I-Coats' SDG's

Bio-based Coatings and Life-Cycle Management, Climate Change, Sustainability, Lifecycle Assessment and Coatings:
what to do?

Today we are clearly observing more and more the impact of man on the environment and what our dependence on fossil-based product is doing to our planet. More and more is known about (micro-)plastics and their impact on life.

As the hazards are identified in more detail it can be expected that regulations will follow. A good example of this are the sustainability guidelines that Europe published at the end of 2024 for fishing and aquaculture.

I-Coats coatings are an integral part of the rope or net and as such we also need to prepare!

I-Coats's Sustainable Development Goals SDG

Fortunately the choice in bio-based alternatives is increasing, allowing a higher bio-based content, whilst still having a good performance.

I-Coats has taken the next step to increase the bio-based content with the purpose to reduce environmental impact and dependence on finite fossil fuel.

Increasing the bio-based content to a significant amount (>30% - 50%) has a positive influence on bio-degradation.

In our view bio-degradation is the best solution against the persistence of micro-plastics.

Components should only be called bio-based, when they are from sustainable sources. This approach is getting more and more accepted, resulting in more bio-based products from sources with a shorter cycle. With these products come different processing routes that are more environmentally friendly (enzymatic).

Definitions for sustainable, bio-based and relevant types of bio-degradation for coatings are briefly mentioned.

Then an overview for the different bio-based coatings as supplied by I-Coats, lastly expected developments in sustainability are discussed.

 

Bio-based, biodegradable or bio-plastic are buzzwords or does it actually mean something?

In Europe so-called greenwashing has become a topic of attention for policy makers and it can be expected that claims related to environmental impact of products will need to be substantiated.

Anticipating this I-Coats and its partners are working  with the following definitions: 

  • Bio-based = sourced from renewable biomass at the beginning of their life.
  • Biodegradable = metabolized into organic matter at the end of their life.
  • Bioplastic =  can refer to one or both of the definitions above.

According to these definitions, bioplastics can be broken down into three distinct groups as depicted in the scheme. Note that bio-based does not directly mean biodegradable and vice versa.

However, for biodegradables it is less clear. Conditions of biodegradation on land (soil), in waste (controlled conditions), sweet water (rivers, lakes)  or in the sea are different. For marine degradation (in sea) often three types are identified: at shore level, in the sea or in the seabed.

Especially in the latter two, degradation can be slow, because of lower temperatures and oxygen levels. All these factors make actual  evaluation of biodegradability of new products in marine conditions difficult. Often field tests are needed, spanning long periods. This is a serious limitation for product development.

In the Glaukos Project research partners, together with I-Coats, have addressed evaluation of biodegradation by developing and adapting screening methods.

The goal of these tests is to identify the following issues in an acceptable time:

  • Does the plastic degrade?
  • When does it no longer pose a threat to marine life (ghost nets)?
  • Does the degradation release toxic products (see also schematic)?

Work has started to evaluate if our bio-based coatings are also marine-friendly.

Initial results suggest that with a higher-bio-based content the coatings are also more marine friendly.

Bio-based
products
at
I-Coats

To evaluate the performance of its coatings on fibres and ropes for the different applications I-Coats NV is using different tests.

These tests were selected on our best understanding of the conditions of use for a given application and are scaled down for more efficient testing.

Lab tests can be used for a relative comparison against known performance of a given product in use. Actual performance should always be verified in use.

For abrasion testing a special machine is used that can abrade a rope against a hexagonal bar.

A standard 3 mm HMPE rope has been coated with the coatings mentioned below and the abrasion performance compared to our standard equivalents:

  • ICO-THANE 10 ECO is a soft, flexible, light-fast polyester-based aqueous aliphatic polyurethane dispersion which contains about 45% bio plastics
  • ICO-THANE 32 ECO is a medium-soft flexible, light-fast polyester-based aqueous aliphatic polyurethane dispersion compound which contains about 50% bio plastics
The performance of the ECO variants is comparable or better than that of the regular products (pick-up is given as % in the graph).
Because of their basis and their expected marine-friendly performance they are an important step towards meeting the sustainability goals.

Climate change
life cycle
and
sustainability

Temperature change 2000-2100

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated in 2021 that we can expect a global temperature increase of some 2,2° by 2080.

This is assuming that most of the measures proposed today will be implemented. 

Seeing the effects of climate changes today, the thought that we will only see things level off by 2080 is worrisome.

What can I-Coats do to help reduce global warming? Which path should we follow?

Today there are basically two approaches:

  • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Here the entire life cycle is analyzed: all relevant phases such as extraction of raw materials, transport routes, manufacturing processes and disposal. With focus on the environment impact. Often it is referred to as carbon foot printing, as the focus is specifically placed on the greenhouse gas emissions generated.
  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). They were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDG’s highlight the connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development.

Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. However for ropes and nets focus within the EU is more on sustainability.

For this reason I-Coats has decided to work with the SDG approach.

See below, for our contribution to these goals:

SDG 9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure

SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

By incorporating bioplastics in our coating, I-Coats promotes innovation in sustainable materials for fibre applications.
SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production

SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

We encourage customers to choose bio-based alternatives that minimize environmental impact throughout the entire lifecycle from production to disposal.
SDG 14 Life below water

SDG 14: Life below water

The use of biodegradable bioplastics in a marine environment reduces the harm to marine life and promotes the health of aquatic environments.
SDG 15 Life on land

SDG 15: Life on land

Microplastics have been shown to affect physical and chemical properties of soil, microbial and enzyme activities, thus affecting plant growth.
SDG 17 Partnerships for the goals

SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals

I-Coats recognizes the pivotal role in fostering collaborations and actively seeking partnerships to drive positive change and address the global challenges together.

Conclusions

I-Coats has developed two new bio-based coatings ICO-THANE 10 ECO and ICO-THANE 32 ECO with 45% resp 50% bio-based materials.

In the tests at I-Coats the ECO variants showed a slightly better performance in abrasion than our regular products.

These coatings help us to contribute positively to the sustainability goals relevant for coating.

Contact us!