Engineering, Recyclable, and Biodegradable Plastics in the Automotive Industry: A Review

The automotive industry has used plastics almost since the beginning. The lightness, flexibility, and many qualities of plastics make them ideal for the automotive industry, reducing cars' overall weight and fuel consumption. Engineering plastics in this industry belong to the high-performance segment of non-renewable resources. These plastics exhibit higher properties than commodity plastics. Fortunately, unlike recycled commodity plastics, the super properties and high-performance characteristics make engineering plastics effectively reused after recycling. The substitution of these fossil-fuel-derived plastics adds to the solution of lightweighting, a much-needed solution to waste management, and solves industrial and ecological issues surrounding plastic disposal. All major vehicle manufacturers worldwide use bioplastics and bio-based plastics, including natural-fiber composites and engineering plastics reinforced with natural fibers. Changing the source of plastics to raw materials from renewable resources is the logical approach to sustainability. Thus, high-quality plastics, recycled plastics, bio-based plastics, and biodegradable plastics could be exploited from design, making sustainability an integral concept of mobility development. This review analyzes that switching from fossil-fuel- to renewable-sources-derived plastics is a step toward meeting the current environmental goals for the automotive industry, including electric cars.

Automated summary

Plastics have been used in the automotive industry since the beginning due to their lightweight, flexibility, and other qualities. Engineering plastics, a type of high-performance plastic, offer superior properties compared to commodity plastics. Fortunately, engineering plastics can be effectively reused after recycling, unlike commodity plastics. Switching from fossil-fuel-derived plastics to renewable-sources-derived plastics contributes to lightweighting, waste management, and plastic disposal issues. Major vehicle manufacturers worldwide utilize bioplastics and bio-based plastics, such as natural-fiber composites and engineering plastics reinforced with natural fibers. This shift towards renewable plastics is a significant step towards achieving environmental goals in the automotive industry, including electric cars.