Car manufacturers are interested at present in integrating biological products such as plants in their industry. This can be considered a partial move towards green revolution. The news may sound good to our ears considering that we are a country mainly dependent on the field of agriculture. It is expected that with this project, the demand for plant products will increase leading for a better economic state for the Philippines.

According to Wikipedia, biodiesel development is one of the primary concerns of scientists nowadays as replacement for the petroleum products that runs our vehicles. A biodiesel is a kind of product that enables our cars to work even without the use of oil. In this case, we are able to lessen our dependence on oil products. As we all know, oil or petroleum stocks right now are diminishing, a major reason for its price to become higher in the international market. Continuous research and study are conducted to perfect this kind of work.

Meanwhile, The Associated Press reported that automakers have been very quiet in the integration of Biobased materials in parts of vehicles and trucks. Biobased materials are those materials that are derived from living organisms, mainly of plants. These environmentally friendly car parts are made from coconut, corn, flax, manila hemp or abaca, jute, sisal, soybeans and other plant-based materials, occasionally form animal-based materials like wool.

Daimler Chrysler, the company that manufactures Mercedez-Benz, has been the first to utilize these materials, and today, up to 50% of the components of Mercedez-Benz models are Biobased. Flax, hemp and sisal are processed into door cladding, seatback linings and package shelves or the space behind the rear seats of sedans. Coconut fiber and caoutchouc, or a source of latex, are used to make seat bottoms, back cushions and head restraints. Manila hemp, or commonly known as abaca, is used in under-floor body panels. The company also expects suppliers to be able to produce flexible tubing for fuel and brake systems made with castor oil soon. In fact this company has started to enter in Baybay, Leyte to search for abaca products. Because of this, it is expected that abaca farming will boost in the Eastern Visayas region including other parts of the country.

Other famous automobile companies emulated the work of the Daimler Chrysler. BMW, Toyota, Honda, General Motors and Ford Companies were also interested in incorporating plant products into car parts.

Automakers are seeing the benefits they can get from employing plant materials in the car industry. Biobased materials are more appealing compared to oil products since the prices of plants may be more stable than prices of petroleum. Using plant products will therefore help the agriculture sector especially the farmers. Biobased materials are also environment friendly compared to some of its counterpart.

As it turns out, Biobased car parts typically work better than the parts they replace. For instance, Honda’s engineering team found that the wood fiber-reinforced floor provided better dimensional stability than the other more traditional materials being considered. Likewise, Goodyear has found that its corn-infused tires have lower rolling resistance than traditional tires, so they provide better fuel economy. And Daimler Chrysler notes that plant fiber’s ability to absorb large amounts of humidity makes them perfect for use in seat cushions, where they can increase occupant comfort.