Climate change, finite oil resources and environmentally sensitive customers are leading materials manufacturers and users to turn to renewable and bio-based solutions. By developing customer- and application-specific compounds using renewable raw materials, Kraiburg TPE (Waldkraiburg, Germany) aims to meet the growing demand for environmentally friendly and sustainable thermoplastic elastomers in a meaningful way.

Kraiburg TPE recommends caution when using the term bio-based, as it is a broad term that is not synonymous with sustainable in the sense of a strategy for saving resources and protecting the environment, said the company. Even renewable raw materials have carbon footprints, as well as “water footprints that can have an impact on the environmental balance, depending on their provenance and the way they are grown.” Factors that play a decisive role in this regard include irrigation, fertilizers, energy for transportation and energy consumed for reprocessing.

“Part of the challenge involves taking into account the environmental balance of the materials’ whole life cycles, including their impact on ecosystems and people’s health,” emphasized Kraiburg TPE CEO Franz Hinterecker. “It has also become apparent that what our customers expect from the properties of ‘bio-materials’ varies widely depending on the application. At the same time, we have to meet strict criteria regarding the materials’ conformity and performance.”

In its code of conduct, Kraiburg TPE has committed itself to sustainable business operations and to protecting soil, water, air and biological diversity. Environmentally harmful impacts are to be prevented by appropriate environmental protection measures, and resources are to be conserved. Based on these principles, Kraiburg TPE’s modular system makes it possible to develop customer-specific materials with different proportions of renewable raw materials. Typical performance characteristics include mechanical properties such as tensile strength and elongation, as well as processability, heat resistance and adhesion to ABS/PC or PP and PE, for example. The requirements are determined in close collaboration with each customer and translated into a sustainable and cost-effective solution by its developers, said Kraiburg TPE.

It is technically possible to produce bio-based materials with very high proportions of renewable raw materials. However, these materials usually suffer from high raw material costs, while providing only limited mechanical properties. Kraiburg TPE’s modular system reportedly resolves this contradiction almost completely by following a new, innovative approach.

The initial pilot projects are showing a trend toward bio-based, certifiable proportions of 20% and more. Their potential use extends to all TPE applications in the consumer, industrial and automotive markets. Examples range from toothbrushes and hypoallergenic elastic watch straps to fender gaskets.

“The approach we’re taking is being well received particularly by customers who are looking for sustainable solutions [as well as] cost effectiveness and performance,” Hinterecker added.

Source: https://www.plasticstoday.com/materials/kraiburg-tpe-develops-custom-engineered-thermoplastic-elastomers-renewable-raw-materials/84065766358851