JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #82 - July 2013 - 19

Tab. 1: Commercially available bio-sourced resin solutions

Manufacturer

Brand name

Type

Renewable
content

Recycled
content

AOC

EcoTek®

UPR

up to 30%

up to 45%

Ashland

Envirez™

UPR

up to 22%

up to 44%

CCP Composites

Enviroguard™

UPR

up to 53%

DSM Composites Resin

Palapreg & Beyone™

UPR

up to 55%

Reichhold

Envirolite

UPR

up to 25%

Amroy Europe

Epobiox®

Epoxy

70%

®

®

Composite
Technical Services
EcoPoxy Systems

Comment

Cobalt free

epoxy prepreg made from Cimteclab
products : ExaPhen™ / Novocard™
from oil extracted from discarded
cashew nutshells

Epoxy

EcoPoxy®

Epoxy

Hunstman

not specified

not specified
commercially possible to produce resin
systems with a bio-based content that
is higher than 80% - when combining
up to 100% bio-based resins and up
to 80% bio-based hardeners

Epoxy

Sicomin Composites

Greenpoxy

Epoxy

Composites Evolution

poly(furfuryl alcohol)

similar to phenolic

TransFurans Chemicals

BioRez™ & Furolite™

furanic resins

Aqua Resin

Aqua Resin®

non specified

even more intently on food
production waste and available bio-resources that are
not fully exploited.
In any case, the life cycle
analysis of any product must
be kept in mind. Some of the
commercially available resin
solutions are listed below.
The table shows the fraction
of renewable content in the
resin, but eco-designers are
well aware that nothing is
simple in principle. There is
no point incorporating 10%
more renewable content into
the resin if it is imported from
the other side of the world or
if the resin is delivered oceans
away. We need to be wary of
greenwashing and the illusion
of green 4WDs. Compared
with other materials, composites already have a very posi-

tive eco-balance in a number
of applications. All the better
if bio-resins can strengthen
this advantage, but we must
be careful not to systematically assume this is the case.

Available products
Table 1 classifies several of
the main solutions on the
market. Some resin formulators also offer their own
solutions, while other brands
boast a rather extensive bio
portfolio. To avoid turning
the table into a catalogue,
the “renewable content” and
“recycled content” have been
summarised by the terms “up
to”, even though a broad range
of grades and renewable-recycled combinations exist.
The largest number of biosourced resins can be found in

55%
in glass & flax prepregs

more than
90%

the unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) category, which is
logical since it represents the
large majority of all thermosetting resins used as matrices
in composites. Practically all
the key global players offer a
partially bio-sourced portfolio: AOC, Ashland, CCP
Composites, DSM Composites Resin and Reichhold.
DSM markets a resin system
with a plant-based content up
to 55 wt.%.
The epoxy resin offer is more
limited: Amroy, Composite
Technical Services, EcoPoxy
Systems, Huntsman and
Sicomin Composites. There
is currently only one global
player – Huntsman – who
considers it is now commercially viable to produce resin
No82 July 2013

systems with a bio-sourced
content exceeding 80% (combining up to 100% of biosourced resins with up to 80%
of bio-sourced hardeners).
Other manufacturers such as
Composites Evolution, TransFuran Chemicals and Aqua
Resin offer different types of
resins, e.g. phenolic resins for
the first two companies. The
“green” attitude not only lies
in bio-sourcing. For instance,
Akzo Nobel & DSM propose
using their BluCure™ cobaltfree accelerator technology
under a licence. Meanwhile,
Evonik and Bioamber offer
new catalysts. Composite
Technical Services Cimteclab
markets a brand of novolak
resins called Novocard™ with
more than 95% bio-sourced
material which can be used as

/ jec composites magazine 19
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #82 - July 2013

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