Image removed.Kettering University was the site of a new product introduction when BASF North American premiers its new ‘Green’ Automotive Material Technology Nov. 18.

Approximately 60 individuals representing automotive industries and educational institutions, including Toyota, Magna, General Motors, Johnson Controls, A.Schulman Faurecia, Tesla Motors, International Automotive Components, the MSU Composite Vehicle Center and Kettering University,were in attendance.

Kettering was selected for the new product introduction based on long-standing relationships within the industry with Kettering Chemistry Professor Reg Bell.
 

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BASF introduced the eco-friendly Acrodur®: Acrylic thermosets, which opens new avenues to innovative composite materials.  The Acrodur® presentation will discuss a new enabling technology platform engineered toward Cross-Linked Acrylic Thermosets, featuring:

* non-flammable zero-emission systems that contain no volatile or hazardous components at any stage of their life cycle;  

* easy to use in molding processes and ideally suited for today’s ‘greener’ light-weight automotive composites; and

* potential for natural fiber, as well as other fiber composites in automotive applications.

Dr. Gero Nordmann, market development manager for BASF, and Dr. Donald Rosato, president of PlastiSource, Inc., said they were pleased to come to Flint to introduce eco-friendly Acrodur®.  Acrylic thermosets are thermally cross-linkable and free of formaldehyde and other emissions, and offer new routes to innovative composite materials.

Image removed.An example of a suitable application for acrylic resin dispersions is the binding of natural fibers such as wood, flax, hemp or sisal.  Typically, the application is used in the production of shaped panels for automobile interiors.  Now, raw materials can be resinated in different ways.  It will provide a great variety of other natural and man-made fibers of the nonwoven industry or even granulated materials, which can be bonded with the new binder system.

Written by Patricia Mroczek
810-762-9533
pmroczek@kettering.edu