FEICA 2023 Conference and EXPO
Tarragona, Spain, 13-15 September 2023

Presentation Abstract

Lightweighting Solutions for Adhesives and Sealants to Reduce the Environmental Impact on Transport

A significant source of carbon dioxide generation is the combustion of fossil fuels. Globally around a quarter of all the carbon dioxide generated originates from transport, which equates to around 8 billion tons. Of this about 30% is generated by goods transport.

How can adhesive manufacturers help address this issue? Producing close to customers and reducing the distance from suppliers can play a role, but an important aspect is to lower the weight of shipped goods. A main contributor to the weight of an adhesive is the inorganic filler. Fillers are crucial component of adhesives and sealants and help to increase mechanical properties, provide improved dimensional stability and rheological modification, but lightweight filler technology can allow for weight saving in finished products.

This presentation by Omya and Bostik will showcase available lightweight filling technologies and demonstrate case studies for Sealants and Flooring Adhesives where these solutions replace a portion of the inorganic fillers. This approach allows a significant density reduction in the final formulations enabling a potential reduction of the CO2 emissions during transport.