Does anyone know which Pieces of Prius are BioPlastic?

I keep seeing that another of the Prius' many innovations and claims to 'greendom' is the first use of the new Toyota Bio-Plastics made from vegetable matter.

I've been looking, but none of the plastic looks more like a vegetable to me than any other, so now I'm curious.

Also, if I get stuck in a snow drift I want to know which ones to eat til help arrives.

 

I saw some numbers on the total amount of bio-plastic produced so far and it is pretty low. Didn't seem like enough to be a majority of the Prius contents given the other things they were doing with it.

I'll have to dig more.

 

One link mentioning the "Eco-Plastic" but no specifics on Prius

http://www.toyota.com.my/index.asp?fuseact....article&aid=37

We select the most recyclable materials where possible, beginning with the body and extending to the interior trim. If we cannot find a material that meets our standards, we develop one of our own - like Toyota Super Olefin Polymer (TSOP). Compared with conventional polypropylene, TSOP is much more resistant to heat and shock, and easier to recycle. Toyota also licenses it to other automakers in Europe and North America.

During a vehicle's design stage, Toyota engineers also put considerable effort into making vehicles easier to recycle. Using heat-fusing processes, for example, reduces the need for clips and other metal fasteners. And making resin and rubber parts simplifies the sorting and recycling processes.

The new Raum features Toyota Eco-Plastic for the spare tire cover and floor mats. Toyota Eco-Plastic is made from plant sources. It is said to be "carbon neutral" since carbon released during disposal by combustion is balanced by CO2 captured during plant growth. In addition to helping reduce the greenhouse gas CO2 , Toyota Eco-Plastic can conserve fossil-fuel resources by replacing traditional petrochemical-based plastics where possible.


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There is a link from there on the Plastic Diagram that leads to a page with a BUNCH of PDF downloads on technology.


BROCHURES
Thank you for your interest. To save the PDF for offline viewing, right click on the link and save the file or shift-left click to download the file.

PDF Files

Safety, Environment & Technology
Toyota Hybrid System. 2,690 KB
Car(e) For the Earth. 13,725 KB
Toyota & Automotive Safety. 13,520 KB

MOVIES

Toyota’s TRC. hi (2,068kb) lo (896kb)
Active 4WS. hi (349kb) lo (233kb)
Vehicle Stability Control (VSC). hi (702kb) lo (365kb) Camry VSC Camry VSC Comparison Camry VSC Explained
Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS). hi (1,867kb) lo (691kb) Camry (5,159kb)
Supplemental Restraint Systems (SRS Airbags).
hi (1,530kb) lo (730kb)
Crushable body. hi (1,643kb) lo (580kb)
Side Impact Protection. hi (909kb) lo (439kb)
Toyota Super Olefin Polymer (TSOP). hi (526kb) lo (279kb)
Knock Control System (KCS). hi (1,057kb) lo (395kb)
Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI). hi (3,338kb) lo (1,409kb)
Direct-Injection. hi (954kb) lo (406kb)
Lean-Burn Engine. hi (418kb) lo (179kb)
Variable Valve Timing Intelligence (VVT-i). hi (404kb) lo (216kb)
Multi Valve Engine. hi (3,093kb) lo (1,005kb)
Direct-Injection Diesel. hi (875kb) lo (418kb)
Pure EVS. hi (933kb) lo (517kb)
EV Fuel Cells. hi (559kb) lo (271kb)
Toyota Hybrid System (THS). hi (3,455kb) lo (1,410kb)

 

Another Link on car parts

http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/environmental_r...ep/03/re06.html

Links on Bio-Plastic production facility they are building.

http://www.autointell-news.com/News-2003/J...ly-30-03-p2.htm

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cf...fm?NewsID=25361

 

This is in line with what I had seen before, current production is very small. Not nearly enough to do large chunks of the car I don't think.




http://finance.lycos.com/qc/news/story.asp...936_RTR_T298334

Toyota sees $38 bln sales potential in bioplastics

30 March 2004, 04:36am ET

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent

NAGOYA, Japan, March 30 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (TOKYO:7203), the world's No.2 auto maker, said it expected its production of biodegradable plastics to grow into a four trillion yen ($38 billion) business by 2020 when the company hopes to control two-thirds of the world's supply.

"We are one of the world's two major players in this field along with Cargill Dow (of the United States)," Kozaburo Tsukishima, general manager of Toyota's biotechnology and afforestation division, said in an interview.

"(The biotechnology arm) could really explode as a business, and may have the biggest growth potential out of all of our operations," he said.

At four trillion yen, the business would represent one quarter of what Toyota made in total revenues in the business year to March 2003 and be double the sales at Japan's top minivehicle maker, Suzuki Motor Corp (TOKYO:7269).

Japan's top auto maker set up its biotechnology division in 1998 as part of a 50 billion yen venture fund set aside two years earlier by then-president Hiroshi Okuda, now the company's chairman.

In addition to producing bioplastics, which are derived from agricultural products and natural sources such as sugar cane, corn and tapioca, the division grows flowers, rooftop gardens and produces flour using new technologies.

Toyota said late last year that it expected an operating profit of 1.7 billion yen on sales of 5.4 billion yen in 2007 for its biotechnology division.The figures do not include its bioplastics business, which is still at an experimental stage.

Toyota began using bioplastics in some new cars last year, including the Raum and Prius models, but also supplies the material to Japanese cosmetics maker Shiseido Co (TOKYO:4911) and other companies, Tsukishima said.

"Companies from all sectors have been contacting us, wanting to use bioplastics in their products," he said. Toyota is working with some 60 companies, including office equipment makers such as Fujitsu Ltd (TOKYO:6702) and NEC Corp <6701.T>, to supply the environmentally friendly material, he added.

"Right now we just don't have enough supply," Tsukishima said.

Apart from emitting no harmful gases when incinerated, bioplastics burn at low temperatures, requiring less fuel for disposal, he said.

Toyota produces a small amount of bioplastics at a domestic factory it bought from precision machinery maker Shimadzu Corp (TOKYO:7701), and is planning a 1,000-tonnes-a-year experimental plant in Toyota City this autumn.

"If we succeed in bringing production costs down, and clear other hurdles, we plan to build a proper plant with annual capacity of 50,000 tonnes, perhaps by around 2007," he said.

Japan consumes about 14 million tonnes of plastic a year -- roughly a tenth of the 150 million tonnes produced globally. Of the Japanese total, only 10,000 tonnes is believed to be bioplastics.

But Tsukishima said by 2010, that number was expected to jump to 560,000 tonnes in Japan. By 2020, one-fifth of the world's plastic would be biodegradable -- equivalent to 30 million tonnes, he said.

"We want to be supplying 20 million tonnes of bioplastics by 2020, which would amount to about four trillion yen in revenues if we sold it at 200 yen per kilogram," he said.

Bioplastic now cost between 500 and 1,000 yen per kg, about five times the price of conventional petroleum-derived plastics.

Toyota gets the bulk of its revenues from autos, but also offers financial services and builds houses.

($1=105.45 yen)