International. Wacker was named as the first manufacturer in the world capable of offering VAE dispersions based on the copolymer of vinyl acetate and other vinyl acetate-based products – known by the Vinnapas brand – using renewable resources in commercial volumes.
In the process, the company uses acetic acid, a by-product of the timber industry. The International Testing and Certification Institute TÜV SÜD certified the biological mass balance method used by Wacker according to the international standard CMS 71. With independent certification, the consumer has confirmation that the amount of fossil resources needed for the product manufactured according to the mass balance method, was replaced by the corresponding amount of renewable resources at the start of production. This new class of products, based on renewable resources, is being marketed by Wacker under the new Vinneco product line, which covers all polymeric products based on renewable raw materials.
This represents an advantage in the biomass balance method used, since it allows to calculate the amount of VAE dispersions produced from renewable raw material, that is, from non-fossil resources. The certificates issued demonstrate that the mass balance method used by Wacker in the production of VAE corresponds to the criteria of the CMS 71 standard of the TÜV SÜD relating to the traceability of renewable resources. "With VAE dispersions, we can finally offer our customers something comparable to the renewable energy that energy concessionaires offer their consumers," says Dr. Markus Busold, Director of Strategic Marketing at Consumer & Industrial Polymers. "When Wacker customers order a product from the renewable raw material base, they can be sure that the necessary amount of bio acetic acid actually entered the production cycle and that this acid was purchased solely and exclusively from certified manufacturers.
Initially, only a portion of the VAE dispersions, produced by Wacker on a global scale, are based on regenerative sources. However, it is precisely the biomass balance method that allows a continuous expansion of volumes. The new VAE dispersions, manufactured according to the biological mass balance method, are part of Vinneco, Wacker's new product line, based on renewable resources. In addition to VAE dispersions, vinyl acetate homopolymer dispersions and solid resins based on vinyl acetate, produced according to the biomass balance method, are also available. Wacker Polymers intends to present these products for the first time at the European Coatings Show 2019.
