100% BIOFRONT car seat fabrics developed by Teijin & Mazda
26 Sep '07
2 min read
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.
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