Fuji Xerox Develops Biomass Plastic
With More Than 30 Percent of
Plant-Derived Constituent by Weight
CO2 Emissions Lowered by 16 Percent
| TOKYO, July 5, 2007 —Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. developed a biomass plasticNote1 that comprises more than 30 percent of plant-derived constituent (corn) by weight with technological cooperation of FUJIFILM Corporation. Compared with acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin or ABS resin, the plastic the company has traditionally used, the amount of CO2 emitted when producing the biomass plastic is cut by around 16 percent according to a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). Fuji Xerox plans to introduce components made from this plastic in its future products. |
| The development of a biomass plastic that can be applied to mechanical components, those that are used in the moving parts of machines, is an industry first. |
| To employ biomass plastic in components and products, a specific level of flame-resistance and impact tenacity is required, but it is difficult to achieve both at the same time as these two elements are in essence opposing forces. Additionally, plant-derived constituent is inherently broken down with high moisture and temperature. As a result, the tendency has been to lower the proportion of plant-derived constituent relative to overall weight and to increase the proportion of flame retardant and oil-based strengthening agents. |
| Fuji Xerox, together with FUJIFILM to leverage their outstanding impact-resistant and molding technologies, began development of biomass plastic with the objective of raising the proportion of plant-derived constituent to more than 25 percent by weightNote2, which would reduce CO2 emissions. |
| The joint effort culminated in success in several areas. First was the development of a method to slash the amount of flame-retardant used to less than half relative to conventional levels. Hence, the proportion of plant-derived constituent was increased to more than 30 percent of the total weight. Lastly, the previously weak areas of impact resistance and wet heat resistance were both enhanced, and thus, the new plastic achieves flame resistance, shock absorbency as well as wet heat stability while increasing the amount of plant-derived constituent. |
| Fuji Xerox sought insight from FUJIFILM in researching material design and analysis, flame resistance, wet heat stability and moldability, while also obtaining cooperation from Unitika Ltd., a material manufacturer, from early stage of development. These three companies will continue to work together on technical development to make further improvements and ensure optimum specifications. |
| Note 1: |
Biomass plastic is made with vegetables (corn in this case) as its base material. It is an environmentally friendly plastic that aims to reduce CO2 emissions by using plastic refined from oil, a fast-depleting resource, as little as possible. |
| Note 2: |
According to the definition supplied by Japan BioPlastics Association, the term “biomass plastic” can only be used in reference to products in which more than 25.0 percent of their weight is comprised of biomass materials (those materials not included in the Society’s so-called “negative list”). |
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