Development of Biodegradable Plastics for Electrical and Electronic Applications

NEC Corporation, a Japanese electronic and electrical manufacturer, announced the development of a bio-degradable plastic for electronic applications. The material contains poly(lactic acid) PLA, and 20% natural fibers called Kenaf.
This new material will be used for electronic product packaging, that is, encapsulating silicon chips. According to NEC, no biodegradable plastic has previously achieved the heat resistance and rigidity required for electronic encapsulation. The new material has a thermal deformation temperature of 120°C, which is almost twice as high as that of the non-reinforced PLA (67°C). The flexural modulus is 7.6GPa, which is also higher than that of 4.5GPa without PLA. New materials will replace ABS and glass-reinforced ABS, and NEC expects to implement this biodegradable plastic industrially within two years. According to NEC Corporation of Japan, the company currently uses a PLA blend prepared by many different material companies to prepare PLA/Ke-naf biodegradable plastics, but in the near future, PLA/Kenaf composites will be produced in cooperation with a stationary PLA material manufacturer. .