Elastomers for Sustainability - New Top 10 rankings

E4S is an industry-first sustainability initiative, designed to highlight significant advances for end-user sectors including automotive, tires, automotive components, construction, consumer, industrial and medical. The judging process has culminated in the new E4S Top 10 of materials-science-based developments, based on their potential to enhance the environmental profile of the elastomer/rubber industry:

Arkema (with sportswear company ON)

Project: Development of recyclable, high-performance running shoe CloudNeo

Produced from Arkema’s bio-based polyamide polymers Cloudneo sports footwear meets ON’s performance requirements – light weight, comfort and energy-return – as well as compatibility of components during end-of-life recycling.

Based on a series of sustainable material-science developments– Arkema’s bio-based polymers are derived from renewable castor beans – Swiss-based ON has employed these materials to develop the textile, foam, and other components of the Cloudneo.

The collaborative project also features an innovative approach to recycling, reaching right down to consumers: the footwear is “leased” rather than sold to the end-user, via a monthly subscription service.

Under the Cyclon leasing system, customers can exchange their worn-out shoes every six months for a new pair so that the old pair gets recycled.

Reprocessing is carried out under Arkema’s Virtucycle recycling scheme – an initiative focused on recycling the materials supplier’s polyamide 11 and polyamide 12 resins, as well as Pebax elastomers – block copolymers made up of rigid polyamide blocks and soft polyether blocks.

As part of the project, Arkema set up the Pebax technical team to work with the Swiss sportswear major in designing the running shoe, in which Pebax is used in ‘responsive’ foam layers in combination with On’s own design features.

Judging comments:

The development of a commercial footwear product based on these biopolymers, along with the innovative circular approach, from sale to recycling, points to a promising way forward of elastomer sustainability.

There is clearly an attempt to achieve circular economy through lease and recycle. Many sustainable initiatives that promise recyclability fail to provide a method to recover end-of life products from consumers. Hopefully this approach will be followed by other industries as well. However, the other factor to consider is the price of such service.

The CloudNeo shoes model seems to be a promising product that can revolutionise footwear and eventually fashion industry. Relative to the entry, more details regarding the recycling process are necessary. How many times can the components be recycled?

UPM Biochemicals GmbH

Project: Renewable Functional Fillers (RFF) for a Lighter and more Sustainable Future

UPM continues to provide detailed updates about the progress of its project to produce lignin-based alternatives to carbon black fillers in rubber compounds.

The latest information – much of it confidential – from the Helsinki-based group highlights significant OE interest in applications for its renewable functional fillers in elastomer and other polymer-based products.

“We have a greater market reach for both rubber & plastic applications, over all market segments,” reported UPM. “Global distribution network is in place & our distributors are doing a great job.

The group’s update went on to describe UPM’s recent acquisition of SunCoal Industries as “a major step forward towards technological development.”

The official start of UPM’s biorefinery in Leuna, Germany is planned for the yearend, with production ramp-up set for early 2024.

On the commercialisation front, UPM said it has signed RFF supply agreements for 2024 with strategic partners and distributors.

Judging comments:

It is clear that the technology is already developed as the biorefinery is close to completion and they have done a lot of work in promoting their renewable functional fillers to secure partnership and funding.

Once the pilot plant will be up and running, we will have more details about the uptake in the market. Their RFF product, 100% biosourced, complies with composting standards.

This is only an update but based on previous information we still like this submission.

Origin Materials

Project: Carbon-negative production of raw materials, carbon black

Origin Materials, a US start-up producing carbon products from wood residue, in October, announced the start-up of commercial production at its facility in Ontario, Canada.

The Origin 1 plant, located in Sarnia, will use the company’s core-technology platform to convert C6 cellulose into building-block chemicals, using a single chemo-catalytic step with “almost zero carbon loss”.

One such product chloromethyl furfural (CMF) CMF is used to manufacture plant-based polyester, by converting the chloromethyl furfural into para-xylene, an intermediate feedstock for production of PET.

In April, Hyosung Advanced Materials announced a deal with Origin concerning the production of ‘carbon-negative’ PET tire cord and other industrial textiles.

Meanwhile, carbon black blends produced via the process is said to meet or exceed fossil-based N660 “gold standard” performance for tires and mechanical rubber goods – including superior dispersion and tan delta.

Up to 100% bio-content and low carbon-intensity, Origin’s products, therefore, offer a sustainable replacement for fossil-based carbon blacks.

In tests, rubber compounds containing up to 10% Origin carbon black blend showed equivalent or improved performance compared with traditional fossil-based N660 ASTM carbon black under stress-strain analysis.

The products are said to offer an attractive alternative to reclaimed carbon black, as they do not present the same performance limitations.

Judging comments:

Start-up of first commercial plant in Canada seems to represent a significant step forward, though more evidence of commercial progress is needed...

It is important to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during materials production and Origin has reported a good strategy: focusing on the production of valuable chemicals for a range of industries, moving from fossil-based to bio-based.

Instead of decarbonisation, it should be termed ‘defossilisation’. They are still producing carbon-based materials, but they are using bio-masses and reducing (and also offsetting) greenhouse gas emissions. But decarbonisation requires a full CO2 balance to be considered...

