Sustainable Engineering
Biocompatible
ship ahoy
Tests of two high-performance pleasure craft from Campion Boats showcased a new use for a bio-based resin technology called Envirez.
The resin is a
major component of the boats’
construction and comes from
Ashland Composite Polymers, a
Columbus, Ohio, business group of
Ashland Performance Materials,
a division of Ashland Inc.
The two boats, Campion’s
Chase1 550 and 600, use Envirez
L 86300 T-25 bio-based resin in
their hulls, liners, and decks. The
resin, which is undergoing a final
evaluation for this use, is designed
to provide high elongation and
toughness properties for impact
and crack-resistant attributes.
Envirez resins are basically formulated
with soybean oil and cornderived
ethanol.
New developments
in sustainable
product
packaging
Packaging material called
BlisterGuard eliminates the need
for a printed insert as often used
with plastic clamshell product
packaging. Instead, graphics and
product info get printed directly
on the clamshell material, which is
paperboard. The result: Packages
are up to 44% lighter than a similar
plastic clamshell and use up to
76% less plastic. The paperboard
used is solid bleached-sulfate
type produced by paper mills
that generate 60 to 70% of their
energy needs through biomass or
renewable sources. And compared
to plastic clamshells, the cost of
the material ranges from about
the same to 35% cheaper.
The material comes from
Colbert Packaging Corp.,
Lake Forest, Ill.
Ashland Inc.,
BlisterGuard,
Colbert Packaging