Sustainable by design: rethinking the materials we use

For decades we have run closed loop processes which return material waste regrind to our production and make internal use of residual heat. We are also making excellent progress to increase the share of electricity we use from renewable energy sources. The next milestone in our journey to offer a carbon neutral product range is to reduce their product carbon footprint (PCF/cradle-to-gate) wherever we realistically can.

Ultimately, how our products are used by the end user and what happens at the end of their life determines how sustainable the contribution of our product actually is in the full cradle-to-grave life cycle.

We have the skills and knowledge to help you find the most sustainable material choice for your product application. Talk to us to find the right solutions for your industry applications.

The amount of energy and the resulting emissions (CO₂ equivalent) to extract and create plastic feedstocks vary depending on many factors. That is why all the thermoplastics we buy and work with have different equivalents carbon footprints before we add more energy to transform them into our products.

Thermoplastic raw materials we commonly use include:

• Polyamide 6.6 (PA66 also known as nylon)
• Polypropylene (PP)
• Polyethylene (PE)
• Polymethylene (POM also known as acetal)
• Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)

Did you know?  The amount of CO₂ emitted per kg of polypropylene (PP) is approximately 33% of that emitted per kg of nylon (PA66). This is due to the different processes and energy needed to create these compounds.

The characteristics of the raw material is also further modified by additives (e.g. for increased strength, resistance to heat, UV rays, chemicals, etc). The CO₂e footprint of these additives also affects the net emissions balance.

Blends of different polymers, such as PP with PA, also provide lighter weight products, which can help vehicles save fuel, however, returning them economically to circular models of use is more challenging than pure thermoplastics with a more conventional set of additives, like PP for instance.

We already offer selected products made from bio-based feedstocks. These are plastics derived in whole or in part from renewable organic resources, rather than from finite fossil sources.

Examples include PA11 or PA6.10, which are derived from castor oil. PA11 is a very strong, lightweight and flexible material that is resistant to aging. That makes it especially suitable for long term outdoor applications like in solar energy parks.

Bio-based plastics are generally considered to be CO₂ neutral in the sense that a plant absorbs as much CO₂ over its lifetime as it emits when it is disposed of at the end of its lifetime. Consequently, we are working with customers and material suppliers around the world to trial polymers derived from alternative organic sources such as corn starch or recycled vegetable oils.

Interest in circular business models for plastic resources is growing and we are increasingly helping customers to increase the amount of recycled material in their components.

Incorporating post-industrial recyclate (PIR) – like obsolete material from our customers, or post-consumer recyclate (PCR) – like recovered ocean plastic, into the material mix presents a number of challenges, but the knowledge we gain from these projects is invaluable to us in facilitating the transition to more sustainable plastic products.

Well-designed material reuse certainly produces fewer emissions than producing new material from fossil fuel sources.