Dow backing elastomers to offer 'green carpet' treatment

Midland, Michigan  – Dow has added the group’s first bio-circular product for the flooring industry to its Engage REN range of polyolefin elastomer (POE) materials.

The flooring materials will be used in the manufacturing of carpet tile backing to provide dimensional stability and adhesion support for fibres, explained Dow’s 5 Sept announcement.

According to Dow, Engage REN elastomers are produced from “residues of biological origin and responsibly sourced waste.”

Feedstock materials, it said, are typically based on used cooking oil, which are converted into bio-circular alternatives to virgin petrochemical products.

Dow’s resins from bio-circular feedstocks are ISCC PLUS-certified under a mass balance approach for chain-of-custody, the polymer maker also noted.

"This innovation represents a crucial step toward expanding our circularity offerings into new markets,” said Joanna Giovanoli at Dow’s ‘packaging and specialty plastics’ business.

Bio-circular feedstock options that maintain high performance, “give waste a new life, potentially reducing carbon footprints and reliance on fossil feedstocks,” added the senior marketing manager for the Dow unit.

Under its ‘transform the waste’ strategy, Dow aims to commercialise 3 million tonnes of plastic waste and alternative feedstocks by 2030.