Application News
Application News Sustainable jewellery box made of biocomposite The Finnish jewellery brand Ilonakoru, Rauma, Finland, designs colourful hand-made ear drops from PEFC and FSC certified wood and stainless steel. When the company owners, Lauri and Lotta Nordberg, wanted to renew their packaging, only eco-friendly, high-quality materials with low carbon footprint were considered. The goal was a nice-looking, reusable box that will live long at home, to store jewellery or other small things. Long airfreight was undesirable for environmental reasons so Ilonakoru looked for a local supplier of biocomposite. They chose Helsinki based Stora Enso with their DuraSense ® , a biocomposite material that consists of wood fibres and polymers. DuraSense is a climate-friendly alternative to fully fossil-based plastics in a wide variety of products, providing durability and formability with a lower carbon footprint than conventional plastics. The base resin for the DuraSense compounds can be biobased, recycled of fossil-based plastic. Ilonakoru has chosen to use DuraSense Pure L40, based on fossil PP and charged with 40 % wood fibres. Thanks to DuraSense Pure L40, Ilonakoru could save 40 % of less plastic to produce the same box as before and also saved CO 2 emissions compared with pure PP. Muottituote Group, also based in Rauma, manufactured the box using a specially designed and produced injection mould. The end product was a round box with black and natural brown colours and a visible fiber structure on the cover. The box size was customised to fit Small Parcel mail, saving packaging materials and mailing costs. “The new box looks so nice that you want to keep it or give it as a gift. It is an eco-statement and a selling point for us. It simply feels good to buy a product that is manufactured and packed in an eco-friendly way”, Lauri Nordberg concludes. AT www.ilonakoru.fi | www.storaenso.com Bio-mulchfilm for Latin American produce growers The need for sustainable products and development in the Latin America’s agriculture sector inspired Biorgani (Guatemala City) to develop environmentally-responsible crop technologies and applications. As the mulch film market continues to grow worldwide, so does its plastic consumption and applications for fresh produce farming. According to FAO, Latin America produces 14 % of the world’s agriculture products [1]. This is why Biorgani has successfully tested, developed and is now commercializing a multilayer and biobased mulch film made of Biorgani’s Faunnus Starch/TPS resin that complies with ASTM 6866 and EN 14045 normative, and is TÜV Austria OK Biobased. In order to generate consistent research results, Biorgani tested the product’s performance in more than four crop cycles located different in regions across Latin America and with a variety of crops, including: melons, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries. Bio mulch film has a lower carbon footprint compared to plastic mulch film. Switching to biobased films allows farmers to significantly reduce their total crude oil consumption. Using bio mulch film also helps farmers protect their soil quality by reducing plastic accumulation in crop fields. After the harvest, the mechanical process used to collect and extract conventional plastic mulch leaves some plastic scrap mixed within the soil. Bio mulch film, on the other hand, is a corn starch-based film that allows any left-over scraps to be consumed by microorganisms in soil. Biorgani’s mulch film is biobased, mechanically recyclable (if recovered), and is also capable of composting under controlled conditions. Biorgani is committed to promote the circular bioeconomy and overall carbon footprint reduction by developing, testing and commercializing competitive biopolymer solutions, including sustainable film solutions for the agriculture and plastic converter companies. https://biorgani.tech [1] OECD/FAO (2019), OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2019-2028, OECD Publishing, Paris/Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.http://www.fao.org/ documents/card/en/c/ca4076en Bio-Mulch ↑ Plastic Mulch ↑ left: bio and conventional mulch film, right: Mulch fields in Latin America 30 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/20] Vol. 15
Materials Biobased epoxy resins Sicomin, Marseille, France, the leading formulator and supplier of high-performance, biobased epoxy resin systems will launch a couple of new bio-resins at JEC World 2020 (Hall 6, Booth G43) in Paris (postponed to May 12- 14 2020. The resins have applications in a variety of markets. Biobased fire retardant epoxy gelcoat for wind energy and civil engineering Sicomin’s SGi 128 is an innovative intumescent epoxy gelcoat developed specifically for fire retardant coating applications for critical components found in the wind energy and civil engineering markets. SGi 128 Gelcoat is produced with 38 % biobased carbon content and is a halogen free gelcoat that provides outstanding fire protection for epoxy laminates and extremely low smoke toxicity. Available with both fast and slow hardeners, this easy to apply epoxy system forms a much tougher and waterproof part surface than traditional intumescent coatings. It has been successfully tested to EN 13501 (EUROCLASS B-S1-d0) and ASTM E84 (Class A). New bio resin for HP-RTM processing for the automotive market SR GreenPoxy ® 28 is Sicomin’s new bio-resin specifically formulated for HP-RTM (High Pressure Resin Transfer Moulding) processing. The biobased carbon content is, as reflected in the name, 28 % and it is the sixth product in Sicomin’s GreenPoxy range. The resin is a fast cycle, low toxicity, third generation biobased formulation aimed specifically at the HP-RTM moulding processes used for both high performance automotive structural parts and aesthetic carbon fibre components. The new formulation has been optimized for fast production cycle times and superior mechanical performance and is a more sustainable alternative to traditional resins providing exceptional performance and quality for high volume programmes. GreenPoxy InfuGreen 810 on display with the GREENBOATS ® Flax 27 Daysailer on the JEC Planets With very low viscosity at room temperature, InfuGreen 810 has been formulated to support manufacturers seeking biobased alternatives for producing parts using injection or infusion techniques. Produced with 38 % plant-based carbon content, InfuGreen 810 is DNV-GL maritime approved, providing extra assurance of the product’s quality, efficiency and safety standards. Vacuum infusion with InfuGreen 810 produced crystalclear natural fibre laminates with outstanding mechanical properties, whilst the closed mould process also improved working conditions in the factory. The epoxy infusion system is demonstrated through the display of the Flax 27 Daysailer by Greenboats, Bremen, Germany (see p. 29. The boat’s hull, deck and internal structure were infused with the GreenPoxy resin and flax fibre reinforcement fabrics. Certificates The biobased carbon content of all mentioned resins are certified by an independent laboratory using radiocarbon measurements 12 C/ 14 C (ASTM D6866 or XP CEN/TS 16640). All products are each available in industrial quantities for series production within Automotive, Wind Energy and Civil Engineering. AT www.sicomin.com • Sicomin has a range of GreenPoxy ® products awarded with the Bureau Veritas Footprint Progress ® Certification, which tests against international standards (such as ISO 14062, ISO 14006 and EN ISO 14040/44). It shows that Sicomin’s biobased epoxy systems are eco-designed and have limited environmental impact compared to standard epoxy formulation. • The certification applies to the following GreenPoxy products: • GreenPoxy 56, a clear and waterproof epoxy system which contains over 52 % plant and vegetable content, for tough and hard-wearing gloss laminates. It is suitable for laminating, injection moulding, filament winding, press processes and casting. • GreenPoxy 33, a clear laminate with high mechanical properties which has over 35 % plant content. It is able to achieve excellent wetting out properties, resulting in very low resin consumption. • GreenPoxy 28, a clear laminate with mechanical properties which has 28 % of its molecular structure deriving from plant origin. It is developed for tools and parts that need high temperature resistance. bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/20] Vol. 15 31
