Wacker utvecklar biologiskt nedbrytbara plaster
För översättning till svenska, kontakta marie-louise.kaervedal@wacker.com
| WACKER Develops Biodegradable Plastics |
Munich, November 8, 2010 – The Wacker Chemie AG has, in collaboration with customers, developed biodegradable plastic products made from powder binders and either starch or flour. In combination with renewable raw materials, VINNEX® polymeric binding agents make it possible to create polymer blends that – like commercially available thermoplastics – can be processed by injection molding, extrusion, vacuum forming or thermoforming. As a result, WACKER is now able to combine starch or flour with VINNEX® to create polymer blends that will biodegrade entirely under industrial composting conditions and that still can be processed in the same way as petroleum-based plastics. Suitable uses for these new polymer blends include materials for packaging, catering products, gardening and landscaping.
Biopolymers are defined as polymers that are based on renewable raw materials, as well as biological and petroleum-based, biodegradable polymers. Biopolymers are seen as promising, sustainable alternatives to conventional petrochemical products. Until now, however, their wide-spread use was hampered by sometimes unsatisfactory material properties of these polymers – the processability of nearly all pure biopolymers is not comparable with those of standard thermoplastics.
Polymer blends offer a solution to this problem by combining synthetic and natural polymers in such a way that the renewable raw material constitutes at least 65 percent of the final formulation. The VINNEX® vinyl acetate-based polymeric binder system can be combined with renewable raw materials such as starch, polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) to create polymer blends with adjustable properties which can be modified to correspond to a variety of synthetic polymers.
Like commercially available thermoplastics, biopolymers obtained in this way and containing between five and thirty percent VINNEX
® can easily be processed by injection molding, extrusion, vacuum forming, thermoforming and calendering. In addition, the formulations of these polymer blends can be adjusted so that they are processable with standard (unmodified) thermoplastic equipment, making additional investment unnecessary.
The greatest advantage of these innovative new polymers, however, is their biodegradability: composting studies have shown that blends containing VINNEX
® break down within 180 days under industrial composting conditions, as stipulated by DIN EN 13432. The option of using flour as the primary constituent is yet another advantage of these new polymers: flour can be obtained in fewer processing steps than starch, and that translates into less energy and a significantly more sustainable carbon footprint. WACKER already possesses patents for modified starch polymers.
Because they are biodegradable, these new polymer blends are especially suitable for use as food packaging materials, disposable dishes, shopping bags and trash bags, as well as for injection-molded agricultural products such as tomato clips and flower pots.
About WACKER POLYMERS WACKER POLYMERS is a leading producer of state-of-the-art binders and polymer additives in the form of dispersible polymer powders and dispersions, polyvinyl acetates, surface coating resins and solutions. They are used in construction chemicals, paints, lacquers and surface coatings, adhesives, paper and nonwovens, and as binders in fibre composites and polymer materials based on renewable resources. WACKER POLYMERS has production sites in Germany, China, South Korea and the USA, as well as a global sales network and technical centers in all major regions. In 2009, the division accounted for some 20 percent of Group sales.
Photos are available for download at: http://www.wacker.com/pressreleases
För mer information, vänligen kontakta:
Wacker Chemie AG
Media Relations & Information
Nadine Baumgartl
Tel. 49 89 6279-1604
Fax 49 89 6279-2604
nadine.baumgartl@wacker.com
Företaget i överblick: WACKER är en globalt verksam kemikoncern med cirka 15 600 anställda och en årsomsättning på cirka 3,7 miljarder € (2009). WACKER har 26 produktionsanläggningar och mer än 100 försäljningskontor över hela världen.
WACKER SILICONES Silikonoljor, silikonemulsioner, silikongummi och silikonhartser, silaner, pyrogena kiselsyror, termoplastiska silikonelastomerer
WACKER POLYMERS Polyvinylacetat- och vinylacetat-kopolymerer i form av dispersionspulver, dispersioner och fasthartser som bindemedel för byggkemiska produkter, färger, lim, lacker, putser och fiberdukar
WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS Bioteknologiska produkter såsom cyklodextriner, cysteiner och biologiska produkter liksom fiinkemikalier och PVAc fasta hartser
WACKER POLYSILICON Polysilicium för halvledar- och fotovoltaikindustrin
Siltronic Wafers av högrent silicium och enkristaller för halvledarkomponenter.
Taggar: