Düsseldorf, Germany — London-based Inovyn ChlorVinyls Ltd. has launched what it describes as the world's first commercially available "bioattributed" PVC.
Marketed under the brand Biovyn, the product stands out from other biosourced PVC products in the market as it uses the so-called second-generation feedstock, which does not compete with the food chain, Filipe Constant, business director for Inovyn, explained in an interview ahead of the launch.
"We are using the bioattribution principle, which means the final product does not necessarily contain the bio-based molecules, but there is a direct connection between [the molecules] and the final product," Constant said. He declined to give further details on the feedstock supplier.
Using the mass balance principle, the supply chain for the product has been certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), a European Commission-approved voluntary scheme used to show compliance with the EU Renewable Energy Directive's sustainability criteria.
The company has not disclosed the current production volumes but expects to increase capacity considering the growing demand for circular products and materials with sustainability credentials.
"As a reference, demand for biopolymers in general has tripled over the past decade. So, with this launch, we are expecting new customers to show interest in the material," Constant said.
Biovyn has similar properties to fossil fuel-based PVC products and can be processed the same.
The development of the material, according to Constant, was "a relatively long process," particularly as the certification of the product was complicated.
"It took us a few years to get here, as our certifier RSB uses a very stringent standard and we had to go through all the necessary stages to acquire the certificate through the mass balance principle," Constant added.
RSB, Constant went on to explain, does not only look at the source of the raw materials but also covers a broad set of criteria, including human rights as well as chain of custody.
But the manufacturing part of the product has been rather smooth.
"We are physically connected, by pipelines, to the Ineos Olefins & Polymers' cracker in Cologne [Germany]. So, when we get the molecules via the pipes into our plant in Rheinberg, Germany, where we manufacture the product," Constant explained.
Constant said the product was "a major step forward" in Inovyn's journey to sustainability.
French flooring manufacturer Tarkett will use the product in a new sustainable flooring collection, Constant said.
Inovyn exhibited at K 2019 in Düsseldorf, Germany, with its sister company Ineos Styrolution GmbH.