While iconic images of belching smokestacks and flaming blast furnaces churning out massive quantities of iron and steel once symbolized America’s automotive and industrial might, automakers nowadays are taking a decidedly different route by adopting environmentally sensitive manufacturing methods and constructing cars containing recycled materials and other ecologically friendly components.
Statistics cited by Ford reveal that one in four adults in the U.S. are “living more sustainable lifestyles,” thus driving a heightened desire for patronizing “companies that are more socially responsible and buying products that are healthier for people and the planet.”
Over the past six years, Ford has slashed the amount of energy required to produce each vehicle by 22 percent, with plans to further reduce energy consumption by an additional 25 percent by 2016, according to the company’s recently released 13th annual Sustainability Report.
Electricity and water consumption, pollutants and landfill waste have seen significant declines via a series of factory upgrades and engineering innovations.
A new “three-wet” paint application process at its Michigan Assembly Plant, for example, consumes far less electrical power while easing CO2 and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions.
“Sustainability has moved from the periphery to the center of our strategy for succeeding in the marketplace and helping to address global challenges,” says Robert Brown, Ford’s vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering.
Technologies being applied include soy foam seat cushions and head restraints, wheat straw-filled plastic, castor oil foam in instrument panels, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns on seat covers and natural-fiber plastic for interior components.
Replacing petroleum-based fillers with soy protein fillers in rubber for items such as door seals, floor mats, gaskets and splash shields are other initiatives.
“A decade ago, a ‘great’ product – one that led in the marketplace – wasn’t necessarily a ‘green’ one,” Brown points out. “Now, in an era of volatile fuel prices, consumers expect outstanding fuel economy as a given. We have steadily cut the carbon footprint of the vehicles we produce, and we have measurably reduced their environmental footprint in myriad other ways, too.”
Partnering with the Rocky Mountain Institute, an energy-conscious research and advocacy organization, Ford’s “Go Green Dealership Sustainability Program” is a voluntary collaborative effort providing “a variety of energy-efficient improvement options regardless of the current age and design of the facility.” The project “allows all dealers the opportunity to participate in improving the energy efficiency of their facility and gives them flexibility in making choices that are right for them and their dealership.”
Recycling rugs
Greener alternatives are continually being sought for various operations throughout the entire company, says product sustainability manager Carrie Majeske, citing the use of cotton gleaned from recycled clothing as carpet backing and sound-absorption materials for interior quietness. (About two pairs of retired blue jeans end up being repurposed in each Focus that rolls off the line.)
“One of Ford’s key goals is to use more recycled or renewable materials without compromising performance or durability,” she explains. “Recycled content is a way to divert waste from landfills and reduce the impact of mining virgin material.”
Majeske goes on to observe that “it’s possible you could be sitting on that pair of old blue jeans you wore a few years ago. Right now the cotton that we use isn’t something people would particularly want to look at, so we use it on parts of the vehicle that are not visible, but it’s very useful in noise insulation and sound deadening and softening things – and it provides good padding, and using cotton eliminates us from using something that’s petroleum-based or potentially has to be mined or processed otherwise.”
“Wherever petroleum-based materials exist – in plastic, rubber, foam, film or fabric – we are looking to minimize its proportion and replace it with a sustainable material,” concurs Dr. Cynthia Flanigan, a scientist at Ford’s plastics research department.
The seat fabric in most of the new or redesigned vehicles now consists of at least 25 percent post-industrial or post-consumer recycled content. A total of 37 fabrics currently meet the company’s engineering requirements.
Seat foam made with soy oil reduces both petroleum use and CO2 emissions, and a seat fabric containing a fiber made from recycled plastic water bottles is being used in the Focus Electric, Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi. Nonwoven headliner fabrics contain 50 to 75 percent recycled yarns, depending on the color. Recycled nylon is used in certain underhood components, including air cleaner housings, engine fans, fan shrouds, HVAC temperature valves, engine covers, cam covers and carbon canisters.
“By working with Wellman and Dana, Ford has found a way to bring green applications to a new, unique location in our vehicles,” says Brett Hinds, Ford’s manager of engine design. “This single use has made an incredible impact, and we’re continuing to look for ways to expand the use.”
