Plastics for a Sustainable Future
Our future on earth will depend on a number of megatrends that will confront all of us with new challenges: a growing world population, urbanization, rising energy requirements and globalization. The trend toward more mobility, for example, will continue unabated, with the result that the number of cars worldwide is likely to top two billion by 2030.
These megatrends lead to a number of questions: What materials can we use to increase energy efficiency? How can we cut back on consumption of energy and resources? How can we reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Plastics are among the most important problem solvers in this context because the properties of this class of materials are superior in innumerable applications - from thermal insulation and construction to lightweight automotive components and packaging. In fact, if plastics didn't exist we would have to invent them to answer the challenges facing society is.
Nevertheless, plastics are sometimes viewed critically in the media and by the public at large. For the benefit of society it is therefore all the more important to repeatedly emphasize the advantages of plastics for the environment. Approximately 90 % of all oil is used as fuel or to generate energy. From a strategic point of view it is simply burned without further thought; and only about 5 % is used in the production of plastics.
The production and processing of plastics for a given application requires less energy than for alternative materials such as aluminum, steel or glass. If the entire lifecycle of plastic products is taken into consideration, another advantage comes to the fore: At disposal, part of the energy can be recovered through incineration, since most plastics contain about as much energy as crude oil.
The true strength of plastics, however, lies in their use phase. Thanks to their lower weight, plastics reduce the consumption of fossil fuels in many applications. If the weight of a car is reduced by 100 kg, it needs about 0.4 l less fuel for every 100 km. An air intake manifold made of BASF's Ultramid plastic, for example, weighs only half as much as one made of aluminum, namely, 1.5 instead of 3 kg. Extrapolated to a driving distance of 150,000 km over the total service life of the manifold energy consumption is 35 % to 40 % lower with the plastic component than with one made of aluminum. In this way, plastics reduce CO2 emissions, while making a substantial contribution to conserving resources and protecting the climate.
Through research and development, BASF and the plastics industry are constantly working to improve the properties of plastics and open up new applications. Over the past decades, we have therefore seen a dramatic rise in the number of possible applications. Enormous potential resulted from the refinement of existing plastics with blends, through compounding with additives and fillers, as well as through the creation and incorporation of nanostructures. A quantum leap in recent years has been derived from the use of specially designed simulation methods to predict the behavior of plastic parts. Many sophisticated components would not be made of plastics today without such information. Improved high-performance composite materials are now being developed, for instance, through the incorporation of continuous filaments.
An end to these developments is not in sight. Plastics will continue to make a significant contribution to sustainability in the future. Electromobility, for example, is placing new demands on materials and will result in a further increase in the proportion of plastics used in cars - with the associated improvements in fuel efficiency and emission ratings.
All the latest developments in the world of plastics will be on show at the K 2010 in Düsseldorf at the end of October. We look forward to seeing you there and to many stimulating discussions.
