Technological watch

• Licocare RBW Vita’s benefits include higher throughput and a smoother surface finish for plastic parts used in automotive, electrical & electronics and consumer goods
• Supporting manufacturers’ sustainability targets & transformation to a circular economy

Clariant is proud to announce that the California-based Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute has awarded the Material Health Certificate GOLD level certification to Licocare RBW 102 Vita, Licocare RBW 106 Vita and Licocare RBW 300 Vita , bio-based lubricating and dispersing aids. This award is a further confirmation of their excellent environmental profile and contribution to a circular economy for plastics.

The Material Health Certificate uses the rigorous, globally recognized material health assessment methodology of the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard to verify a product’s support for safe and circular products. Cradle to Crade® is a design concept developed in the early 90’s by William McDonough and Michael Braungart that is inspired by nature and represents circular thinking and innovation.

To determine the suitability of Licocare RBW for the certification, Clariant worked closely with the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA) Switzerland GmbH, an accredited assessor for the Cradle to Cradle Certified and Material Health Certificate Certification. All ingredients present at > 100 ppm in a product are assessed with regard to material health to enable safe and circular products. As lubricants and dispersing agents are process chemicals which may be released into water, the safety of such an ingredient is one of the five criteria of the Cradle to Cradle Certified certification standard.

Licocare RBW bio-based additives are derived from rice bran wax, a non-food-competing by-product from the production of edible rice bran oil. Clariant upgrades this renewable raw material to facilitate its use as value-added, highly-effective processing aids for plastics compounders and masterbatch producers. Melt flow improvements, easier mold release and ensuring a more homogeneous distribution of pigments are features among their extensive benefits.

Given their extraordinary heat stability, typical application areas include engineering thermoplastics, biopolymers and epoxy resins, which benefits various polymer using industries such as automotive, electrical and electronical, as well as finding uses in coatings, agriculture and consumer applications.

Licocare RBW products typically carry also Clariant’s Vita designator that identifies solutions that are based on a renewable feedstock and have a renewable carbon index (RCI) higher than 98%. In addition, the majority of Licocare RBW solutions have been assigned Clariant’s highly demanding EcoTain® label for sustainability excellence products showing best-in-class performance.

Albin Kälin, CEO of EPEA Switzerland, commented: “With this Material Health Certificate at the GOLD level, Clariant is a lighthouse, offering chemical solutions which are derived from renewable resources and are safe in water and the environment.”

“This Cradle to Cradle recognition is a further acknowledgement of Clariant’s ongoing sustainability focus as demonstrated by its listing on the 2019 Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the seventh consecutive year. In fact, Clariant’s Licocare RBW Vita range fully supports the market requirement for additives that go beyond the current sustainability requirements, while at the same time, not compromising on the high performance requirements in customer applications. “We will continue to develop additives which can help plastic manufacturers to become part of the solution in the transformation to a circular economy,” added Manuel Mueller, Global Market Segment Leader, Clariant BU Additives.

Source: Clariant, press release, 2019-11-13.