Burgos, Spain — Grupo Antolin, an automotive interiors company, is using natural oil polyols (NOPs) as the sandwich layer in an automotive roof liner construction.
The company said it is using the polyol, based on non-food castor oil, for 15% of the new polyurethane formulation.
Headliners made with the second-generation NOP offer greater weight reduction, lower odour emissions and improvements in mechanical acoustic properties than conventional materials, Antolin claimed.
The new headliner is built with a core of semi-rigid polyurethane foam with two layers of fibreglass and adhesive attaching it to the face fabric. 'This foam stands out for its great versatility, its good mechanical and acoustic properties, thermal insulation and for its low weight,’ the company said.
In future, Antolin said the product could be combined with other renewable materials such as natural or artificial fibre reinforcement instead of fibreglass. This could take the amount of the roof liner made with renewable materials up to 40% of its weight.
