Advances in Biobased Polyurethanes for Automotive Finishing

Automotive Leather Conference Oct 17th 2016, Paris

M. Costello

▪ Introduction

▪ Polyurethane Dispersions

▪ Renewables & Bio-Polyurethanes

▪ Performance & Volatile Organic Content

▪ Future

Agenda

� Leading chemical supplier for leather processing

▪ Key player in the specialty coatings market

▪ 1800 employees

▪ 11 Manufacturing Sites

▪ 9 R&D Centres

▪ 38 applications labs/centres of excellence

▪ €630+ Million sales

▪ 6 Business units (4 leather, 2 coatings)

IntroductionStahl

Raw Material to Wet Hide Dyeing & Finishing

Water/saltEffluent ControlSafety & Health

WeightRenewables

Restricted Substances

Retanning4 5 Finishing1 Raw Hides 2 Beamhouse 3 Tanning

Water consumptionEffluent control

Restricted Substances

Restricted SubstancesV.O.C.

Durable FinishesDurable FinishesDurable FinishesDurable Finishes

Leather Processing: Challenges

Polyurethane Dispersions

Polyurethanes are typically used in high performance finishes

▪ Durability

▪ Weather resistance

▪ Hydrolysis

▪ Stain Resistance

Automotive Finishing

Polyurethane Dispersions

Polyurethane Dispersions

HO-R-OH + OCN-R’-NCO HO-R [-O-C-N]-R’-NCO

O H

Polyol PolyurethaneDiisocyanate

■ Prepolymer phase:

- Polyol + DMPA + Diisocyanate

- Build polymeric structure

■ Dispersion phase:

- Neutralization

- Water dispersion

- Diamine extension (build molecular weight)

Manufacturing Process

Polyurethane Dispersions

Typical Building Blocks Typical Formula

HOO

O

O OHO

O

O

n

Polyester

Polyether

Polycarbonate

Isocyanate N=C=O

Polyurethane Dispersions

Ingredients %

PolyolPolyolPolyolPolyol 60 60 60 60 ----80808080 (on solids)(on solids)(on solids)(on solids)

IsocyanateIsocyanateIsocyanateIsocyanate 10 10 10 10 ----15 15 15 15 (on solids)(on solids)(on solids)(on solids)

Solvent 5 – 10

Water 60 – 65

Additives 0 – 5 (on solids)

Renewables & Bio-Polyurethanes

Polyols used in polyurethanes can be derived from

petroleum based resources or renewable plant oils.

Renewable Resources

nOH

O

nOH

OOH

On

Cat

nnOH

OOH

OOH OH

+m

- H2O

nnO

OO

O

OHOH m m

The unsaturated fatty acid from the natural oil is dimerized:

Then polymerized with a diol, yielding a (polyester) polyol with renewable content:

Renewable Resources

Bio-based PolyesterIsocyanate

N=C=ON=C=ON=C=ON=C=O nnO

OO

O

OHOH m m

Biobased PUDs

New Building Block

Sourcing:

▪ Canada

▪ China

▪ India

▪ Europe

▪ Australia

Current Usage:

▪ Animal feed

▪ Vegetable oils

▪ Biodiesel fuel

Canola oilRapeseed example

Land use: Bioplastics 2014-2019

Performance & VOC

■ With the latest advances in biotechnology, high performance

properties have been achieved for bio-based Polyurethane

Dispersions

■ Film durability performance after hydrolysis

Higher PerformanceBiobased PUDs

Film Performance after Hydrolysis

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Retained UTS Retained MOD100

Test conditions: 50 C, 95% Humidity, 14 daysUTS : Ultimate Tesile StrengthMOD100 : Tensile strength at 100% modulus

PES: Polyester Polyurethane DispersionPE: Polyether Polyurethane DispersionPC: Polycarbonate Polyurethane Dispersion

Retained %

of Original

Value

HO-R-OH + OCN-R’-NCO HO-R [-O-C-N]-R’-NCO

O H

Polyol Polyurethane(with Co-solvent)

Diisocyanate

■ Prepolymer phase:

- Polyol + DMPA + Diisocyanate

- Build polymeric structure

- Pre-polymer viscosity is critical in determining the co-solvent amount

Volatile OrganicContent

Co-solvent

Biobased PUDs

Bio-based polyols contribute to a lower pre-polymer viscosity.

Volatile OrganicContent

Low Viscosity Pre-polymer Reduced co-solvent need.

Reduced V.O.C

Biobased PUDs

Future

Bright Future

■ Even higher performance

■ Higher % bio-content

How?

■ New New New New resourcesresourcesresourcesresources (soy, linseed, palm…)

■ Isocyanates Isocyanates Isocyanates Isocyanates (from biomass?)

■ AdditivesAdditivesAdditivesAdditives (plant-based becoming available)

Biobased PUDs

Conclusions

■ Performance is driving the introduction of renewable polymer building blocks

■ Bio-based polyurethane technology is advancing rapidly

■ High Performance, low VOC, Polyurethane Dispersions can already be

achieved at 40% biocontent

Biobased Polyurethane Dispersions

Raw Material to Wet Hide Dyeing & Finishing

PriobioticsBiodegradability

Reduced COD

Reduced WeightReduced VOCReduced COD

Retanning4 5 Finishing1 Raw Hides 2 Beamhouse 3 Tanning

Less SaltLess WaterHigher Yield

High Performance, low VOC Bio-Polyurethanes based on Renewable Resources

Leather Process: Reducing the Environmental Footprint

If it can be imagined, it can be created

Thank you