Dow Chemical Co. has unveiled a sustainable plant based EPDM rubber, created with bio residues from other industries as raw material. Launched during the German rubber expo DKT 2024 on 3 July, Nordel Ren EPDM is claimed to support customers lower their carbon footprint.

Initially applied to automotive weather-seals and hoses, EPDM solutions also go into building profiles, roofing membranes as well as wire and cable. Therefore, Dow said, the new bio-based EPDM will enable decarbonisation of building and construction industry in addition to the automotive sector. The material, according to the supplier, offers "identical performance to virgin materials with no re-qualification required.

Furthermore, the elastomer is produced through a "unique advanced molecular catalyst" process which, according to Dow, requires 24% less energy than the conventional Ziegler-Natta process. AMC technology typically refers to the use of highly specialized and engineered catalysts at the molecular level to facilitate specific chemical reactions. According to Dow, the EPDM is manufactured by using waste residues or by-products that do not require extra land resources or compete with the food chain.

In a statement to ERJ, Dow said it had "diverse options" in terms of biofeedstock, naming cooking oil as one example. The bio-EPDM is part of Dow's commitment to deliver 3 million tonnes per year of circular and renewable solutions by 2030, according to Zshelyz Lee, global automotive plastics circularity team leader.