Green materials: Teknor Apex/UBQ Materials introduce 35%-sustainable content TPE; Teijin produces PC from biomass-derived BPA

US compounder Teknor Apex says its new Monprene S3 CP-15170 BLK is an eco-conscious thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) made with 35% sustainable content that includes UBQ and post-consumer recycled material. UBQ is a sustainable plastic substitute converted entirely from organic and unrecyclable waste and is  biobased and recyclable.

UBQ is made by UBQ Materials, which has developed an advanced conversion technology, patenting the world’s first bio-based thermoplastic (UBQ) made entirely of unsorted household waste, including all the organics—a revolutionary way to divert municipal solid waste from landfills and convert it into a sustainable substitute for oil-based plastics. A certified B Corp, UBQ is a globally awarded climate tech company with customers including Mercedes-Benz, global retail solutions provider Mainetti, PepsiCo, and Arcos Dorados, the world’s largest franchisee of McDonald’s restaurants across Latin America.

As a result of increasing demand, UBQ Materials will open a new facility in the Netherlands with a production output of 80,000 tonnes/year of UBQ.

This new Monprene TPE is initially available in 70 Shore A and is colored black. It performs and processes comparable to its standard TPE offset. The durometer and amount of sustainable content can be customized based on end use requirements.  This high flow TPE is designed specifically for injection moulding or overmoulding onto PP – ideal for consumer product applications requiring flexibility such as hand and power tools, consumer electronics and appliances that include soft-touch components, for anti-slip, comfort grip, and improved ergonomics. Monprene TPEs combine the performance of thermoset rubber with the processability of a thermoplastic and can still be recycled. 

UBQ is a novel worldwide patented material that has already been adopted by leading industry brands and enterprises for manufacturing durable products with reduced environmental footprints. Demand for UBQ continues to build globally, as companies work to reach carbon reduction commitments in the production of end-products.

In other news, Japan’s Teijin Limited says that it has received an ISCC PLUS sustainable-product certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system for biomass-derived bisphenol A (BPA) polycarbonate (PC) resin products produced in Japan. Teijin claims it is the first Japanese company to obtain ISCC PLUS certification for the PC resin products. The newly certified biomass PC resin products offer the same physical characteristics as resins made of conventional petroleum-derived BPA, allowing them to be used in commercial applications such as automotive headlamps and electronic components.

Teijin says it has at the company's Matsuyama and Mihara production sites in Japan, started producing and marketing biomass PC resin products containing BPA made from biomass naphtha that was tracked with the mass-balance approach as well as the conventional PC resin products using petroleum-derived raw materials. Under the mass-balance approach method, materials are verifiably tracked through complex value chains, as in the case of biomass-derived raw materials being mixed with petroleum-derived raw materials to create products.

With the start of the environmentally friendly PC resin products, Teijin has launched a new product lineup called Circular Materials (CM) and the new biomass-derived PC resin products are now promoted under the names Panlite CM and Multilon CM.

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