Bio-Fed: New biomass-balanced polypropylene compounds in portfolio

The Cologne-based company BIO-FED, a branch of AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH, has expanded its portfolio with ISCC PLUS and REDcert sustainable certified M·VERA® compounds made from biomass-balanced polypropylene (PP). The sources of raw materials for the PP are vegetable oil and fat waste, which is produced in various processes, e.g. in the food industry.

ISCC PLUS and REDcert are leading sustainability certification systems for biobased and recycled materials in the chemical industry. Certification ensures traceability of the sustainable material flow along the entire value chain.

As the value-adding process of products in the chemical industry is often very complex, the mass balance approach is used here. Certified products are manufactured using sustainable raw material sources (biomass or fossil-based recyclate) to replace an equivalent amount of fossil resources in the production process.

The new products are marketed by BIO-FED under the names M·VERA® PPH and M·VERA® PPC. Changing from conventional polypropylene to the sustainable version is easy for processors, as the material can be used as a drop-in solution without adjusting the process parameters in production. The material alternative with reduced carbon footprint offers consistent properties and is suitable for a wide range of applications. They range from injection-moulded thin-wall packaging and transparent containers to biaxially oriented films (BOPP films) and sophisticated fibre applications (melt-blown processes). The high strength of the biomass-balanced polypropylene enables the production of non-woven inserts with extremely thin, tear-resistant filaments. For example, FFP2 masks with non-woven inserts made of PP can now be produced using this material on a sustainable raw material basis.

In addition to the M·VERA® PPH and M·VERA® PPC compounds, BIO-FED offers a new range of masterbatches in cooperation with its sister company AF-COLOR. Suitable for the field of application in the circular economy, these new color masterbatches are named AF-CirColor® and AF-CirCarbon®. The portfolio is supplemented by the matching AF-CirComplex® additive masterbatches.

“We are pleased to be able to offer our customers an ever broader portfolio, with products they can easily integrate into their existing production processes. This makes it possible to switch to more environment-friendly materials,” says Stanislaw Haftka, Sales Director at BIO-FED.