CREATING TOMORROW S SOLUTIONS UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES WITH NATURAL FIBER COMPOSITES
REDISCOVER THE VALUE OF waste MATERIALS WACKER is a globally-active, researchdriven chemical company. As a sustainability-focused technology leader, we promote ideas with high value-added potential for current and future generations. With our innovative polymeric binders we are now making an important contribution to a technology that provides great new scope for the recycling of remnants of renewable raw materials: Natural Fiber Composites. 2
THE NFC PRINCIPLE: ECOLOGICAL & ECONOMICAL What reaction do you get when you combine recyclable raw materials with functional polymeric binders? An innovative technology with almost endless possibilities and an exceptional application potential. Natural materials such as wood, stone or leather and natural fibers such as sisal or coconut fiber are among the oldest materials that man has ever worked with. Even in this age of modern synthetic materials, natural products are the elementary materials for the most varied of applications. More importantly, natural materials are inseparably linked with the mega-trends of the early 21st century: Energy efficiency Sustainability Resource conservation Recycling Natural Fiber Composites NFC refers to the innovative mix of natural products and WACKER s patented binder technology, VINNEX. With Natural Fiber Composites, we have set up a versatile project platform all about the recycling of natural materials and the marketing of these products with their newly derived value. VINNEX VINNEX binder, based on vinyl-acetate ethylene copolymers (VAE) and free from both plasticizers and chlorine, are processed with natural materials such as cork, wood or leather into thermoplastic Cork Polymer Composites, Wood Polymer Composites and Leather Polymer Composites. Working with renowned companies as partners, WACKER has, in the process, developed futureoriented composites for completely new applications. This opens up a nearly limitless spectrum of industrial applications and individual concepts to manufacturers, architects and designers, especially in the world of interiors. Discover the environmentally friendly technology. VINNEX is a registered trademark of Wacker Chemie AG. 3
Natural cork is a fascinating material. But its regrowth is slow and processing is limited. For example, it breaks when bent. Cork Polymer Composites feel like natural cork, they smell like natural cork and they look like natural cork. And they open up a completely new application spectrum to the natural product. 4
CORK POLYMER COMPOSITES: LIKE NATURAL CORK. ONLY MORE VERSATILE. Cork Polymer Composites CPC are based on the renewable raw material, cork or cork production scraps, which are mixed and pressed with VINNEX binders. The result is a new material that retains the look-and-feel of the natural product with new properties. Benefits of Cork Polymer Composites: excellent mechanical properties outstanding adhesion to the widest variety of substrates thermoformability simple processing repeatedly recyclable no plasticizers, adhesion promoters or halogens Wide variety of applications Especially interesting is the thermoformability: when exposed to heat, Cork Polymer Composites can be pressed into any desired shape. So, products that till now could not be made out of natural cork now can be. Discover the possibilities! 5
Slate floors are wonderful. But the slabs are heavy, expensive and time-consuming to install. A world premiere eliminates these drawbacks: Slate-cork floors. 6 7
THE NEW LIGHTNESS OF STONE: SLATE CORK FLOORS. A fascinating piece of India In a certain region of India with specific geological conditions and in a special process, millimeterthin slate is removed. How can this fascinating natural veneer be used? In a company-wide project with established partner companies, WACKER developed the solution. A world-first for floor coverings The slate veneer was attached to a thin Cork Polymer Composite substrate. The result is a unique composite material which demonstrates impressive properties in floor coverings: real slate surface reverse side is flat as the cork levels out uneven areas reduced footfall sound and increased walking comfort from the dampening properties of cork warm under foot, as cork insulates The key: VINNEX To get natural fibers to adhere to natural stone is difficult. That is why it takes a sophisticated process to manufacture the floor covering. To start with, the cork and VINNEX are processed into pellets. A machine then scatters these cork polymer pellets onto the back of the real slate and they are then compressed in an endless doublebelt press. The semi-finished slate-cork then goes to the flooring industry for finishing. The result is a novel, natural stone flooring that is warm underfoot and just as simple and light to lay as conventional cork or parquet flooring. 7
Seize the opportunities from innovations! DryTiling really pays off: Administration and health care buildings: In highly frequented areas (banks, offices, hospitals) damaged tiles can be replaced quickly and simply. Rented properties: Landlords can have tiles inexpensively renewed or completely replaced; tenants can easily lay and remove their own tiles. Exhibition stands and shop fittings: Tiles can be laid and dismantled within a very short time and repeatedly reused. Wood frame constructions: DryTiling is particularly suitable here as normally the floor is level: the natural cork replacing the tile adhesive. 88
