An air intake manifold fully made of Renycle-brand recycled nylon from Radici Group was honored in the 22nd Society of Plastics Engineers Automotive Awards in Europe.
The winners were announced June 28 in Bonn, Germany. The manifold was honored in the powertrain category.
In a news release, officials with Radici in Bergamo, Italy, said the manifold is a high technology application where glass-fiber reinforced nylon has, over the years, almost completely replaced metal. The firm supplies nylon 6 and 6/6 materials for engines worldwide.
In the winning application, designed and made by Marelli Group, the challenge was to use a 100 percent mechanically recycled nylon. The component had to meet stringent performance requirements, including high burst pressure, pressure pulsation and prolonged vibration tests subjected to thermal cycles and thermal shocks.
Radici officials said that in developing Renycle, the firm worked to optimize performance, keeping in mind the specific requirements of the air intake manifold application, and also sought to maximize the environmental benefits.
The winning application had a more than 70 percent reduction in CO2 emissions when compared to equivalent fossil source material, they added.