ecovio® EABASF’s new certified compostable packaging foam with

high biobased content

Dr. Sven Wenigmann

Business Development Biopolymers Packaging

General Introduction

2

Target area for ecovio® EA

Biobased/

biodegradable

Pro

duct

sensitiv

ity

No Yes

Low

Cardboard

ecovio® EA

EPP

EPS

High

Life cycle of ecovio® foam

3

Expandable bead

Multi-shock

resistance

Heat resistance

Chemical

resistance

Raw material

ecovio®

Part. biobased

Biodegradable

(DIN EN 13432)*

Biobased &

biodegradable

expandable

particle foam

*certification in progress

Composting of ecovio® EA

Compostable ecovio® EA foam

Fast Disintegration of foam (DIN EN 13432) in 5 weeks

Sample 1 Thickness 0.6 cm (cup) Sample 2 Thickness 5 cm (box)

ecovio® EA foam (11.7 x 8.8 cm² pieces) ecovio® EA foam (5 x 5 x 5 cm³ pieces)

at start after three weeks

of compostingat start after three weeks

of composting

7

* preliminary data

Performance ecovio® EA vs. EPS

Density (g/L)

Expandable bead density (g/L)

Cushioning factor

Compressive strength @ 10% (kPa)

Flexural work to break (J)

Flexural strength (kPa)

Product quality

EPS

25

~ 600

2.5

175

2.5

420

ecovio® EA foam*

25

~ 680

2.7

90

2.7

220

8

Applications

6

ecovio® EA expandable beads

Expandable beads (density: 700 g/l)

Blowing agent: Pentane

Adjustable bead size: 0.8 - 1.2 mm (1.05 mm*)

Adjustable color: White & Brown*

Transportation: Octabin (to be stored at RT)

Shelf life: > 6 months

* Current status

Production of ecovio® granules

through extrusion process

4

Processing I – Foaming

ecovio® expandable beads

Production of ecovio® foam beads using steam

Foaming using existing EPS pre-foamer, Drop-in solution

Adjustable foam density: 22 - 50 g/l ; closed cell foam

Adjustable foam bead size

Very short foaming time (< 15 secs); low temp: 98°C

Low steam consumption

Intermediate storage time: 24 – 48 hours

5

Processing II – Shape moulding

ecovio® expandable beads

Shape molding of ecovio® foam beads using steam

Shape molding using existing EPS / EPP machine,

Drop-in solution

Min. foam part density: 23 - 25 g/l

Molding cycle time like EPS

Conditioning of parts necessary (60°C; 4 hours)

Part shrinkage: ~1,5 – 1,7%

Necessary to design new mold considering the shrinkage

6

production line ready

K 2016

packaging grade commercially available

customer sampling starts after K show

End of 2016:

FC-grade

2017:

small beads

Outlook

11