Recycling is a top priority for automakers, and progress continues. For example, Jaguar Land Rover recently announced that it has made further progress by successfully recycling polyurethane seat foams for use in the production of new seats.
The material is currently undergoing full production and will be trialled first in pre-production cars early next year. JLR claims this is a first in the automotive sector.
The company is by no means the last when it comes to recycling. Jaguar Land Rover, in collaboration with its manufacturing partners, has implemented large-scale recycling of aluminum scrap at its stamping plants for more than a decade.
It also incorporated 16kg of recycled plastic into the original 2011 Range Rover Evoque.
These materials were used in the manufacture of front linings, seat covers, the center console, wheel arch linings, and other components, in addition to each car containing 21 kg of high-quality renewable materials, such as cotton and cardboard.
Recycling polyurethane foam may prove even more challenging and is the result of a collaboration between JLR, Dow Mobility Sciences and car seat manufacturer Adient.
Ongoing research at the JLR Circularity Lab in Gaydon has played a crucial role. The idea of recycling everything is attractive but it is not always possible, especially when it comes to mixed materials.
Sometimes it is difficult to separate them effectively, if possible at all. Some recycled plastics are never returned to their original use, so materials used in ‘Class A’ finishes indoors can be ground up and recycled, for example, into shoe rugs.
JLR’s circular laboratory feeds data directly into the vehicle development process at an early stage to assess the feasibility of bringing different materials back into the supply chain at the same level of quality.
One example is rethinking the chemistry used in plastic bumpers, with researchers finding that the same quality can be achieved using fewer polymers.
Jaguar Land Rover estimates that doing so could save the equivalent of 17,500kg of CO2 over a single model line of 250,000 vehicles, in addition to a cost saving of £560,000.
When it comes to full production, what Jaguar Land Rover calls the ‘circular seat’, which includes recycled foam, is expected to halve emissions by up to 44kg of CO2, or greenhouse gas equivalent, per seat.
Polyurethane in general is widely used in automotive interiors, perhaps even more so today due to the growing demand for premium alternatives to leather other than similar leathers.
Although they are not foams, many are based on polyurethane, and the material has been used for decades.