Technyl® 4EARTH

With manufacturers eager to reduce their environmental footprint, demand for recycled plastics for commercial applications is growing exponentially. Until recently, however, the inconsistent performance of recycled materials hindered their use in the most rigorous applications, including in the automotive sector. DOMO Engineered Materials’ TECHNYL® 4EARTH® has broken through this barrier, opening a new dimension of applications. 

Providing leading-edge performance comparable to traditional polyamide 6 and 6.6 (PA6 and PA66), TECHNYL® 4EARTH® is commercially available in various grades with up to 50% glass or carbon fiber content. With TECHNYL® 4EARTH®, DOMO’s goal is to accelerate the use of sustainable plastics by providing top-performing grades to meet the most demanding technical requirements and broaden the scope of target applications.  

• Reduced environmental impact 
• High performance properties akin to traditional virgin-based grades 
• Stable and high quality 
• Material tolerance and variation in glass fiber content on level with virgin grades 
• Hot runner moldable 
• Excellent mechanical properties 
• Good aging performance 
• Secured supply

DOMO’s patented process transforms stable sources of post-industrial technical textiles from the production of automotive airbags, carpets, clothing and film for the packaging industry into premium quality engineering plastics. Depending on the raw material used, DOMO adopts different recycling technologies, offering environmental benefits while still providing top-quality products and solutions with technical performance comparable to traditional TECHNYL® grades.  

TECHNYL® 4EARTH® reduces the environmental impact of polyamide parts to levels never before achieved. Life cycle assessment shows outstanding results, with up to 80% less CO2 emissions, up to 70% less water and up to 60% less energy consumption. The solutions based on automotive airbag waste are derived from Move 4EARTH®, the award-winning project supported by the European Commission (LIFE+ program). 

Regulatory and economic incentives are driving automotive, building and construction, and electronics manufacturers to seek sources of recycled plastic for use in their sustainable product designs. Responding to this demand with TECHNYL® 4EARTH®, DOMO is generating significant interest in the market. Commercial applications are accelerating as more and more brands and markets discover the benefits of this innovative range of high-quality recycled engineering plastics. Major manufacturers, such as Volvo, Renault and Philips, are targeting recycled content of 20% and more in their products in the coming years, with Kärcher, the leading maker of pressure washers, aiming for a more ambitious 60%. 

DOMO’s proprietary recycling technology ensures both consistent material quality and security of supply to meet fast-growing demand for more sustainable, high-performance applications in a wide range of markets. TECHNYL® 4EARTH® is commercially available in various grades with up to 50% glass or carbon fiber content, with glycol resistant as well as halogen-free flame retardant (HFFR) grades under development. 

TECHNYL® 4EARTH® significantly reduces the environmental impact of polyamide parts, with cradle-to-gate assessments showing outstanding results compared to traditional compounds:  

• Carbon footprint reduced by up to 80% 
• Energy consumption cut by up to 60% 
• Water use decreased by up to 70%  

DOMO’s goal with TECHNYL® 4EARTH® is to accelerate the use of sustainable plastics by providing better-performing grades to meet today’s ever more demanding technical requirements and broaden the scope of target applications, including: 

• Automotive market: bearing cages, gear-shift housings, oil pans, oil separators, cylinder head covers, air intake manifolds, transmission covers, belt protection and tensioners, and more 
• Electrical appliances: household, gardening and do-it-yourself appliances, and more 
• Consumer and industrial goods: thermal breaks/window profiles, furniture components, industrial components, sports and leisure equipment, farming tools, two-wheelers, and more 

As manufacturers will need to redesign production to make it easier to dismantle and recycle goods going forward, integrating the end-of-life phase into manufacturing will be a key pillar of the circular economy. The TECHNYL® 4EARTH® technology provides a new industrial perspective to automotive makers and other OEMs to better enable the reuse of plastic scrap and waste. 

Combining functional efficiency with aesthetic qualities, TECHNYL®  integrates DOMO’s technical expertise with an innovative approach to development, production and testing. 

DOMO’s technical development and service centers will help you design the exact solution you need to respect your product requirements, cost constraints, and production considerations. By providing local support around the world while harnessing a global network, DOMO’s experts help you meet your particular requirements.  

In addition to a robust portfolio of sustainable polymers, customers can benefit from DOMO’s Service HUB®, a unique platform of connected services and dedicated experts. This includes MMI TECHNYL® Design predictive simulation, which brings together advanced services to provide customer innovation with enhanced capabilities and synergies, eco-design agility and cost optimization. As a TECHNYL® customer, you can choose from among a complete portfolio of services – from material selection to prototyping – to accelerate your time-to-market. 

Get in touch to learn more about how the TECHNYL® 4EARTH® sustainable breakthrough for recycled polyamide can turn your vision of environmentally-friendly design into reality!