SIMPLY INNOVATIVE. CORK POLYMER COMPOSITES FOR TILES & CO The trend is for loose-lay floor coverings. Cork Polymer Composites can give a focused thrust to this trend New DryTiling System for Tiles The loose or dry laying of ceramic floor tiles offers numerous advantages. Savings are made on adhesives as well as the drying time they require and the tiles can be replaced at any time, without any residue. This laying technique is possible when the tiles are coated with Cork Polymer Composites. For this, cork particles are processed with the binder VINNEX into pellets and, through heat, sintered to the back of the tile. The coating permanently adheres to the back of all known types of tiles. When the tile is then laid on a prepared, level subfloor, the coating firmly attaches itself to the floor. The tile cannot slip any more, but can be removed at any time by being lifted. A positive side-effect: with a simple foam rubber band, the cork coating has both a sound and heatinsulating effect, ensuring that it is pleasant to walk on and contributing to a good indoor atmosphere. Recyclable carpet tiles For textile flooring, carpet tiles are preferred and are being increasingly used in public buildings such as hotels or office buildings because they are so easily laid and, most notably, can be replaced as individual pieces. At present, carpet tile backings are made from bitumen or PVC. Recyclable carpet backing can be produced based on the versatile VINNEX technology and a high proportion of limestone as a filler. The environmentally-friendly innovation is free of bitumen and plasticizers and can impress with the excellent way it lies flat. Success from collaboration Innovation comes from novel ideas, outstanding developments and having reliable partners. For its Natural Fiber Composites, WACKER believes in intensive collaboration with partners who are the technological leaders in their respective fields. This results in better materials for better solutions and better market opportunities. We are pleased to pass on this competitive edge to our customers as a way of supporting their manufacturing of innovative products suited to their markets. Talk to us together we can find the right solution for your individual needs. Wacker Chemie AG www.wacker.com Amorim Deutschland GmbH & Co.KG www.amorim-industrial.de TechnoPartner Samtronic GmbH www.technopartner.de Pallmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co.KG www.pallmann.de Bader GmbH & Co.KG www.bader-leather.de 9
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LEATHER POLYMER COMPOSITES: LEATHER IN THE SECOND GENERATION. The value of leather is too high to be casted away. Leather Polymer Composites offer an attractive opportunity to re-use the tons of leather waste being generated every year. Industry produces many tons of real leather every year. This process results in tons of scrap leather too. The most efficient disposal of this scrap leather is to recycle it into chromium-free regenerated leather. The key to this is VINNEX binders. New Use for Remnants Together with pellets of compressed cutting waste from the leather industry, the result is thin leather sheeting that is so easy to process and very versatile: Leather Polymer Composites LPC. New opportunities for coverings The environmentally-compatible recycling of leather scraps makes the most varied of applications possible: from flooring tiles through furniture to shoe applications. There are hardly any limits set on the scope for design here. 11
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WOOD POLYMER COMPOSITES: WOOD, THE WAY YOU WANT IT. Hardwood or softwood? With Wood Polymer Composites you determine the flexibility of the natural material, wood, while at the same time, creating new creative freedom. Wood Polymer Composites WPC are manufactured from wood and waste from wood processing combined with VINNEX polymeric binders. What makes them so special: their composition lets the flexibility of the end product be controlled. Custom-made flexibility The level of polymer content, the percentage of natural fibers and the different types of VINNEX enables the flexibility of Wood Polymer Composites to be controlled exactly. This means that both very thin, bendable wooden mats and wood sheeting as well as particularly robust, rigid components can be easily produced. 13
ExpErtisE and service network on FivE continents Sales and production sites, plus 20 technical centers, ensure you a local presence worldwide. WACKER is one of the world s leading and most research-intensive chemical companies, with total sales of 4.91 billion. Products range from silicones, binders and polymer additives for diverse industrial sectors to bio-engineered pharmaceutical actives and hyperpure silicon for semiconductor and solar applications. As a technology leader focusing on sustainability, WACKER promotes products and ideas that offer a high value-added potential to ensure that current and future generations enjoy a better quality of life based on energy efficiency and protection of the climate and environment. Spanning the globe with five business divisions, operating 25 production sites, WACKER is currently active in over 100 countries. The Group maintains subsidiaries and sales offices in 29 countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia including a solidly established presence in China. With a workforce of 17,200, WACKER sees itself as a reliable innovation partner that develops trailblazing solutions for, and in collaboration with, its customers. WACKER also helps them boost their own success. Our technical centers employ local
specialists who assist customers worldwide in the development of products tailored to regional demands, supporting them during every stage of their complex production processes, if required. WACKER e-solutions are online services provided via our customer portal and as integrated process solutions. Our customers and business partners thus benefit from comprehensive information and reliable service to enable projects and orders to be handled fast, reliably and highly efficiently. Visit us anywhere, anytime around the world at: www.wacker.com all figures are based on fiscal 2011.
Wacker Chemie AG Hanns-Seidel-Platz 4 81737 München, Germany Tel. +49 89 6279-0 info@wacker.com www.wacker.com 6911e/05.12 replaces 6722e/12.10 The data presented in this brochure are in accordance with the present state of our knowledge but do not absolve the user from carefully checking all supplies immediately on receipt. We reserve the right to alter product constants within the scope of technical progress or new developments. The recommendations made in this brochure should be checked by preliminary trials because of conditions during processing over which we have no control, especially where other companies raw materials are also being used. The information provided by us does not absolve the user from the obligation of investigating the possibility of infringement of third parties rights and, if necessary, clarifying the position. Recommendations for use do not constitute a warranty, either express or implied, of the fitness or suitability of the product for a particular purpose.