The cylinder head covers are used on the 3-liter Duratec engine in the Fusion and Escape. They can also be found on the 5-liter engine, which powers the Mustang and F-150.
“We didn’t have to make compromises for this application,” notes Roy Ford, an engine sealing supervisor. “With a fixed raw material cost that delivers cost savings compared to oil, along with the green benefit, this application adds to the ways Ford is minimizing our impact on the environment.”
The cover is the first automotive product of its kind manufactured from post-consumer recycled nylon. Wellman grinds used nylon carpeting into fiber and recaptures the material through a patented proprietary process. The result is a high-quality nylon resin that Dana then uses to create cylinder head covers through its injection-molding process.
Seeking soy solutions
Ford and Lear Corp. have introduced a head restraint foam that has 25 percent of the polyol replaced with soy. Seventy-five percent of Ford’s North American vehicles feature bio-foam in the head restraints, including the Ford F-150, Taurus, Explorer and Fusion, and all of the automaker’s vehicles built in North America use bio-foam content in the seat cushions and backs.
“We are continuously looking for new ways to expand our use of bio-based foam, and head restraints are a perfect example,” says Debbie Mielewski, technical leader at the plastics research unit. “It’s a new location with higher soy content. We’re not stopping at head restraints, either. There are still many other applications in which traditional foam can be converted to bio-based soy foam on vehicles, such as energy-absorption areas, steering wheels and armrests.”
“Our success with the introduction of sustainable products confirms customer acceptance of the technology and the need for green automotive interior innovation,” notes Ash Galbreath, Lear’s director of advanced materials and comfort engineering.
Ford continues to research the use of other renewable sources for foam, including palm, rapeseed and sunflower oil in markets around the world where those commodities are locally available and cost effective.
About 2 million discarded plastic pop bottles are set to be used in seating for the Focus Electric and other new vehicles via the production of REPREVE-based fabrics made from the equivalent of 22 recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles in each car.
“Ford is committed to delivering vehicles with leading fuel efficiency while targeting at least 25 percent recycled content in seat fabric across our lineup,” says Carol Kordich, Ford’s lead designer of sustainable materials.
“After decades of education, the United States PET bottle recycling rate is only at 29 percent, about half the rate of Europe,” reports Roger Berrier, president and COO of Unifi, Inc. “We hope this recycling initiative with Ford will help raise visibility around the importance of recycling with a goal to drive recycling rates to 100 percent, diverting millions of plastic bottles from entering the waste stream and potentially back into REPREVE-branded fibers.”
Working with Elgin, Ill.-based Plasmatreat U.S., LP, Ford is inaugurating a windshield installation technique that takes less than a minute to accomplish while being less costly, simpler and more eco-conscious than current practices.
“The new patented process has the potential to reduce costs because it requires far less material to create the ultra-thin bond coating, and the fully automated process is much less labor-intensive,” says Larry Haack at Ford’s research and innovation division. “This new process also lessens the use of chemicals, including VOCs, which is good for the environment.”
The pollution-fighting garden, established five years ago, has grown to become “a field of green” where Canada geese, mallard ducks and killdeer nest and raise their offspring.
“You wouldn’t have seen this when the Rouge was just black top, concrete and steel,” recounts plant manager Rob Webber. “The greening has transformed it.”
Sedum, a drought-resistant perennial groundcover, covers more than 10 acres of the roof. The plant life helps diminish storm-water runoff and provides insulation, reducing cooling and heating demands by 5 percent. It also absorbs carbon dioxide to mitigate greenhouse gases and “blazed a trail for others to follow” as a highly visible example for other industrial operations.
“Before Ford did it, if someone said they could do a 10.5-acre living roof they would have been looked at as if they were speaking in tongues,” says William McDonough, whose Charlottesville, Va.-based architectural firm assisted with the Rouge revitalization. “Now, they can say. ‘If Ford can do it, we can do it, too.’”
For more information, visit www.ford.com, www.wellmaner.com, www.dana.com, www.lear.com, www.unifi.com and www.plasmatreat.com.
