At the international plastics exhibition K2025 in Dusseldorf in October, a specialized seminar was held on the sustainable development of PVC and the reduction of the carbon footprint in its production and processing.
In short, we discussed the main thing: how to make PVC more “green” without sacrificing the quality and properties of materials.
The participants focused on three key areas:
- using biological raw materials,
- switching to renewable energy sources,
- wider use of secondary raw materials and waste.
Soy is the unexpected hero of the PVC day
The unexpected “hero of the day” was… soy.
Like other plants, it actively absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Today, the bulk of the world’s soybean crop is used for animal feed (about 76%) and food for humans (about 20%), and only about 4% is used in industry.
The companies at the seminar showed that soybean processing products can already serve as raw materials for production:
- individual intermediate components of vinyl chloride,
- co-stabilizers,
- orthophthalate and terephthalate plasticizers.
Soy-based high-performance phthalate-free plasticizers are already being produced in Brazil and a number of other countries. Not only manufacturers of plasticizers and co-stabilizers, but also world leaders in the field of stabilizers, such as Reagens and Baerlocher, are actively involved in the development of formulations of PVC compounds using soy components.
Energy, recycling and “minus 90%” to the carbon footprint
A separate block of reports was devoted to “green” energy sources. The transition to renewable sources of electricity in the production and processing of PVC provides a noticeable reduction in the carbon footprint without changing the technology and formulations.
Additional contributions are made by:
- use of trapped emissions of powdered PVC,
- recycling of polymer production waste, compositions and products,
- recycling of PVC productsthat have expired your deadline.
According to the speakers, the maximum reduction of the carbon footprint — up to 90% — is possible with the simultaneous use of all three approaches: bio-raw materials, renewable energy sources and recycled materials.
Reagens examples: quality sustainability without compromise
In the report of Reagens, using the example of formulations for home shoes and cable plastics, it was shown that the best results in terms of thermal stability and physico-mechanical properties can be achieved when combined:
- modern calcium-organic stabilizers,
- components obtained using renewable sources — bio-PVC and phthalate-free bio-plasticizers.
In other words, the trend is obvious: the sustainable development of PVC is not only about image, but also about real technological flexibility and the quality of finished products.
Why is this important for Russian processors
There was a lot of discussion about economics at the seminar.: not every “green” solution pays off quickly. But legal requirements, end-user expectations, and corporate responsibility are pushing the market towards more environmentally friendly formulations and technologies.
For Russian PVC processors, these trends are no longer an abstract theory. Revada Plastic’s partners are developing their product lines taking into account the principles of sustainable development and carbon footprint reduction requirements so that new technological solutions are also available to our customers.
