The plastics contribute to the energetic saving and guarantee a sustainable future

plasticsEurope, association that represents to the European manufacturers of plastic raw materials, was present the past 28 May in the ‘III Forum SusChem – Sustainable Chemicals, innovative and competitive companies'. The association has been represented by Juan Ruiz, director of Energetic Efficiency, the one who has centred his intervention in the energetic saving thanks to the utilisation of plastic in containers, in automotive sector and construction. The table of debate, titled ‘Efficiency and Design', has explained also with the presence of Ignasi Cubiñá, general director of Echo-Intelligence Growth, Juan Miguel Moreno, director of Chemical Technology of Repsol and Rinske go Hainingen, director Senior European Subjects of Akzo Nobel. To this event have attended industrial leaders, responsible of R&D, scientists, responsible of marketing and responsible of innovation of the chemical industry and his chain of value with the aim to debate and put in common new processes and products more efficient, safer and more respectful with the environingingment.

During his report, Juan Ruiz has explained how the plastics contribute to the energetic saving and to the reduction of the broadcasts of CO₂, key factors for the Circular Economy, one of the main subjects of the Forum SusChem. Juan Ruiz stood out the importance of this material in the sector of the container and the packaging, since more than 50% of all the European products are packed in plastic. If we substituted them by containers of other materials, would duplicate the necessary power along all his cycle of life, that is to say, would consume 1.240 million GJ more to the year in Europe, the equivalent to 27 million tonnes of crude or the cost in heating of 20 million homes. These energetic savings that allow us the plastic containers, also translate in savings of broadcasts of CO₂ (61 million tonnes /year).

Besides, the plastics are the best material to conserve the cool foods by more time. Like example, a vegetable is used to to keep cool during 3 days; with so only 1,5 gr. Of film of plastic achieve that it keep cool until 14 days. This is only a sample of how the plastic containers contribute to diminish considerably the waste of foods. In fact, in a recent report, the FAO indicates that one of the reasons that explain the losses and the waste of foods in the developing countries is the fault of suitable solutions for the packaging of the same. In Europe, only 3% of the products that arrive to the customers spoils between the production and the transport thanks to the containers, in front of 40% in the developing countries.

The automotive sector is another of the areas in which the plastics allow important savings of power and of broadcasts of CO₂. In fact, thanks to the versatility of these materials, a modern car has more than 2.000 pieces and plastic components that allow him be lighter and more efficient and like this save 750 litres during the 150.000 km. Of his useful life. To European level, this saving translates in 12 million tonnes of fuel and 30 million tonnes of CO₂. Besides, the plastic solutions in automotive sector allow to increase the hygiene so much of the occupants as of the pedestrians with equipments of passive hygiene, like the airbags or belts inflables, and of active hygiene like detectors of obstacles and systems of braked assisted.

In matter of construction, plasticsEurope has set up recently the project Everest, through the cual pretends to boost the rehabilitation of the residential sector in Spain. The main aim of this ambitious project is to identify the main objective barriers and subjective that hamper at present the rehabilitation of houses and design the strategies to demolish them. In words of Juan Ruiz, “the subjective barriers to the renewal of houses are been due to technical of obsolete construction, that generate a lot of annoyances and very little confidence in the quality and time of execution of a work. With Everest what pretend is to boost a renewal of quality, properly scheduled and applying innovative methods that guarantee the full satisfaction of the consumer".