Sustainable materials in the data center
Jan 18, 2017Jordan Tse, Jon Ehlen
Summary
This post details the adoption and implementation of natural fiber-filled polypropylene (NFFPP) as a sustainable alternative to PCABS in data center hardware. It covers the material properties of NFFPP (including flammability ratings and shrinkage rates), design considerations for incorporating fiber-filled composites, and specific adjustments to the molding process. The post highlights the successful conversion of several Open Compute Project hardware components (Lightning, Honey Badger, Yosemite, Open Rack, Knox, Leopard) to NFFPP, demonstrating a reduction in upstream carbon footprint by over 50% compared to PCABS.
More from the Data Center Energy Efficiency and Optimization trail
- Lights Out, Systems On: Validating Instant Power Loss Readiness
- Capacity Efficiency at Meta: How Unified AI Agents Optimize Performance at Hyperscale
- Investing in Infrastructure: Meta’s Renewed Commitment to jemalloc
- Open Source Is Good for the Environment
- Design for Sustainability: New Design Principles for Reducing IT Hardware Emissions