Since plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere biosynthetic rubber achieves about an 20% reduction in material lifecycle carbon emissions when compared to petroleum-based hydrin rubber.
Toyota will become the world’s first automaker to use biohydrin next month, a newly-developed biosynthetic rubber, in engine and drive system hoses. Jointly developed by Toyota, Zeon Corp., and Sumitomo Riko Co., biohydrin rubber is manufactured using plant-derived bio-materials instead of epichlorohydrin, a commonly-used epoxy compound.
Since plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere during their lifespan, biosynthetic rubber achieves an estimated 20% reduction in material lifecycle carbon emissions when compared to petroleum-based hydrin rubber.
Production of biohydrin rubber, according to Toyota, uses a variety of compound technologies for bonding plant-derived materials with petroleum-derived materials at the molecular level. These technologies ensure that biohydrin rubber provides the levels of oil resistance, heat resistance, and durability required for vacuum sensing hoses in engines and drive systems.
Biohydrin rubber is similar to conventional petroleum-based hydrin rubber in terms of quality and mass producibility, says Toyota, enabling large-scale use of biosynthetic rubber in commercial vehicles. In the future, Toyota plans to expand the usage of biohydrin to other high-performance rubber components, such as brake hoses and fuel line hoses.
