News from the Show

BIO-BASED PRODUCTS PRESENTED AT JEC COMPOSITE 2011

During JEC Composite 2011, R&D Manager Dr Pietro Campaner presented the main features of the innovative bio-based resins ExaphenTM, obtained from agriculture waste raw materials, for Polyurethane and Composite Industries applications.
The presentation was focused on:

• Polyurethane Foams for thermal insulation (e.g. panels and pipes)
• Novolacs as epoxy hardeners suitable for pre-preg, pultrusion, and hot melt applications in the composite industry
• Ecological footprint and LCA of Cimteclab’s materials

JEC Composite 2011 was particularly receptive to bio-sustainable materials as virtually every market segment is shifting towards a greener economy. Cimteclab’s unique products also caught the attention of several international distributors which will soon carry the Exaphen bio-based resins and polyols for the composite and polyurethane industries.

This year we presented to the audience a wide selection of finished products made with Exaphen resins using different processing technologies

Below the first "sustainable helmet" for firefigters, made of glass-reinforced epoxy matrix containing Novocard resin

Bathroom furniture made in Eco-Q by Ch-roma (Benevento-Italy) wasalso presented. Eco-Q is a composite material consisting of epoxy/Novocard matrix reinforced with mineral quartz powder.

JEC-Show in Paris

Cimteclab will exhibit this year at the JEC Show in Paris, presenting its bio-based resins for composite materials applications, "Pur-flame" flame retardant additives for polyurethane foams and "Silaneat" surface treatments.

Samples of pultruded, hot melted and compression moulded materials, prepared with our resins togheter with all uor brochures will be available at Porte de Versailles boot M38, pavillion 1.

On Wednesday March 30 at 1:30PM, you are invited to attend the Technical&Sales presentation in the Conference Area of Pavilion 1, entitled:

"Novel bio-based resins for the polyurethane and composite industries”

Green Polyurethane for sustainable building

The necessity to achieve a Sustainable Development, intended as a way to use the resources to meet human needs while preserving the environment in order to allow future generations to meet the same needs, is becoming the target in any productive sector.

The problem is of particular concern for building industry, which undoubtly is the sector with one of the highest environmental impact.

In Europe, the costruction industry takes up about 45% of the energy produced every year while consuming about 50% of natural resources and producing about 50% of total solid waste and air pollution produced. To this aim, it is very important to adopt an efficient energy saving policy and to promote the use of alternative sources of raw materials.

The final goal is to achieve a sustainable balance between an "abused" environment and the achieved level of comfort that can not be given up. Therefore, building industry should in particular focus on the use of techniques and materials that allow the reduction of power consumption and emissions.
In the case of construction materials, the longevity of buildings, usually exceeding 50 years, increases significantly the eco-efficiency of materials, defined as the ratio between functional performances and environmental impact. Therefore, the contribution of plastic materials to sustainable development, and in particular to energy saving, makes their use as building materials, particularly profitable both in terms of eco-sustainability and business.

The extremely low environmental impact associated with production, application and disposal of polyurethanes foams of the latest generation, expanded only with water, combined with the well known insulating properties resulted in an Ecopoint value of 0.071, granted by the "Green Guide to Specification", with ODP (Ozone Depletion potential) and GWP (Global Warming Potential) negligible values. Polyurethane polymerization reaction is exothermic thus requiring reduced energy consumption and resulting in limited gas emissions. The resulting foams are light-weighted (30-40 kg/m3 for construction materials), long lasting and offer superior performances in terms of thermal insulation. Moreover, the embedded energy of polyurethane is easily amortized during the first year and after 50 years of examination the energy saving is more than 80 times the initial value. At the end of its life cycle, polyurethane can be recycled either to give fillers for agglomerates and concrete, or incinerated to give energy.

Polycard polyols, derived from cardanol have more than 90% renewable content and are designed for rigid and flexible, water expanded, polyurethane formulations. The resulting foams have excellent mechanical and insulating properties for spray and panel applications.

The well known advantages of using polyurethane in costructions combined with renewability and low environmental impact make Polycard based foams the best products to eco-friendly increase the energetic efficiency of a building.

Exaphen: "Friend of the Environment Innovation 2010"

ExaphenTM eco-bio resins won an Italian national award for product innovation and environmental sustainability.

Legambiente, an Italian environmental organization, gave Cimteclab’s ExaphenTM bioresins the “Friend of Environment Innovation Award 2010”.

The award recognizes technological and management innovation in products, processes, services and systems that have been implemented or are at an advanced production stage. The innovation must be original, contribute to environmental improvements and show potential for development.

Exaphen materials are made from the fully renewable waste of cashew nut processing and do not have impact on the food chain thus representing a truly sustainable alternative to conventional petrol derivatives.
Exaphen resin have a wide range of applications in the field of composite materials and as polyurethanes for insulation applications.

Boom in bio-based resins?

The answer to this question seems to be yes, according to the opinion of some experts interviewed by Plastic News.

The emerging trend of bioplastic industry is to find an alternative green route to already exsisting materials and chemicals starting from new feedstocks.

Traditional resins made from renewable raw materials are the key to unlock the faster growing of biobased resins market, since the customers will not experience any difference with the products they are used to. Read more>>

Cardanol possessing chemical and physical properties similar to those of nonyl- and dodecyl-phenol, synthetic derivatives of petrol, is the ideal renewable and eco-sustainable monomer for bio-phenolic resins, bio-novolacs and bio-polyurethanic foams.

Bio-based materials: the challenge of sustainability

Plastic materials derived from natural renewable feedstocks can now compete, in terms of performance, with petrol derivatives and are becoming very popular within eco-responsible consumers.

A big debate is going on regarding whether or not this materials represent a real sustainable alternative to conventional synthetic plastics.

The main concern is that the majority of bio-monomers available on the market are obtained from edible crops in particular soybeans, potatoes, tapioca, mais: crops farming is often responsible of deforestation and requires the use of oil-fuelled machinery as well as large amounts of water and fertilizer for irrigation. Frequently, cultivation of these crops tends to be cost ineffective for farmers and must rely on government-subsidized sources of income.

The Cashew Nut Shell Oil, being a agricultural waste material, provides a compelling alternative as a source of monomers than other natural resources.

Anacardium tree grows in poor equatorial soils not well suited for other crops, it requires negligible irrigation and pesticide usage and, in addition, it does not deplete the soil, but it can help its rehabilitation.

The Cashew tree is a productive species that provides income for farmers in the equatorial region thus naturally discouraging the indiscriminate cutting down of trees. Harvesting of the cashews is very different than other crops, nuts are gathered by hands and this provides further income for the population of the region and limits environmental impact. The empty shells produced during kernel processing, contain approximately 30% by weight of CNSL and after extraction can be burned and used as fuel.

BIORESINS

Materials with low environmental impact - obtained from biomass feedstocks - represent an efficient and eco-compatible alternative to replace synthetic oil derivatives on the market.

Bioresins derived from annually renewable agricultural waste can contribute to global sustainability by reducing the depletion of scarce resources and promoting, at the same time, the recycle of polluting materials with no additional costs for disposal, according to the UN program "Agenda21".

In the field of bio-based thermosets the main task is to maintain the performance of petrol-derived materials therefore the critical step is the conversion of vegetal precursors into monomers with the same physical and chemical properties of the synthetic ones.