Ecodesign for sustainable co-engineering
Ecodesign as initiative for a more sustainable product development process.
Whether it’s ensuring that all materials are fully compliant with international regulations, suppliers use the most sustainable transport methods, or new materials are carefully researched and investigated, Datwyler takes a proactive approach to sustainability, taking bold steps now so that we can all enjoy the future.
Electrification opportunities
There is a willingness to move towards a more environmentally friendly production process rooted in the electrification of the automotive industry, which requires components to perform more effectively in less aggressive environments.
While combustion engines require robust components able to cope with extreme temperatures, various oils or urea and vibration, electric vehicles are less demanding.
This opens up a number of opportunities for new materials, such as thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), which are said to be a sustainable elastomer alternative that’s ideal for the new electrified world. Applying the concept of Eco-Design to these novel component developments is important and introduces new ideas such as ease of dismantling and end-of-life recycling.
Right now, the electric vehicle sector is in its first phase, developing the ideal electric drive unit and battery system. But once it achieves that, there’s little doubt that its attention will move onto improving the sustainability of its vehicles. And once they do, Datwyler will be ready with the most effective solutions.
Success for Datwyler sustainability projects in Mobility
Datwyler’s research into sustainable materials and the reduction of waste has resulted in a series of successful projects that reduce not only our environmental impact but the impact of our customers.
With the mobility sector going through a huge global transformation, our products are at the heart of vehicle electrification. And while Datwyler materials and components are making significant contributions to the efficiency and performance of electric vehicles, we are also working hard to reduce the environmental impact of our value chain.
Whether it’s increasing the amount of recycled material in our products or replacing conventional materials with materials from renewable sources, we have a number of projects that will increase the sustainability of our production processes, as well as processes within other industries.
Reducing waste silicone
As one of the largest waste materials during the production of elastomer products, we generate a lot of silicone scrap across our processes. Rather than sending this for disposal, we send it to a third-party company to grind down into a fine powder. This powder can then be used as a raw ingredient for new products.
Since 2012, we have been using an increasing amount of silicone recycled from our own processes, and are currently working on a project that aims to use the whole amount in production. Not only does this reduce the amount of scrap material from the manufacturing process, but it reduces the cost of production, a reduction that can be passed on to customers.
Carbon black from waste tires
As well as using waste material from our own processes, we are also using waste from other industries to manufacture our products. One of the main recycled materials we use is reclaimed carbon black recovered from waste tires. Every year, over one billion tires are disposed of around the world, and anything we can do to reduce that amount of waste will help both the tire industry and the planet.
But it’s not just the carbon black from waste tires that can be reused. We also use rubber powder – the result of grinding vulcanized rubber from tires – and reclaimed rubber, the result of ‘devulcanization’ through the application of heat and chemical agents before the rubber is vulcanized again.
Right now, we use all three types of recycled rubber in one of our products, and have recently begun work on using recycled carbon black to produce parts for the aftermarket. The range of components we can produce using the rubber from waste tires is only going to increase as we refine our production processes and supply chains improve.
We are also using waste from other industries to manufacture our products.
Sustainable silica
Another key area for research is using alternative raw materials that come from renewable sources rather than single-use compounds. One of the most exciting is rice husk silica being used to replace conventional precipitated silica – a research project we began in 2020.
Extracting the silica from the rice husk is a complex series of steps that begins with burning the husks in a combustion unit to produce ash made up of 90% silicon dioxide. Alkaline leaching then separates the metal oxides and carbon from the materials, leaving highly purified silica.
After a number of adjustments in the production process, Datwyler has improved the physical properties of the elastomer, and has just received approval from one of its customers to replace conventional silica with rice husk silica in EPDM compounds for a specific component.
Renewable cellulose fillers
We have also carried out research into swapping petroleum-based aramid fibres with a by-product based on one of the world’s most renewable materials: cellulose. A structural component of all green plants, as well as many forms of algae, cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer in the world and has the potential to be used as a filler in rubber compounds. This marks a giant leap forward for elastomer sustainability.
Cellulose is a structural component of all green plants and the most abundant organic polymer.
Together with the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), Datwyler has developed a process to modify microfibrillated cellulose (m-MFC), which can then be used to replace conventional fillers as aramid fibers to reinforce elastomer compounds.
Trials of the new, more sustainable compound found good compatibility between the modified- MFC filler and the elastomer matrix, with even better reinforcing than conventional petroleum-based fibers. Based on these promising results, Datwyler has patented the modification process and expects to expand its research into cellulose-based fillers and the scalability of the process.
Author
Dr. Jakub Kadlcak
Head of Materials Development and Surface Technologies
Mobility and General Industry
More about
Datwyler patents sustainable cellulose-based fillers
Datwyler, together with the development partner Empa, has developed and patented an industrial process for surface modification of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC).
Mobility 
Material expertise 
Sustainability