Reducing the environmental footprint is not only done with electric cars, therefore, SEAT is testing the use of Orizita, a renewable material made from… rice husks!
Still in the pilot phase, this project aims to investigate the feasibility of using Orizita as a substitute for plastic products. This new raw material is being tested in the coatings of the SEAT Leon everything to, according to Joan Colet, interior finishes development engineer at SEAT, allow “a reduction in plastics and petroleum-derived materials”.
Used in the production of parts such as the luggage compartment door, the double trunk floor or the roof covering, this material is still in the testing phase. However, according to SEAT, at first glance these pieces developed with Orizita are the same as the conventional ones, the only difference being the reduction in weight.
From food to raw material
In case you didn't know, rice is the most popular food on the planet. Bearing this in mind, it is not surprising that more than 700 million tons of rice are harvested each year in the world.
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Of these, 20% are rice husks (about 140 million tons), with a large part of which is discarded. And it is precisely on the basis of these “remnants” that Orizita is produced.
Joan Colet, Interior Finishing Development Engineer at SEAT.“The technical and quality requirements we place on the piece do not change compared to what we have today. When the prototypes we are manufacturing meet these requirements, we will be closer to series introduction"
About this reuse, Iban Ganduxé, CEO of Oryzite said: “In the Montsià Rice Chamber, with a production of 60 000 tonnes of rice per year, we are looking for an alternative to use the entire amount of husk that is burned, around 12 000 tons, and to convert it into Orizite, a material that, mixed with thermoplastic and thermoset compounds, can be shaped”.