Open compute meets low CO2 plastics
At the Open Compute Project (OCP) Summit last month we spoke to Simon Huang, general manager from JPSeco (Jean Parker & Sons Corp). JPSeco have been working on a Natural Fiber Reinforced Plastic (NFRP) which has very low CO2 emissions compared to traditional plastics that are used in servers today.
Green plastics, typically touch points for the server, could be replaced with low CO2 alternatives.
The NFRPs that JPSeco produce come in two main flavours. PLA (bio-polymers) that are semi-durable and PP (fossil-based polymers) that are durable. Both products contain natural fibres. It is the PP variant that JPSeco would like to see adopted into open compute servers.
They are currently working on how to make the durable product more compostable, although it is currently recyclable with energy recovery possible if incinerated. All products are RoHS compliant, halogen-free and flame retardant for datacentre usage.
JPSeco formed in the early 70’s during Taiwan’s economic boom. At the turn of the millennium it looked towards the use of greener materials. JPSeco now sources and distributes renewable green materials, semi-finished products, and provides technical solutions to help its clients in Taiwan and China to develop Natural Fiber Reinforced Composites (NFRC).
