Renewable Resources: Biomass Balance Approach from BASF Now Used for Insulation Materials for the First Time
At the Bouwbeurs International Construction Exhibition in Utrecht (Netherlands), FALK presented the first PIR-based insulation product that is manufactured using the biomass balance approach from BASF with renewable resources.
With its FIBON sandwich panel, the Dutch BASF customer FALK is stepping up to reduce fossil resources in construction.
Under the brand name FIBON, BASF customer FALK Bouwsystemen B.V. is now offering sandwich panels that are manufactured using the biomass balance approach. This is how FALK enables its customers to actively participate in the reduction of fossil resources.
The biomass balance approach is similar to the principle of green electricity: fossil raw materials are replaced with renewable resources in production, such as biogas or bio-naphtha, and they are arithmetically allocated to the sales product. Depending on the customer’s requirements, the proportion can range from 25 to 100 per cent. This means that every purchase of biomass balance products contributes to the replacement of corresponding amounts of fossil raw materials with renewable resources in the production of the chemical building blocks in BASF plants.
Consequently, biomass balance customers of BASF support quantitatively measurable savings in greenhouse gases.
This type of raw material substitution has no influence whatsoever on the product characteristics. “There are no differences in quality or properties [compared with the conventional product]. The chemical components derived from renewable and fossil resources are indistinguishable. This means that the construction elements containing our Elastopir® systems (PIR) always meet the same high standards”, says Roel Gunnink, Segment Manager Commercial, BASF Performance Materials. Biomass balance thus combines ecological responsibility with flawless quality.