PalmerParticles(tm) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
June 1, 2022
At the time of this writing, we welcome 210 subscribers to Palmer’s monthly publication: “In a nutshell.” This is our fourth edition, and it is time to talk “green” where “green” is seldom considered: Friction Materials. Two weeks ago, John Maxwell, Palmer Applications Chemist, presented his poster entitled, “Evaluation of Environmental Impact from Production of Cashew Nutshell Liquid based Friction Particle through Life Cycle Assessment,” at EuroBrake 2022. Up until this point, “green” friction materials meant asbestos-free, or copper-free, or containing minimal to no heavy metals.
Mr. Maxwell’s evaluation found that PalmerParticles™ 6000 series (low-furfural, cashew condensation polymers) consumed 15.14 megajoules of energy to create one kilogram of finished product. And, that one kilogram of finished product generated 0.36 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents. The relatively low environmental footprint of PalmerParticles™ isn’t surprising. The two chief reactants in the 6000 series, cashew nutshell liquid and furfuraldehyde, are both derived from renewable carbon sources. Frankly, the transportation of both raw material commodities, since neither is manufactured in the USA in any appreciable quantities, is the main obstacle to reducing the environmental impact even further. Come on, southern Florida: Start planting cashew trees, please!
Automotive engineers are intensely focused today on a future Electric Vehicle (EV) world. “Light-weighting” vehicles will be instrumental as batteries are still super heavy. With PalmerParticles™, compounders can take advantage of friction particles’ relatively low specific gravity while still achieving higher renewable carbon content. In the end, the level of addition of PalmerParticles™ in future brake compounds will largely depend on any changing performance requirements in application. Will temperature resistance in brakes be as important in an EV world? We’ve heard both arguments, but if temperature resistance becomes less important, organic materials like cashew will play a larger role in new formulations.
Congratulations to John Maxwell and the Palmer R&D team.