FRANKFURT – [19.06.09] Chemical producer Arkema has developed a new range of polymers derived from renewable caster beans which are suitable for use in technical textiles and sustainable nonwovens.

The company said its new grade of Rilsan PA11, is a 100% bio-sourced technical polymer that is already being used for apparel fabrics by French company Sofila and the Japanese company Unitika. At the last Premiere Vision in Paris, Sofila introduced its Greenfil nylon yarn, made of Rilsan.

However at this week’s Techtextil exhibition in Frankfurt, the company says this latest version of Rilsan PA11 can be used for the production of bio-based nylon fabrics that combine a range of fabric high performance attributes such as soft touch, resistance to bacteria, wear and abrasion and are also said to be very lightweight.

Suitable for use in the automotive, medical and industrial applications, the company says Rilsan PA is “the first high performance polyamide entirely derived from a 100% renewable and ecological raw material.”

“Rilsan PA resins have earned a preferred material status in the most demanding applications,” said Arkema. “This is due largely to their excellent combination of thermal, physical, chemical and mechanical properties resulting in an outstanding cost performance ratio.”

The company also presented its other renewable technical polymers; Platamid Rnew – claimed to be the first 100% bio-based hotmelt adhesive, and Pebax Rnew, the company’s first engineering thermoplastic elastomer made from renewable resources.

The company says Pebax Rnew is the first engineering thermoplastic elastomer made from renewable resources. “With its 20 to 90% renewable carbon content, Pebax Rnew naturally fits in with the eco-design approach adopted by a large number of industrial sectors,” said the company.

The idea behind this development is that nonwovens made of this stretchy material will replace narrow elastic and spandex-containing woven or knit textiles. “As a potential waistband for example, 200 gsm Pebax webs afford total recovery when stretched 100 % repeatedly, and elongation at break of up of 600%. They also have excellent hot-wash and dryclean resistance.”