Teijin Limited announced the group-wide marketing launch of an innovative, heat-resistant bioplastic, BIOFRONTTM, which initially will be used for the manufacture of a high-quality, highly durable car-seat fabric made of 100% BIOFRONT fibers.
The new BIOFRONT fabric, developed by Teijin Fibers Limited, the Teijin group's core polyester fiber company, and automaker Mazda Motor Corporation, will be featured in the new Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid vehicle that Mazda will premier at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007 at the Makuhari Messe exhibition center in Chiba City from October 26th to November 11th.
Background:
Although bioplastics have attracted much attention due to their environmentally friendly nature, polylactide and other bioplastics currently on the market do not offer the same level of performance as oil-based plastics in terms of heat and shock resistance. Accordingly, the use of bioplastics has been limited so far.
In 2004, however, Teijin began researching bioplastics with Musashino Chemical Laboratory, Mutual Corporation and Professor Yoshiharu Kimura from the Kyoto Institute of Technology. The result was the development of an all-new type of heat-resistant bioplastic that was officially introduced in March 2006.
BIOFRONT incorporates technologies developed at Teijin Fiber's Matsuyama plant, including those to combine polymer from non-oil materials, such as starch, and those related to yarn production, such as fiber spinning anddrawing.
The melting point of BIOFRONT fibers is 210ºC, significantly higher than the 170ºC melting point of polylactide fibers. As a result, BIOFRONT readily accepts high-temperature, high-pressure polyester dyeing. Such improvements have brought BIOFRONT to the same level of performance of PET (polyethylene terephthalate).
Collaboration with Mazda:
Fabrics for car-seat skins must satisfy stringent conditions demanded by automotive makers. As a result, polyester fibers have been used as the main material for car-seat skins, since conventional plant-based fibers are not capable of meeting all demands sufficiently.
Thanks to the convergence of the Teijin Group's polymer technologies and Teijin Fiber's yarn-production know-how, however, BIOFRONT fully satisfies the requirements for high quality and durability, including high heat resistance. Moreover, surface-treatment technologies for car-seat skins developed with Mazda have made it possible to develop a car-seat fabric that is 100% bio-based fibers.
