Advances in Automotive Polymer Applications and Recycling

The cost and comfort pressure make the automotive giants to strive for more and this requires continual innovation. The polymers are finding their way deep inside most of the applications primarily because of low weight and relatively better application properties. The average global plastic penetration is 120kg/vehicle and average Indian plastic penetration is 60 kg/ vehicle. A wide variety of polymers are used in vehicles. Polyurethane and polypropylene dominate for automotive components, with over 1 billion pounds used for this purpose in 2000. The upward turn in the plastic penetration is because of development of new polymers for automotive applications while the tighter regulations and environmental concerns have brought recycling in to focus. Approximately 82 per cent of an average vehicle’s weight gets recycled. The materials obtained from recycling give birth to the new parts, jobs to million and environment friendly surrounding to live in. The focus of present study is to give comprehensive review of polymeric foams and their applications in the area of automotive comfort and safety.