Environmentally Positive Resins

Nerpa Polymers implemented a manufacturing process to produce epoxy resins with a use of bio-based glycerol

What is our epoxy resin resin made of

It all starts with the crops like soybeans, sunflowers and canola. A percentage of world production of this feedstock is dedicated to producing bio-diesel fuel. Plant oil extracted from the seeds of the crop undergoes a chemical reaction that breaks down the oil into crude glycerol and biodiesel.

The glycerol is often discarded because of the sophisticated technological processes required for its purification. Our approach to manufacturing epoxies is to use bio-based glycerol to convert it into a starting material for the synthesis of epoxy compounds.

When plant oil is converted into biodiesel and glycerol, the latter is collected in the crude state, meaning that it is contaminated with bio-diesel, salts, alkali and contains water. To use this bioglycerol, it has to go through a multi-stage purification process.

When glycerol is 99.5% pure and contains minimal traces of water, it undergoes a conversion into a key ingredient for epoxy production: an elementary epoxide.

It is a building block for a variety of epoxy molecules of sophisticated shapes and unique properties. Together, these molecules offer a multitude of possible product combinations for different applications. 

We carefully select compatible combinations of bio-based raw materials and synthesize new molecules from bio-based sources to maintain high bio-content in Nerpa Polymers products.