Basics Next-generation
Basics Next-generation sustainability requires higher product performance By: Del Craig Executive Vice President, Sustainability, Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. Woodridge, Illinois, USA Proponents of the sustainability movement can point to the Brundtland Commission and Report as an important step in defining sustainability as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This definition has provided the chemicals and plastics industry with a roadmap to find ways to substitute petroleum with a biobased or recycled alternative. It’s important to note that biobased isn’t new and isn’t enough to meet the needs of a growing population. Consider this. Since the beginning of civilization, mankind has utilized readily available biobased materials made from plants and animals to enhance welfare and improve living standards. For example, animal fats and vegetable oils have been used for centuries for lubrication, illumination and manufacture of soap, and then later through further processing into paint and varnish. In the mid-20 th century, large-scale oil production and the petrochemical industry really expanded and replaced many biobased products with widely available petroleummade products and again improved living standards for many. These advancements, however, have a price. The extraction, processing and use of petroleum involve trade-offs that leave a definite footprint on the planet. This footprint is becoming ever more meaningful as the global population and standard of living increases. So, it was worth taking another look at biobased alternatives. In fact, the chemical industry can learn from the agricultural industry, which it helped improve. According to the American Farm Bureau, in production agriculture in the U.S., farmers have produced 262 % more food with 2 % fewer inputs since 1950 on a decreasing base of land, thanks to improved technology. Further, with careful stewardship farmers have spurred a nearly 50 % decline in erosion of cropland by wind and water since 1982. U.S. farmers, ranchers and foresters are keenly positioned to manage the land to produce the food, fiber and energy needed in 2050 to support a growing population and economy, while simultaneously improving biodiversity and the health of our environment. What’s more, the agricultural industry has played an increasingly important role in supplying renewable feedstocks to the biofuels and biomaterials industries. 48 bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/14] Vol. 9
Basics The continual challenge for many industries served by the chemical industry, however, is that traditional biobased products don’t perform as well as the petroleum-based products developed during the past 50 years. In the plastics industry, specifically, performance is critical for durable goods because materials have a long development time and are used in products with a long product life. This adds to the burden of finding new and better approaches today to be incorporated into future downstream uses. It is clear that the chemicals and plastics industry needs a solution that provides a sustainable portfolio of products. The solution must provide a better performing, more productive and sustainable future for everyone — a new category of solutions to deliver products that exceed performance of petrochemical-based products and to do so with a smaller environmental footprint. Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc., a high-growth specialty chemicals company, is leading the industry by introducing game-changing solutions that build on the Brundtland Commission’s definition of sustainability and marry it with performance that exceeds what’s been possible before. We believe the way to become more sustainable is to develop products that use fewer resources in the manufacturing process and perform better. That’s where Renewicals comes in. Renewicals are a breakthrough category of novel products, building blocks and ingredients that enable performance impossible until now. Renewicals mark a paradigm shift in the way companies are addressing industry and consumer demand for improved performance and sustainability, enabled by renewable feedstocks and advanced sustainable manufacturing processes. At Elevance alone, we provide two examples of how Renewicals are changing the game for the chemicals and plastics industry. Inherent C18 Diacid is a mid-chain length, biobased diacid that facilitates the creation of more than a dozen new base polymers that can result in more than 100 new compounds or formulations. Inherent C18 Diacid enables producers of polyamides and polyurethanes to significantly expand their portfolios with cost-competitive products that demonstrate performance not possible from products made with more common, shorter-chain diacids. C For example, Inherent C18 Diacid will allow polyamides to M enter new automotive and electronic applications that demand better hydrolytic performance, improved optical properties Y and greater material toughness or flexibility. Using Inherent CM C18 Diacid in polyester polyols enables the creation of new, MY previously unattainable pre-polymers, helping polyurethane manufacturers create polymers with exceptional solvent CY resistance, hydrolytic stability, optical clarity and toughness. CMY These high-performance, differentiated materials are suitable K in market segments such as automotive. Their use reduces automotive weight, which improves car fuel efficiency and the environmental footprint of transportation. Another example is that Inherent C18 Diacid makes a tougher GMA (glycidyl methacrylate) acrylic for powder coatings. When the C18 diacid is used as the system crosslinker in GMA powder coatings, the resultant coating has twice the impact resistance as that of the incumbent diacid and improved flexibility due to the longer, more elastic C18 methylene chain. As a result, this reduces the need for service and repair, and improves the overall efficiency of equipment use while extending equipment life. Elevance is making Inherent C18 Diacid, also known as octadecanedioic diacid or ODDA, using a unique and efficient production process and materials produced from its worldscale biorefinery in Gresik, Indonesia — the first based on Elevance’s proprietary metathesis technology. The process allows for the purity required for demanding applications like polymers and is a solution that is cost competitive with other specialty diacids in the marketplace. A mid-chain diacid, Inherent C18 Diacid enables performance attributes not possible by more common, shorter chain diacids. Conclusion Engineering polymer and plastic formulator customers can now add biobased products with enhanced performance to their portfolios, expanding their supply chains while achieving their business and sustainability goals. The industry can also make a difference and do things that have never been done before — today. Join us in the Renewicals movement and help transform the industry to meet the needs of the nine billion people who will live here. It promises to be an exciting and more sustainable future for everyone. www.elevance.com Renewicals and Inherent C18 Diacid are trademarks of Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. magnetic_148,5x105.ai 175.00 lpi 15.00° 75.00° 0.00° 45.00° 14.03.2009 10:13:31 Prozess CyanProzess MagentaProzess GelbProzess Schwarz Magnetic www.plasticker.com for Plastics • International Trade in Raw Materials, Machinery & Products Free of Charge • Daily News from the Industrial Sector and the Plastics Markets • Current Market Prices for Plastics. • Buyer’s Guide for Plastics & Additives, Machinery & Equipment, Subcontractors and Services. • Job Market for Specialists and Executive Staff in the Plastics Industry Up-to-date • Fast • Professional bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/14] Vol. 9 49
