NEC addresses laptop overheating

NEC has developed a new kind of bioplastic that will make electronic devices "more environmentally sound, while solving conventional heat-release issues", the company claims.

Ninety percent of the new bioplastic, which apparently provides better heat conductivity than stainless steel, is made from plant-based materials, with the other 10 percent composed of carbon fibre.

NEC acknowledges that some devices, such as mobile phones and laptops, have recently been getting too hot inside, and it suggested that one problem was the fact that fans and heat-release sheets were increasingly difficult to incorporate into ever-shrinking form factors.

However, although scientists have sought to solve the problem by using heat-conducting materials instead of ordinary plastics, metals are unsuitable as they heat up too quickly, and until now heat-conductive plastics have been too difficult to mould for them to be useful.

NEC claims that its new fibre-enforced polylactic acid composite combines high heat resistance with strength, and has already been used in an NEC handset. The company also claims it has "discovered how to add flame retardancy — without using toxic flame retardants — and shape memory to [polylactic acid]".

The plant on which the composite is based is kenaf, a species of the hibiscus. NEC claims kenaf grows three to nine times faster than any other plant, yet it has remained underexploited in the past. The plant's fibre has traditionally been used as a substitute for paper fibre and animal feed.