Excellence Program; Round-7 (ORF-RE07) from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI), currently known as the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science (MRIS) (Project # 052665 and #052644).