IHK Dresden: Workshop discussion

Together with the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the Dresden Chamber of Crafts, we have been offering the "Workshop Talks" series of events at the Zittau campus since 2014. In the current workshop discussion, we want to turn our attention to a possible replacement for plastics in technical components/materials using natural fibers.

The Fraunhofer Plastics Center Oberlausitz and the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences are working with 25 practice partners to partially replace plastics with straw, chaff or sawdust and thus significantly improve the environmental balance of technical plastic parts.

Durable products such as side panels for car doors or ventilation pipes no longer have to be made entirely from plastic. Depending on their use, up to 40 percent residual materials can be added to them; the same applies to components made entirely from bio-based plastic. In addition to cellulose-containing wood residues, fermentation residues from biogas plants can also be considered for this purpose. At present, bioplastics are mainly produced from plants containing sugar or starch, such as rapeseed, maize and sugar beet.

At the next workshop discussion, we want to explain how all this can be done together with experts from science and industry in the large laboratory of the LaNDER³ hall and demonstrate it hands-on.