Toyota Japan Develops "Bioplastics"

In most people's minds, the raw material used to make plastics is oil, but Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan changed this traditional method and succeeded in making plastics from natural materials such as plants at the end of last year. This is the first time in the world of automotive materials.
It is reported that this new material, tentatively called "bioplastic", is made by mixing kenaf and polylactic acid made from plant extracts as raw materials. Toyota plans to use it as a material for automotive interior decoration since 2003.
Kenaf is native to India, and people use it primarily to produce paper and cloth. Its ability to absorb carbon dioxide is stronger than that of ordinary trees. It is an environmentally friendly plant.
When plants grow, they need to absorb carbon dioxide. The amount of carbon dioxide released from the combustion of plastics made from plants as raw materials should theoretically be equal to the amount of carbon dioxide that plants absorb, so it will not increase the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Oil is generated by ancient plants in the underground for a long period of time. When plants grow, they absorb the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at that time. The carbon dioxide generated by burning plastics made of petroleum is discharged into the current atmosphere.
Toyota has always been committed to the development and popularization of environmentally friendly vehicles such as fuel cell vehicles and hybrid fuel vehicles. This new material is also an important part of the company's implementation of environmental protection policies. It is reported that the company plans to study the production of polylactic acid using sweet potatoes that can be mass produced in Japan, in order to reduce production costs and enable new technologies to be used in mass production.