{"id":15520,"date":"2023-09-27T06:05:58","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T12:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=15520"},"modified":"2023-10-26T11:48:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T17:48:35","slug":"pe-cork-polymer-compounds-finding-a-variety-of-end-use-applications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/15520\/pe-cork-polymer-compounds-finding-a-variety-of-end-use-applications\/","title":{"rendered":"Cork Polymer Compounds Finding a Variety of End-Use Applications"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Amorim
Amorim Cork Composites in Portugal is combining cork waste with plastics to create novel biocomposites.<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cork, a material that comes from the outer bark of the cork oak tree,\u00a0has a lot going for it. The 100 percent natural material, which consists of more than 50 percent air, is renewable, recyclable, and has remarkable aesthetic, thermal and acoustic insulation properties. And now its leading proponent is combining waste cork with various types of polymers<\/a> to create a range of cork biocomposites that offer \u201cthe moldability of plastics and the lightness and sustainability of cork.\u201d Current target markets include home, office, leisure goods, energy and interior automotive components.<\/p>\n

Amorim Cork Composites SA (ACC) is part of Corticeira Amorim, a publicly listed, fourth-generation, family company that was founded in 1870. The 4,400-employee firm, based near Oporto in the north of Portugal, is the biggest cork processor in the world and exports to more than 100 countries. In 2022, the company recorded \u20ac1.0214 billion in consolidated sales.<\/p>\n

The parent firm formed ACC in 1963 to take advantage of 70 percent of the waste produced by the cork industry. Five years ago, ACC opened what it calls its iCork Factory \u2013\u2013 an innovation pilot plant dedicated to researching and developing products that value cork.<\/p>\n

Amorim is investing millions of dollars into this R&D effort, which is showing some very tangible results. The company produces a whopping 5.5 billion cork stoppers a year and generates a lot of waste from that process. For the past decade or so, ACC has been experimenting with blending the leftovers from cork stopper production or the forest with various materials, including high-density polyethylene (HDPE)<\/a>, polypropylene (PP), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)<\/a>, ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA)<\/a> and thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs).<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Amorim\u2019s
Amorim\u2019s Cork Polymer Compounds are now finding use in a wide range of applications, including sporting goods such as these ping pong paddles.<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amorim\u2019s Cork Polymer Compounds (CPCs) are now finding use in everything from sporting goods, footwear, flooring, household utensils and packaging to floating solar farms and automotive parts.<\/p>\n

In many of these applications, the versatile, lightweight material\u2019s unique properties are valued \u2013\u2013 such as thermal insulation capacity, impact absorption, grip, anti-slip, lightweight or visual appearance. ACC has found ways to blend recycled waste polymers in some of its compounds, yielding what it calls its Circular Economy line of products. This only further boosts the product\u2019s robust environmental credentials.<\/p>\n

\"The
The company is now promoting CPCs for home and office uses, such as this serving tray.<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amorim Cork Composites produces its Cork Polymer Compounds through an extrusion process that mixes cork and thermoplastics<\/a> to deliver the best of both worlds. \u201cThe introduction of cork to produce CPCs,\u201d the company explains, \u201ccan result in a reduction of up to 60 percent in the volume of plastic consumption, due to cork\u2019s low density, delivering a more sustainable solution compared to 100 percent plastic-based materials.\u201d The goal is to become carbon neutral.<\/p>\n

\"ACC
ACC recently launched a range of cork polymer composites for the automotive industry, called Mobility Interior Compounds.<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cork, as a natural filler, can replace a significant proportion of the resin, while retaining the desired properties of the final product. On the other hand, ACC notes, \u201cCPCs allow the cork to be more shapable, processed using different technologies \u2013\u2013 such as injection molding<\/a>, extrusion<\/a> and blow molding<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

ACC recently\u00a0launched a range of new solutions for the automotive<\/a> industry\u00a0called MICs, for Mobility Interior Compounds. The company is pitching these MICs as \u201cnew materials that can replace conventional plastic with a sustainable alternative while keeping the performance and aesthetics desired for the application. The result is a reduced carbon footprint, increased lightness, improved thermal and acoustic properties or grip performance and a disruptive visual.\u201d<\/p>\n

It says, the biocomposites<\/a> are suited for applications in various markets seeking a high-performance, bio-based alternative to traditional polymers.<\/p>\n

The company also is now promoting CPCs for the home, office and leisure goods sector \u2013\u2013 from placemats, coasters and serving trays to ping pong paddles and ski pole handles. These materials also can be customized to meet specific application requirements, according to ACC.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, EDP Group, a Lisbon, Portugal-based global energy company, is using an Amorim compound consisting of 30 percent cork and 70 percent recycled HDPE<\/a> for a key component in a hybrid renewable energy project in its home country. The biocomposite compound is replacing virgin HDPE<\/a> in the blow-molded floats used to support the walkways on a massive floating solar farm on the huge Alqueva reservoir in southeastern Portugal.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A huge floating solar farm project in Portugal uses blow-molded cork biocomposites for the structure\u2019s walkways. The effort recently won an Innovation Award from the EC.<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The project, which combines solar energy, hydroelectricity and battery storage, features a solar platform comprising nearly 12,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels, covering nearly 10 acres.<\/p>\n

The Brussels-based European Commission recently recognized the project with a 2023 Innovation Award for its contribution to the expansion of renewable energies and to the energy transition.<\/p>\n

Amorim Cork Composites continues to develop new applications in diverse sectors in its quest to minimize cork waste while also reducing the amount of virgin plastic used.<\/p>\n

Amorim Cork Composites<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cork, a material that comes from the outer bark of the cork oak tree,\u00a0has a lot going for it. The 100 percent natural material, which consists of more than 50 percent air, is renewable, recyclable, and has remarkable aesthetic, thermal … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":15526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1244],"class_list":{"0":"post-15520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plastics-2","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nCork Polymer Compounds Finding a Variety of End-Use Applications<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Combining waste cork with various types of polymers create a range of cork biocomposites that offer moldability, lightness and sustainability. 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He has broad global experience and for more than 35 years has worked as a journalist, editor-in-chief, publishing executive and key connector of like-minded parties. He has launched successful publications and C-level events on three continents. While with Crain Communications Inc., he oversaw the relaunch of the 100-year-old European Rubber Journal in London and helped to start Urethanes Technology magazine there. \u00a0In 1988 Bob returned to Akron, Ohio, to serve as founding editor of Plastics News, an award-winning, weekly business newspaper. In 2005 he oversaw the editorial launch of the bilingual (Chinese and English) PN China e-newsletter and website. For more than a decade at PN he also held the titles of associate publisher, editorial director and conference director, and most recently served as business development director. A long-time affiliate member of the Industrial Designers Society of America, Bob has organized numerous design-focused events, earned a Personal Recognition Award from IDSA in 2013, and constantly strives to help bridge the gap between the design and manufacturing communities. In 2014 he left Crain and created RC Grace LLC in Akron, Ohio, as a consultancy that aims to help companies to enhance their branding and market presence, find business partners, connect with design resources (here or in Asia), secure funding and advance their growth initiatives. Email Bob or visit his website at www.rcgrace.com to learn more about how he can help you.","sameAs":["http:\/\/ulprospector.com"],"url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/author\/robert-grace\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":1244,"user_id":23,"is_guest":0,"slug":"robert-grace","display_name":"Bob Grace","avatar_url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2017\/10\/Robert-Grace_avatar_1508791447-96x96.jpg","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15520"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=15520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}