http://www.greenoptimistic.com/2014/03/31/wood-based-biofore-concept-car-reduces-petroleum-usage/
[Most of the information content is in the video in the on-line article.]
Wood-Based Biofore Concept Car Reduces Petroleum Usage
By Benji Jerew March 31, 2014
Modern vehicles contain, on average, over 300 pounds of plastic. Of
course, most modern plastics are made from petroleum, which opens up a
whole new world of pollution and emissions.
Plastic pollution, not only from its manufacture, but also from lack of
recycling, means a lot of petroleum goes to waste. In 2012, the EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency) reported that some 32 million tons of
plastic waste was generated, but only 9% of it was recycled.
Last year, for the 15 million cars produced in the US, about 2.5 million
tons of plastic was used, which translates to about 1.2 billion gallons
of crude petroleum. Add to this the hundreds of billions of gallons of
gasoline and diesel fuel that will be used in those cars during their
lifetimes, and it’s an emissions nightmare.
The Biofore Concept Car removes a significant portion of plastic content
from its vehicle, and plastic’s associated petroleum footprint, by
making use of a new wood-based composite materials. UPM, a Finnish
forestry company, specializes in wood products of all kinds, including
pulp, paper, and construction materials. In the Biofore, traditional
plastic surfaces are replaced by UPM Grada, a thermoformed wood
material, such as in the floor, console, door panels, and seat backs.
UPM Formi, a wood-based biocomposite material using minimal percentages
of plastic, is also used for trim pieces and body parts.
As if significantly reducing petroleum-based plastics from the body and
trim of the Biofore Concept Car wasn’t enough, the car doesn’t burn
petroleum-based fuels to run. Instead, the Biofore runs on a wood-based
biodiesel, UPM BioVerno, in a tiny 1.2 ℓ engine. UPM says its biodiesel
can also be used in any modern diesel engine, to run carbon-neutral.
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