Cardanol-based Exaphen products are fully biosustainable resins, with a very low environmental impact as assessed by the life cycle analysis (LCA) hereby presented.
This LCA evaluates the effect on the environment that our products have from the time they begin to grow to the time they leave our production facilities (“Cradle-to-Gate” approach), using a process-based type of analysis.
Exaphen resins are derived from phenol-rich oil present in the shell of cashew nuts (CNSL), hence the name “exa” extracting “phen” phenolic. CNSL provides a compelling alternative as a source of monomers than other natural sources. The cashew tree grows in poor equatorial soils not well suited for other crops, and can live for up to 80 years. In a one-year period, a hectare (~2.5 acres) of cashew trees will sequester 6.34 metric tons (tonnes) of CO2. This longevity truly differentiates the cashew nut tree from other crops as the tree can continually sequester carbon dioxide over the course of its life, as opposed to only during the growing season. Additionally, the cashew tree, being a productive species that provides income for farmers in equatorial regions, naturally discourages the indiscriminate cutting down of trees to make charcoal. And, as the cashew tree is an equatorial species, it is most beneficial to the “cooling effect” that trees provide to the Earth. 
The model for the LCA was constructed using the concept of a mass balance,
where every process had associated with it various environmental impacts (see stage-by stage-breakdown on the right):
Global Warming Potential(GWP): the total amount of equivalents of Carbon Dioxide released into the environment, measured in kilograms CO2 equivalents per kilograms of product.
Eutrophication (Eutro): the potential for increasing the nitrogen content of the environment, especially bodies of water, measured in kilograms Nitrogen equivalents per kilogram of product.
where every process had associated with it various environmental impacts (see stage-by stage-breakdown on the right):
Global Warming Potential(GWP): the total amount of equivalents of Carbon Dioxide released into the environment, measured in kilograms CO2 equivalents per kilograms of product.
Eutrophication (Eutro): the potential for increasing the nitrogen content of the environment, especially bodies of water, measured in kilograms Nitrogen equivalents per kilogram of product.
Fossil Fuel depletion (Fossil): the amount of potential energy from fossil fuels used during the process, measured in MJ per Kg product.
Smog: the potential for smog creation due to a process, measured in Kg nitrogen oxide equivalents per kg product.
Ecological Toxicity (Ecotox): the increased levels of chemicals and materials that may cause ecological damage, based on the toxicity of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid and measured in kg of 2,4-D equivalents per kg product.
The basic equation used for calculations was:
In the case of the polyols, the usage of fossil fuel is improved over the petrol-based polyol, but not as much as the soy-based polyol. However, our Novocard resin improves fossil fuel usage greatly over both soy- and petrol-based resins. The difference is due primarily to the additional petrol-based material sources for the soy-based resins. In the case of the soy polyol, the amount of petroleum-based is much less than in the soy resin, thus accounting for the drastic increase in the amount of fossil fuel depleted. The same reasoning is applied to the smog impact. The greater the amount of petrol-based materials in a product, the closer its impact will be to the petrol-resin.
The numbers in terms of Eutrophication and Ecotoxity are due to fertilizer usage and pesticide usage . As the cashew tree requires little/no irrigation and pesticides to grow and produce nuts, the environmental impacts in these areas is very little.
Overall, it was shown that CNSL-derived products have the potential to sequester a large amount of CO2 from the atmosphere while improving the impact the material has on the environment.
The introduction of Exaphen resins corresponds to a total sequestration of 6 kg of carbon dioxide per kg of product used.
Bexocard benzossazine
Acrylcard monomeri e prepolimeri acrilati e metacrilati per adesivi e vernici
Epocard monomeri e prepolimeri epossidati
Bexocard benzossazine
Acrylcard monomeri e prepolimeri acrilati e metacrilati per adesivi e vernici
Smog: the potential for smog creation due to a process, measured in Kg nitrogen oxide equivalents per kg product.
Ecological Toxicity (Ecotox): the increased levels of chemicals and materials that may cause ecological damage, based on the toxicity of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid and measured in kg of 2,4-D equivalents per kg product.
The basic equation used for calculations was:
Net=Generation-Consumption
A comparison of the environmental impact of our products to similar competing soy-based and petrol-derived products was included in the study.
As it can be seen from the figures below, the LCA shows great improvements in the area of GWP for all the Exaphen products (Polycard polyols and Novocard Resins) when compared to petrol-based derivatives.
As it can be seen from the figures below, the LCA shows great improvements in the area of GWP for all the Exaphen products (Polycard polyols and Novocard Resins) when compared to petrol-based derivatives.
In the case of the polyols, the usage of fossil fuel is improved over the petrol-based polyol, but not as much as the soy-based polyol. However, our Novocard resin improves fossil fuel usage greatly over both soy- and petrol-based resins. The difference is due primarily to the additional petrol-based material sources for the soy-based resins. In the case of the soy polyol, the amount of petroleum-based is much less than in the soy resin, thus accounting for the drastic increase in the amount of fossil fuel depleted. The same reasoning is applied to the smog impact. The greater the amount of petrol-based materials in a product, the closer its impact will be to the petrol-resin.The numbers in terms of Eutrophication and Ecotoxity are due to fertilizer usage and pesticide usage . As the cashew tree requires little/no irrigation and pesticides to grow and produce nuts, the environmental impacts in these areas is very little.
Overall, it was shown that CNSL-derived products have the potential to sequester a large amount of CO2 from the atmosphere while improving the impact the material has on the environment.
The introduction of Exaphen resins corresponds to a total sequestration of 6 kg of carbon dioxide per kg of product used.
by Eric Harper, Copyright© 2010. Composite Technical Services LCC - Kettering, OH.
Bexocard benzossazine
Acrylcard monomeri e prepolimeri acrilati e metacrilati per adesivi e vernici
Epocard monomeri e prepolimeri epossidati
Bexocard benzossazine
Acrylcard monomeri e prepolimeri acrilati e metacrilati per adesivi e vernici
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