Materials of the Future: EcoSphere® biolatex® Biopolymers
Today, sustainability is an important issue for many businesses, and many organizations are dedicated to reducing their carbon footprint. If your organization uses paper, and values environmentally sustainable products, then you may be interested in paper produced using biolatex® products.
EcoSynthetix Inc. is a biotechnology company that manufactures economically and environmentally sustainable products, including adhesives, and coating binders. EcoSynthetix' primary commercial product is a "binder" for paper and paper board. Binders tie the pigment particles to the fibrous paper surface and play a critical role in coated paper and paper board properties. Binders directly influence how the colorful graphics adhere to the coating surface and the degree of sharpness, snap and overall print quality of the image.
Our EcoSphere® biolatex®binder technology presents a unique opportunity for any business in the paper, packaging, or publishing industry to reduce its use of petroleum-based chemicals; chemicals that are not sustainable and will inevitably continue to rise in cost.
Biolatex® binders are created from starch via a patented continuous manufacturing process, using primarily natural agricultural and other food-approved biobased materials. Compared to the chemicals it replaces, biolatex® binders offer parallel performance in many aspects of paper coating while exceeding performance in others. EcoSphere® biolatex® binder also provides a cost saving relative to petroleum-based alternatives. It can replace SB and SA latex on a 1:1 basis and can be integrated into the paper mill production process with little or no modification to the plant.
We provide commercial level supply to several major paper producers (including 20 paper mills in 7 countries) globally. Three of the top five paper producers worldwide are currently using EcoSphere® biolatex® binder. These major manufacturers have replaced their traditional petroleum-based styrene butadiene (SB) latex coating binder with our new biolatex® binder technology on many of their paper grades with very favorable results. They have realized the numerous environmental, performance and process benefits that EcoSphere® biolatex® binder brings to their supply chain. These include lower shipping and transportation costs, eliminating the need for expensive coating additives, reduced paper drying times, and the ability to immediately recycle paper with biolatex® coating binder in-house, without adding the harmful re-processing chemicals that are commonly required to recycle typical SB latex coated paper.
Currently EcoSynthetix® is working with a carbon offset expert to quantify the extent of the carbon footprint reduction that our coating binder brings to the paper production process. We believe that there is substantial opportunity here, as shipping, drying and recycling are all major contributors to a paper mill's carbon footprint. We have performed a detailed life cycle analysis and calculated that our biolatex® coating binder has a significantly lower carbon footprint than the SB latex coatings currently in use. Due to its continuous manufacturing process, advantages in shipping weight, and non petroleum-based ingredients, EcoSynthetix’s biolatex® binder has a 67% lower carbon footprint by the time it is delivered to the mill; this cradle-to-gate analysis has been validated by a reputable third party.
We have calculated that for every 1000 square meters of paper produced, the kilograms-CO2 emissions equivalent for coatings is 237.8 kg for SB latex coated paper, whereas paper using our biolatex® coating generates only a 79.1 kg- CO2 emissions equivalent. Total emissions associated with production of synthetic Styrene Butadiene (SB) latex are estimated at 6.5 kilograms carbon dioxide per kilogram of SB latex product. This includes both embedded carbon of fossil-fuel origin (released into the atmosphere when the product decomposes) and emissions associated with manufacturing and transporting the product. This can be compared to total emissions of 2.1 kilograms carbon dioxide per kilogram of our EcoSphere® biolatex® binder. This represents a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions, and is harnessed simply by switching ingredients used in the paper coating from petroleum derivatives to EcoSphere® biolatex® binder.
Coatings have a significant impact on how the paper is processed and produced, and with over 4 billion pounds of petro-based binders consumed annually- a measurable environmental footprint. According to a study by the National Geographic Society, paper coating binders and chemicals alone contribute 13% of the total carbon footprint in the production of today’s magazines. We have calculated that an average coated paper mill could potentially reduce its annual carbon dioxide emissions by at least 10,000 tons, by replacing 40% of SB latex with our coating binder. These figures demonstrate meaningful reductions in the paper production industry where there are limited methods (other than ramping up recycled content) for reducing the carbon footprint.
Any user or manufacturer of paper can further reduce their carbon footprint simply by choosing a sustainable coating for their paper. To get started, paper users can ask their paper supplier for coated paper containing EcoSphere® biolatex® binder. Many paper mills are already customers so changing should be easy.
Chose EcoSphere® biolatex® binder and make your organization the next to convert to eco-friendly coated paper!
