Press Release, 03/24/2021, Frankfurt, Germany
INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, launches new lines of styrenics solutions – Styrolux® ECO and Styroflex® ECO – both made with renewable raw materials. The new products become part of the company’s ECO family of sustainable products. They use fewer fossil resources and have a 74% lower greenhouse gas footprint when compared to styrene produced by fossil fuel.
Styrolux®/ Styroflex® ECO resins are a range of thermoplastic styrene-butadiene copolymers (SBC). The material offers identical product characteristics as the conventionally produced Styrolux®/ Styroflex® copolymers. Styrolux offers an amazing combination of high transparency, brilliance and impact resistance making it the material of choice for applications such as labelling and twist films, shrink film, food packaging, medical applications (e.g. drip chambers and medical tubes) and various other applications (such as hangers and office equipment). Styroflex offers the properties of a thermoplastic elastomer (S-TPE), suitable for extrusion and injection moulding, and can be used for a broad range of applications such as wrap films, stretch hoods and modifiers for the household industry.
Styrolux/ -flex ECO is available in two grades in commercial quantities:
- Styrolux/ -flex ECO B60: 100% of the fossil-based styrene is replaced by bio-attributed styrene,
- Styrolux/ -flex ECO B30: 50% of the fossil-based styrene is replaced by bio-attributed styrene.
With these new materials, INEOS Styrolution introduces the concept of bio-attribution, i.e. the materials are obtained from a mix of renewable and fossil feedstock during production. INEOS Styrolution’s renewable feedstock can be sourced from local household kitchen waste or the residue from the Scandinavian pulp industry, which means, the feedstock does not compete with food and land use. Importantly, all renewable feedstock sources are certified by the Roundtable of Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB)[1] and comply with the highest sustainability certification criteria.
The new solution is a drop-in solution for manufacturers, with identical high quality and a signification reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Mark Beitz, Vice President Styrenic Specialties EMEA at INEOS Styrolution comments: “Sustainable transparent materials are not common on the market, especially with food contact or healthcare regulatory approvals. Our existing SBC customers like the fact that we offer transparent products with a reduced environmental footprint, yet with no change in physical properties or regulatory status compared to our regular grades.”
