BASF's newest innovation in sustainable pacakaging solutions, a highly biobased, certified compostable packagaing foam that extends the current portfolio of innovative foam solutions. Presentation held at K2016 Preview on June 28th, 2016. Presented by Dr. Sven Wenigmann. Visit BASF at the K Fair 2016 from October 19th to 26th, Hall 5, C21/D21 in Düsseldorf, Germany. More information at www.basf.com/k2016.

1. ecovio® EA
BASF’s new certified compostable packaging foam with
high biobased content
Dr. Sven Wenigmann
Business Development Biopolymers Packaging

2. General Introduction
2
Target area for ecovio® EA
Biobased/
biodegradable
Productsensitivity
No Yes
Low
Cardboard
ecovio® EA
EPP
EPS
High

3. Life cycle of ecovio® foam
3
Expandable bead
Multi-shock
resistance
Heat resistance
Chemical
resistance
Raw material
ecovio®
Part. biobased
Biodegradable
(DIN EN 13432)*
Biobased &
biodegradable
expandable
particle foam
*certification in progress

4. Composting of ecovio® EA
Compostable ecovio® EA foam
Fast Disintegration of foam (DIN EN 13432) in 5 weeks
Sample 1 Thickness 0.6 cm (cup) Sample 2 Thickness 5 cm (box)
ecovio® EA foam (11.7 x 8.8 cm² pieces) ecovio® EA foam (5 x 5 x 5 cm³ pieces)
at start after three weeks
of composting
at start after three weeks
of composting
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5. * preliminary data
Performance ecovio® EA vs. EPS
Density (g/L)
Expandable bead density (g/L)
Cushioning factor
Compressive strength @ 10% (kPa)
Flexural work to break (J)
Flexural strength (kPa)
Product quality
EPS
25
~ 600
2.5
175
2.5
420
ecovio® EA foam*
25
~ 680
2.7
90
2.7
220
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6. Applications
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7. ecovio® EA expandable beads
 Expandable beads (density: 700 g/l)
 Blowing agent: Pentane
 Adjustable bead size: 0.8 - 1.2 mm (1.05 mm*)
 Adjustable color: White & Brown*
 Transportation: Octabin (to be stored at RT)
 Shelf life: > 6 months
* Current status
Production of ecovio® granules
through extrusion process
4

8. Processing I – Foaming
ecovio® expandable beads
Production of ecovio® foam beads using steam
 Foaming using existing EPS pre-foamer, Drop-in solution
 Adjustable foam density: 22 - 50 g/l ; closed cell foam
 Adjustable foam bead size
 Very short foaming time (< 15 secs); low temp: 98°C
 Low steam consumption
 Intermediate storage time: 24 – 48 hours
5

9. Processing II – Shape moulding
ecovio® expandable beads
Shape molding of ecovio® foam beads using steam
 Shape molding using existing EPS / EPP machine,
Drop-in solution
 Min. foam part density: 23 - 25 g/l
 Molding cycle time like EPS
 Conditioning of parts necessary (60°C; 4 hours)
 Part shrinkage: ~1,5 – 1,7%
Necessary to design new mold considering the shrinkage
6

10.  production line ready
 K 2016
 packaging grade commercially available
 customer sampling starts after K show
 End of 2016:
 FC-grade
 2017:
 small beads
Outlook
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