Feiplastic ’19: PP compounds the right solution for lightweighting vehicles – Borealis

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Compounds of glass fibre and polypropylene (PP) are the right solution to enhance vehicle lightweighting, an executive with Borealis said on the sidelines of this year’s Feiplastic.

Nicholas Kolesch, head of marketing automotive at Borealis, said that the company sees strong growth potential for the automotive market in Brazil as per capita vehicle ownership remains relatively low.

Borealis has developed a line of PP and glass fibre compounds for use in automobiles, with side mirror casings, pedal housings and air intake manifolds among the prototypes on display at this year’s Feiplastic.

“Heat resistance has traditionally been an obstacle to using PP in air intake manifolds, but our new compounds can meet the heat resistance properties required of engines of up to 1.4 litres capacity,” Kolesch said.

Kolesch stated that PP compounds offer a number of advantages over compounds made with polyamide (nylon) in automotive applications.

Compared with polyamide resins, PP is less dense and also provides cost savings relative to polyamides.

Regarding the trend of greater electrification in vehicles, Kolesch said that electric vehicles could enhance the need for polymer solutions to lighten vehicle weights as a means of compensating for heavy batteries and battery casings in electric vehicles.

Borealis is committed to remaining a leader in the automotive compounding business and has assets in place in all the key regions for automotive demand.

The company highlighted the first-quarter start-up of a new 30,000 tonne/year automotive compounding plant in Taylorsville, North Carolina, to emphasise its ongoing commitment to the global automotive industry.

The new plant gives Borealis compounding assets in the US to complement its existing assets in Brazil, Europe and China.

PP is used for packaging, ropes, carpets, plastic parts, loudspeakers and automotive parts.

Feira Internacional do Plastico (Feiplastic) takes place on 22-26 April in Sao Paulo, Brazil.