10/2/06 (Nikkei English News) TOKYO -- Toray Industries Inc. is using vegetable oil as the primary ingredient for a new type of plastic film that is heat resistant, flexible and transparent.

Designed for use as a protective and decorative coating for auto dashboards and household appliances, the film rivals polyester films in terms of heat resistance and transparency but can lay claim to being more environmentally friendly.

The new film includes polyester as one ingredient, but vegetable oil extracted from rapeseed and soybeans accounts for as much as 60% of the mixture.

Polyester and vegetable oil normally do not mix well, and when forcedly mixed yield a substance that does not have high heat resistance. Polymerization can solve this problem, but the process needs to be carried out at high temperatures, which creates a film with a yellowish tint.

Toray has developed a catalyst that allows the process to run a low temperature for the production of clear, transparent films.

The company plans to ship samples of the new film material this spring.