By Liz White, UT staffBurscheid, Germany-A new recycling processes for glass-fibre reinforced instrument panels with PVC skin and polyurethane foam is one method interior supplier Johnson Controls Inc. will use to cut 480 tonnes of production waste each year. Two new material recycling processes - one for natural fibre materials and one for glass-fibre reinforced plastics - will dispense with thermal processing of this production waste, JCI said. At this year's Frankfurt, Germany, automotive show, JCI said, it will show how such recycling solutions could be used in series production. For glass-fibre-reinforced plastics such as those used in instrument panels, the scrap from the instrument panel carrier is ground and the glass-fibre-reinforced substrate material is separated from the PVC skin and PU foam. The reclaimed glass-fibre-reinforced material has technical properties very similar to those of new material, and can be used in the manufacture of components for the same part. Currently in concept development is a plan to produce air ducts from the recycled material. Further applications are possible in the future, according to the company. "
