BASF has made it clear that their (Meth)Acrylate portfolio will go through a biotransformation and to do this, the company has changed their production to bio-based ethyl acrylate (EA). This switch will come into effect in Q4 2024.

Bio-based EA from BASF, is said to help customers worldwide reach their sustainability goals and the product does this through its 14C-traceable bio content of 40% according to DIN EN 16640. Plus, it also has a low Product Carbon Footprint (PCF1) and this element of the product offers a PCF reduction of ~30% in comparison to fossil-based EA.

The bio-based EA which BASF is using, is manufactured in Ludwigshafen and it is created through the use of bioethanol exclusively as alcohol source. A huge benefit that comes with manufacturing the product in this way, is that the technical specifications of the new product, are identical to the ‘old’ version.

In order to create this bio-based ethyl acrylate, BASF strictly only uses sustainable bioethanol which predominantly comes from European sources and only those places which have used grain as feedstock. On top of these rules laid out by BASF, the company also ensures that strict sustainability criteria are always in place when it comes to material use of biomass.

On the other hand, whilst BASF is strict about the product and the manufacturing criteria, the company’s bio-based EA offers a broad application range. It is possible for it to be used a variety of polymer dispersion applications, but the main market which BASF is aiming for, is the coatings and adhesives industry.

Senior Vice President Industrial Petrochemicals Europe, Dr. Reiner Geier, commented, “With bio-based EA we can offer our customers a readily available drop-in solution for many applications. Ethyl acrylate is a well-established product that will support our customers in reaching their sustainability goals. From Q4 2024 onwards, we will phase out fossil-based EA and exclusively offer bio-based ethyl acrylate going forward.”