据Fastcoexist网站报道，为了在汽车上使用更为先进的可回收材料，福特目前正设法使用由碳排放物制成的新型聚合塑料。
在过去四年里，福特与一家制造商一直在合作研发以二氧化碳为原料制成的泡沫。很快，他们又开始研究以二氧化碳制成的塑料。这种塑料可以取代石油制品部件。
这将每年减少6亿吨石油消耗。福特高级可持续技术负责人黛比·米莱夫斯基（Debbie Mielewski）称：“正常来说一辆车需要30磅泡沫以及300磅塑料，现在一辆车的10%都由塑料制成。我们正努力用塑料替换金属，以实现轻量化、节约燃料的目标，所以汽车中的塑料比例将会逐年递增。”
新型塑料将应用于靠枕、扶手、车门以及脚垫上。新型二氧化碳塑料还将用于汽车其他部位所需硬质塑料的生产。
福特在过去15年里一直致力于研发替代材料。北美地区每辆轿车和卡车都已经使用了大豆泡沫。椰子纤维也应用于卡车衬里，回收衣物还有塑料瓶则应用于脚垫及其它织物之中。
推出新材料伊始，福特都会面临质疑。米莱夫斯基称：“这已经是我们团队第四次被质疑了。”刚开始，福特尝试研发出二氧化碳占50%的新型材料，但效果并不理想。经过多年与高校和制造商的合作，如今的新型塑料看起来与普通塑料无异，并通过了福特的筛选测试。
米莱夫斯基称，有些二氧化碳产品的原料来自于空气中的污染物，但目前这些污染物主要来自于发电厂，“目前最好的收集方法是从密集废气流中收集，否则废气仍会扩散至环境中。收集大气中的废气将会消耗更多能源。”
这项新技术全面推广还需要5年的检验期，新的供应商和聚合物制造商Novomer还将原有生产设施进行更新换代。但从长远来看，福特可能会彻底淘汰汽车中石油制品部件。米莱夫斯基称：“我们在短时间内在该领域已经取得如此多的突破，我们认为汽车的每个塑料部件更加环保、绿色，并且可以找到最适合的原材料来制造这些部件。
福特公司也正在慢慢寻找化石燃料替代品。尽管该公司目前只有一款电动汽车，但其计划到2020年增加13款电动车型。（以上转自台州车天下，仅供参考）
以下是福特官网的报道：
Preserving Mother Earth: Ford First Automaker to Use Captured CO2 to Develop Foam and Plastic for Vehicles | Ford Media Center
DEARBORN, Mich., May 17, 2016 – Ford Motor Company is the first automaker to formulate and test new foam and plastic components using carbon dioxide as feedstock. Researchers expect to see the new biomaterials in Ford production vehicles within five years.
Formulated with up to 50 percent CO2-based polyols, the foam is showing promise as it meets rigorous automotive test standards. It could be employed in seating and underhood applications, potentially reducing petroleum use by more than 600 million pounds annually – enough to fill nearly 35,000 American homes. CO2-derived foam will further reduce the use of fossil fuels in Ford vehicles and increase the presence of sustainable foam in the automaker’s global lineup.
“Ford is working aggressively to lower its environmental impact by reducing its use of petroleum-based plastic and foam,” said Debbie Mielewski, Ford senior technical leader of sustainability. “This technology is exciting because it is contributing to solving a seemingly insurmountable problem – climate change. We are thrilled to be leading the charge toward reducing carbon emissions and the effects of climate change.”
Carbon emissions and climate change are of growing concern to world leaders as a staggering 2.4 million pounds of CO2 are released into the atmosphere globally per second. Plastic manufacturing accounts for nearly 4 percent of the world’s oil use, according to British Plastic Federation. Ford researchers are hopeful the company’s early steps to use captured carbon in innovative ways will help achieve the long-term goals to reduce global warming recently set in the UN Paris Agreement.
For nearly two decades, researchers have worked successfully to develop sustainable materials for Ford products. In North America, soy foam is in every Ford vehicle. Coconut fiber backs trunk liners; recycled tires and soy are in mirror gaskets; recycled T-shirts and denim go into carpeting; and recycled plastic bottles become REPREVE fabric used in the 2016 F-150.
Ford began working with several companies, suppliers and universities in 2013 to find applications for captured CO2. Among them is Novomer – a New York-based company that utilizes carbon dioxide captured from manufacturing plants to produce innovative materials. Through a system of conversions, Novomer produces a polymer than can be formulated into a variety of materials including foam and plastic that are easily recyclable.
“Novomer is excited by the pioneering work Ford has completed with our Converge® CO2-based polyols,” said Peter Shepard, Novomer chief business officer. “It takes bold, innovative companies such as Ford to enable new technologies to become mainstream products.”
Ford is pleased to be in the vanguard – the first automaker – to embark on a course toward reducing carbon emissions.
“At Ford, we’re aggressively developing new, more sustainable ways to produce high-quality products, with an eye toward preserving and improving our world,” said Mielewski.
以上内容仅供参考学习。