Evonik has expanded its materials portfolio by introducing new Infinam Polyamide 12 (PA12) powders, which should have nearly 50 per cent less CO2 emission than its previous AM materials.
The speciality chemicals company said that to align its PA12 powders along improved overall eco-balances, it analyses not only CO2 emissions but also other sustainability factors of their footprint, such as water consumption or land use.
The current materials portfolio is being gradually expanded to include new sustainable ready-to-use products, a move which Evonik has started by introducing a new grade of PA12 powders with significantly reduced CO2 emissions.
With immediate effect, they should replace the previous Infinam polyamide 12 materials for all common powder-based 3D technologies such as SLS, HSS or MJF.
Evonik said the new sustainable Infinam PA12 powders are produced using renewable energies at the Marl Chemical Park, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
TÜV Rheinland, the independent third party that has evaluated the new materials, certified the associated life cycle assessments, attesting to an improvement in the company’s carbon footprint of almost 50 per cent compared to the companies’ previous material portfolio.
“Sustainability is the core element for being successful in the future,” said the head of AM at Evonik Dominic Störkle.
“That’s why we take a holistic view on it at Evonik. Alongside factors such as production efficiency or the reusability of materials, our sustainability approach includes the total life cycle assessments of our materials and their consistent improvement,” he went on.
“Using green energy and renewable or recycled feedstocks for production, we are able to significantly improve the overall eco-balance of our materials. And we work on end-of-life opportunities for our polymers.”
Evonik said it is also working to expand its range of sustainable PA12 powders to be included in the Infinam eCO products, a line that aims to avoid greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by using renewable or circular raw materials via a mass balance approach.
This method should enable immediate CO2 reduction in existing plants without changing the quality of the products. The market launch of Infinam eCO is planned for 2023.
Evonik will be showcasing its new sustainable materials for AM at this year’s K trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany, taking place October 19 to 26, at booth B28 in hall 6, and at Formnext in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on November 15 to 18, at booth C59 in hall 12.1.