Pyrowave (with Michelin)

Project: Use of recycling styrene monomer in tire SBR

Technology company Pyrowave in September announced that Michelin had successfully produced batches of finished elastomer products incorporating 100% styrene from plastics waste via its microwave-based depolymerisation technology – a step forward for a collaborative project initiated by the partners in 2020.

Tests performed on the resulting elastomers demonstrated quality and intrinsic properties identical to those of elastomers made from virgin fossil-sourced materials, the Montreal, Canada-based company stated.

Michelin, it said, produced a four-ton prototype batch of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) at its Bassens plant in France: the materials passing all quality tests and matching the properties of products made from fossil-derived styrene monomer.

Next up, the partners are to carry out further tests incorporating Pyrowave recycled styrene in tires for laboratory and track applications to confirm the performance evaluation.

The recycled styrene has a lower carbon footprint than fossil styrene, with around 82% less GHG according to a recent life-cycle analysis.

Since SBR production processes are relatively sensitive to contamination, the test results are said to demonstrate the reliability of Pyrowave technology and that its recycled styrene can replace fossil styrene in technical applications.

Judging comments:

A potentially big contribution to rubber industry sustainability, especially if Michelin and/or other tire makers put in the necessary investment for scale-up etc.

This approach could potentially remove polystyrene from the waste stream... while SBR production could be moved to more waste-sourced feedstock, [towards] meeting greenhouse gas emission goals.

As the SBR produced this way is virtually the same as the one produced from fossil feedstock, more details regarding the process of monomer production are necessary.

Asahi Kasei Europe

Project: New selectively hydrogenated SBR for reduced 6PPD usage

Asahi Kasei previously reported on the enhanced ozone resistance of its selectively hydrogenated styrene-butadiene rubber and its ability to allow reduced usage of 6PPD in the rubber compounds.

In its latest update, Asahi explains how further studies have shown that the HSBR makes it possible, to not only reduce usage of the antioxidant/antiozonant, but also to improve mechanical properties, including fatigue resistance.

(See E4S VII report.)

Techsyn

Project: New tire technology platform for improved sustainability performance

The TechSyn platform has hit the road with Bridgestone’s incorporation of the tire technology in a commercial tire compound. The new Turanza 6 tire employs “cutting-edge and sustainable” Techsyn materials along with other related technologies to improve fuel-efficiency, wet-handling and durability, while also reducing tire weight...

(See E4S VII report.)

Cabot Corp.

Project: Evolve sustainable solutions

Evolve is Cabot’s technology platform is designed to deliver reinforcing carbons in three sustainability categories: Recovered carbon black from end-of-life tires; reinforcing carbons made from renewable materials; and reinforcing carbons made with a demonstrably reduced greenhouse gas footprint from decarbonisation technologies.

(See E4S VII report)

Nynas

Project: Bio-based processing oil

Nynas reported confirmation of performance in all properties, including ‘taxi fleet wear test’, in the first test project with PCR winter tires and a second tire test project for a PCR summer tire showing “promising results” vs. TDAE (wet, RRC, handling). Other tests in applications with natural rubber and carbon black “confirm good performance vs. most used mineral oils in tire industry…”

(See E4S VII report)

Celanese

Project: Thermoplastic elastomers from bio-circular feedstock

For E4S VII, Celanese entered a bio-based version of its Hytrel TPC copolyester thermoplastic elastomer grades that can save up to 20% in carbon footprint. The materials are also said to enable light-weighting, while enhancing heat and chemical resistance and being mechanically recyclable.

In an update for E4S VIII, Celanese reported that it is expanding the bio/circular-based offering “due to the very high interest from various markets.”

The group has qualified a second mass-balanced bio/circular-based monomer for the production of the TPC, allowing it to increase bio/circular-content allocated and enhanced the portfolio with new applications and grades.

“While the initial portfolio mainly centred around some industrial and consumer applications, Hytrel TPC ECO-B can now also cover the demand from automotive and cosmetics [packaging] with specific grades,” added Celanese. Other highlights, it said, include recently developed grades with food-contact approval.

Bio-based feedstock used in these elastomers is derived from second-generation sources which are said not to be in competition with the food and feed chains (bio-circular per ISCC+).

Judging comments:

Celanese says it is now targeting a wider set of application, including automotive, cosmetics [packaging] and food-contact..

The only [extra] information provided here is that there is a 20% reduction in gas emission when bio-sourced Hytrel is used.

They clarified the source of their biomass, but... information is still lacking on the process development, material performance, grade allocation to specific industry and cost comparison with non-biosourced material.

(See also E4S VII report)

Zeon Europe GmbH

Project: Epichlorhydrin elastomers from renewable sources

Epichlorhydrin rubber is an oil- and heat-resistant type of rubber, mainly comprising epichlorhydrin monomer, which is widely used in automotive (eg fuel hose, sealing) and industrial (eg printing rollers, diaphragm) applications.

Zeon has developed a bio-version of this rubber, using epichlorhydrin monomer from renewable sources – glycerol by-product from plant-based biodiesel production – instead of conventional crude oil source.

(See E4S VII report)