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NEC Online Video	Bioplastic
Innovation for tomorrow Venue mgt. solution Grid Storage Platform Virtualised desktop Bioplastic Biometrics ID Solution Biometrics Security Solution Mobile Internet
	NEC is committed to corporate social responsibility. That means that NEC is committed to the environment. The company is aware that the use of petroleum based material like plastics eats up 20% of the world's oil production. THE CHALLENGE In Tsukuba, Japan, NEC have set this as their number one challenge. They are researching new materials – bioplastic. Plastics made from plants. They began with a plastic made from corn. As the corn grows, it extracts carbon dioxide from the air. This plastic is renewable and recyclable. But its properties aren't good enough for all our everyday uses, in particular for electronic products. It's not heat resistant and, under pressure, it cracks. Dr. Masatoshi Iji and his team wanted to discover a super bioplastic that could be made without using petrochemicals. THE SOLUTION Amazingly they found the answer in a remarkable plant called Kenaf. DR MASATOSHI IJI: In order to rely on plant-based materials – bioplastics - we had to choose and develop new additives. In this sense, it was extremely difficult. Kenaf takes 6 months to go from seed to harvest and just one field, such as here at the Nature Trust, absorbs twice the carbon dioxide compared to the same area of rain forest in the Amazon. THE TECHNOLOGY By manipulating the fibers of Kenaf and adding them to basic bioplastic, they discovered that, not only was it environmentally friendly, but it had other remarkable properties. It had turned into a super bioplastic. DR MASATOSHI IJI: For example, we were extremely astonished to discover that products mixed with Kenaf have heat resistance and strength of more than 1.7 times that of normal bioplastics. The team also developed a new bioplastic with an extraordinary magical property – shape memory. Apply heat and force and it can be moulded into any shape - heat it again, and it returns back to its original form.　An added benefit – it melts at high temperatures, which means it is also recyclable. DR MASATOSHI IJI: This is a real first! A new intelligent bioplastic. It's the first time that bioplastics have both functions…It's recyclable and it has shape memory. This is something truly original! THE BENEFITS DoCoMo's‘Eco' phone, made from NEC's Kenaf-based plastic, is already on the market. By 2010, 10% of NEC's electronic products will be made from bioplastic. That means a significant reduction in petroleum depletion. And as bioplastic is also biodegradable, it means a reduction too in wasteful landfill. Bioplastics is just one area in which NEC is committing resources in order to develop far reaching solutions for a healthier and safer environment.
		NEC's breakthrough in creating a heat-resistant, bioplastic with reinforced strength. Duration: [ 03:16 ]
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