NATURAL FIBER COMPOSITES
Natural Fiber Composites are materials made of wood fiber (WPC) or Miscanthus (tall grass) and Polypropylene (PP) or different biodegradable and compostable materials like Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Thermoplastic Starch (TPS), supplied in granulate for injection molding and extrusion process. Additives such as colorants, coupling agents, UV stabilizers, flame-retardants, blowing agents, foaming agents, and lubricants help tailor the end product to the target area of application. The challenge is to cooperate with our customers in new developments to establish durable products in a just vulnerable environment.
Miscanthus
Miscanthus Sinensus Gigantus or tall grass, loved by elephants, is growing in the vicinity of Amsterdam Airport to conduce noise reduction around the runways. In addition, elephant grass substantial capturing of carbon dioxide (CO2) contributing largely to prevent climate change.
Why combining natural fibers with a polymer?
The plastics industry has shown extreme growth in the last 50 years. Still the growth potential and the technical possibilities are not exhausted. Combinations of plastics, 
or using a more sophisticated term: polymers, can sometimes give unexpected results in both technical and commercial sense. This is certainly the case with composites that combine the processability of a thermoplastic polymer with the low price and improved properties due to the addition of wood.
The fact that about half of the resulting composite consists of wood results in a product that has the following improvements as compared to the polymer alone:
- stiffer behavior
- more wood-like appearance and greying like wood
- reduced thermal expansion
On the other hand, the composite also has improvements as compared to the wood without the polymer:
- high durability (no rot, no termite attack), no preservation necessary
- stable, industrially made profiles (no warping, no splintering)
Several aspects make that the market for wood composites is rapidly growing and will be for the coming decade:
- increasing possibilities because of good price/performance
- further limitations to use poisonous wood preservatives for soft wood
- further limitations to use durable tropical hardwood from rain forests
