JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #146 - June/July 2022 - 46

FEATURE
bio-resin
PUGreen: a new bio-resin concept
for composites processing
gilmar lima,
Founder
G12 Innovation
giusEPPE santanCHÈ,
Director New Businesses
Purcom Química
equipment for pultrusion.
P
etrochemical-based polyurethane resins
used in composite materials reinforced
with single or combined glass,
carbon, aramid or natural fi bres are not new.
Polyurethanes are also known in the world
of composites as cores for the production of
sandwich-structure components that combine
great rigidity, mechanical resistance and
thermal and acoustic insulation. Th e use of
polyurethane resin to replace polyester, vinyl
ester and epoxy resins in the production of
laminates using thermoset processes is a reality.
High-pressure RTM and pultrusion are
widely used in the automotive and railway
industries to produce parts such as vehicle
bumpers and pultruded sleepers for the railway
industry. However, the growth of polyurethane
resins as materials for thermoset
composites has been limited due to the large
investments required, for instance to acquire
heated metal moulds and new equipment
for RTM processes, or to adapt the existing
During the past fi ve years, the Brazilian
company Purcom Química - a globally-operating
Latin-American leader in independent
polyurethane systems with over three
thousand formulas developed for diff erent
segments, processes and applications - developed
a polyurethane resin system based
on renewable sources for the composites
sector: PUGreen. During the R&D process,
Purcom worked in partnership with
companies specializing in diff erent composite
processes and applications, as well as
technology and research centres for the trials,
certifi cations and validations. Th e companies
selected to participate in this project
were G12 Innovation (Brazil) and Composite
Integrity, the composites branch of
Institut de Soudure Group (France). Th e
project's purpose was to create a vegetable
polyurethane resin that could be used in
diff erent processes and applications, requiring
investments similar to the current
high-performance resins and off ering competitive
features and advantages generating
value for the market, for people and for the
planet.
Challenges and opportunities
Among PUGreen's major features, examined
and validated by composites processors, are
its innovative nature and the break with traditional
concepts. One of the diff erences with
traditional resins is related to the processing
equipment. Th e RTM injection and infusion
machines used are diff erent due to the
pressure, fl ow rate and mixing ratio of polyol
resin and polyisocyanate hardeners. Another
crucial point is that, for PUGreen to have a
shorter cure cycle than current resins, the
moulds need to be heated at temperatures
between 50 and 60°C. In continuous lamination
and pultrusion processes, the existing
equipment needs to be adapted but at lower
cost than the adaptations required for petrochemical
polyurethane.
Fig. 1: Wind: One to
the targeted application
sector
46
jec composites magazine / N°
146 June - July 2022
Another challenge and huge opportunity
is to take greater advantage of the vegetable
resin's exceptional features, which make it
possible, while respecting the required rigidity,
to reduce the laminate thickness and,
consequently, weight, keeping the same level
of performance at a lower total cost.
Diffi culties do exist but this resin off ers
real opportunities and benefi ts to composites
processors and users. For example, it is
possible to have an industrial plant without
volatile organic compound (VOC) emisPurcom
Química (Brazil), G12 Innovation (Brazil) and Composite
Integrity - the composites branch of the Institut de Soudure
Group (France) have developped a vegetable polyurethane
(PU) resin compatible with many processes and applications.
It offers a great value thanks to a low CAPEX to use it and
exceptional features.
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #146 - June/July 2022

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