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Material News Home compostable and soil degradable compound The product portfolio of BIO-FED (Cologne, Germany) under the trade name M·VERA ® is constantly being expanded with new products. Depending on the requirements profile, these compounds are either biodegradable in various environments or suitable for long-term use – and completely or partially made from renewable raw materials. Besides numerous grades for film extrusion, Bio-Fed also offers compounds for injection moulding. A recently introduced new M·Vera GP1012 has been specially designed for this processing technique. It consists primarily of renewable resources and is certified as OK biodegradable SOIL and OK compost HOME by TÜV Austria Belgium for wall thicknesses up to 1 mm. It is particularly suitable for applications requiring high stiffness (tensile modulus 2,000 MPa) and can therefore be used for a wide range of household articles, toys, packaging, coffee capsules, etc. “This compound consists of almost 100 % high-quality, renewable raw materials and is excellently suited for the production of rigid objects,” says Ulf Malcharczik, Business Development Manager at Bio-Fed. According to the compounder, a food safety approval has also been granted. “Our customers are increasingly demanding products that meet all the above-mentioned mechanical properties as well as the raw material origin and a corresponding end-of-life scenario,” Malcharczik adds. In his opinion, a bioplastic with a comparably comprehensive properties profile is currently difficult to find on the market. MT www.bio-fed.com Coffee Capsules – a possible application for M·Vera GP1012 Biobased thermoplastic polyurethane COIM, Offanengo, Italy, started the manufacture and distribution of the new Laripur RS thermoplastic polyurethanes which contain a high percentage of raw materials from biobased, renewable sources. The grades have been developed ensuring the same high performance, as seen with standard products, without having to change or modify the processing or equipment in the manufacturing environment, whilst maintaining total recyclability and the same possibility of adding various types of masterbatch (colour, expanding agents, antistatic agents, 2D additives etc.). Shoe sole The Laripur RS family includes a diversified range of products with top-level technological performance, which allows it to cover all traditional TPU applications, from footwear to sporting goods and technical articles such as tubes, profiles and films. The bioderived content from renewable sources in Laripur RS is very high, up to 70 % by weight. This high percentage is reached by using 100 % biobased polyol, one of the key building blocks in TUP. The total biobased content depends on the requested ratio of polyol to isocyanate. The primary feedstock are sugar, starch and natural oils. “Such a high percentage guarantees a lower environmental impact in comparison with products made from fossil raw materials, taking up the challenge set to us by many of our customers, and manufacturers alike, to address the increased sensitivity of all of us in respect of the environment and the growing need for sustainable polymer solutions in the manufacturing supply chain.” says Antonio Piroddi Global TPU Product Manager. In addition to the existing products and further expansion of the Laripur RS range, Coim continues to work on the development of renewable source technology across all of its other product lines, confirming its corporate philosophy based on sustainability, with particular attention to improved recyclability, reduction of water consumption and reduced CO 2 output. AT www.coimgroup.com 42 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/20] Vol. 15
Materials New approaches towards sustainable polycarbonates German based Covestro is introducing a new polycarbonate film with more than 50 % of its carbon content sourced from plant-based biomass. Makrofol EC is the first partially biobased film in the company’s product portfolio. Makrofol EC has properties that are comparable in quality to standard polycarbonate films of the Makrofol range. It also features improved chemical and weather resistance as well as increased abrasion resistance. The film is suitable for further processing in standard processes. For instance, it can be easily printed on, laminated, coated and can be formed by thermoforming or high pressure forming (HPF) processes. It can be used in applications in the electrical, consumer and automotive industries, as is typical for conventional polycarbonate films. New, partially biobased polycarbonate film Compared with a standard film made from petrochemicals, a portion of the oil-based primary products used up to now has been replaced by plant-based raw materials to reduce the film’s CO 2 footprint considerably. www.covestro.com In another attempt towards the delelopment of sustainable polycarbonates Covestro and Neste (headquartered in Espoo, Finland) are starting a strategic cooperation in Europe to promote the use of sustainable raw materials in plastics production. Covestro will be supplied with material from renewable sources to replace a significant portion of the fossil raw materials used to date in the manufacture of polycarbonates. The collaboration aims to replace several thousand tonnes of fossil raw materials in the production of polycarbonates with raw materials produced with Neste’s renewable hydrocarbons. Neste produces its renewable hydrocarbons entirely from renewable raw materials, such as waste and residue oils and fats. Thanks to being a drop-in replacement to commonly-used fossil feedstock in the polymers production, Neste’s product is suitable for existing production infrastructures and enables customers like Covestro to produce more sustainable products with consistently high quality using their existing processes. This type of a high-performance plastic is used, for example, in car headlamps, LED lights, electronic and medical devices and automotive glazing. In the future, both companies intend to expand the scope of their partnership, also with regard to other types of polymers. At the same time, they are inviting other stakeholders along the value chains to cooperate. AT/MT www.covestro.com | www.neste.com Erratum: bioplastics MAGAZINE sincerely apologizes. In the printed version of this issue we mixed up information from two press releases. On this page you find the corrected version. Headlamp cover made from transparent polycarbonate (both pictures: Covestro) bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/20] Vol. 15 43
