It’s a product that has a wide range of uses, as a potential component in running shoes and ski boots, to cosmetics, to automotive parts. DuPont describes its new Cerenol product as its newest polymer formulated with renewable resources; made with corn instead of petroleum. The company adds that Cerenol also enhances performance.
DuPont(TM) Cerenol(TM) is a family of renewably sourced, high-performance
polyols (polyetherdiols). Cerenol(TM) can replace petroleum-based ingredients
or finished products without compromising functionality. It offers value-
added properties and can increase process efficiencies for a broad range of
products in diverse markets including personal care, functional fluids and
high-performance elastomers. Unlike petroleum-based or other plant-based
alternatives, DuPont(TM) Cerenol(TM) is easily tailored to meet specific needs
and performs better in many end uses while providing environmental benefits.
“Since customers want environmentally smart options that do not compromise
performance, we are pleased to now offer both Sorona(R) and Cerenol(TM) — two
high-performance polymers that are engineered to meet or exceed the
performance of their petroleum-based counterparts,” said DuPont Bio-Based
Materials Vice President General Manager Peter C. Hemken.
DuPont(TM) Cerenol(TM) is named from Ceres, the Roman goddess of
agriculture. The liquid polyol is made using Bio-PDO(TM) from the DuPont Tate
Lyle Bio Products joint venture in Loudon, Tenn. Cerenol(TM) is the result
of polymerizing Bio-PDO(TM) with itself. Compared to existing alternatives
such as polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG), DuPont(TM) Cerenol(TM) has a
significantly lower environmental footprint as determined by an ISO 14000-
compliant Life Cycle Analysis, because from cradle to gate it has a 40 percent
savings in non-renewable energy and 42 percent reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions. Cerenol(TM) is being produced at DuPont operations in the United
States and Canada.
Cerenol(TM) has a diverse portfolio of uses and benefits. For example, in
personal care applications such as lotions, certain Cerenol(TM) grades provide
a soft after-feel and reduce the need for certain additives. In some
functional fluids such as heat transfer fluids, Cerenol(TM) offers a
biodegradable fluid with excellent thermal conductivity. Cerenol(TM) is an
ideal soft segment for several thermoplastic elastomers and thus enhances the
performance of these elastomers. As an example, in spandex fibers it can
replace the petrochemical soft segment of the polymer to provide better
stretch recovery and an increase in the spinning speed of the fiber.
Cerenol(TM) will be the building block for two other renewably sourced
products from DuPont. First, for new automotive primers and clearcoats from
DuPont Performance Coatings that will be available in the first quarter of
2008, Cerenol(TM) provides increased chip resistance and flexibility. Second,
grades of DuPont(TM) Hytrel(R) thermoplastic elastomers made with Cerenol(TM)
will be available in late 2007 and will offer performance comparable to
conventional grades.
DuPont’s unique breadth of biology, chemistry and materials science,
ranging from better seeds to value-added end-use products, has enabled the
creation of DuPont(TM) Renewably Sourced Materials, where each product
contains a minimum of 20 percent renewable content by weight. These high-
performance products are sourced to a significant extent from renewable,
sustainable agricultural feedstocks, rather than petroleum. Renewably Sourced
Materials from DuPont help reduce the environmental footprint, promote rural
development and increased markets for farmers around the world, and help
reduce dependence on petrochemicals for everyday products. For more
information about Cerenol(TM) and other Renewably Sourced Materials from
DuPont, visit http://www.renewable.dupont.com.
DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802,
DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a
better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70
countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for
markets including agriculture and food; building and construction;
communications; and transportation.