Creating possibilities for a sustainable world with Specialty Methacrylates

Evonik’s VISIOMER® Sustainable Methacrylates represents an uncompromising commitment to delivering products with reduced carbon footprints and enhanced safety profiles. Utilizing the building blocks from our VISIOMER® Specialty Methacrylates ToolBox, you can make your applications more sustainable. Whether opting for low-hazard monomers or building blocks for ambient temperature curing to improve the environmental handprint of your products, or choosing bio-based methacrylates to lower the product’s carbon footprint, let VISIOMER® Specialty Methacrylates be your solution of choice!

For over a decade, Evonik has been at the forefront of producing methacrylate monomers under the VISIOMER® Terra brand, made from up to 85 percent bio-based raw materials. This is the cornerstone of our long-term strategy to safeguard the environment and mitigate climate change while maintaining uncompromised performance. VISIOMER® Terra bio-based monomers not only meet the highest performance standards but are also distinguished by their low hazard potential and commitment to environmental friendliness.

The bio-content of VISIOMER® Terra methacrylate monomers is certified by DIN CERTCO and proudly carries the ‘Certified Bio-based Product’ Label. This certification process uses the C14 radiocarbon method and adheres to the ASTM D 6866:2021 protocol, ensuring independent verification.

VISIOMER® Terra products are also supported by detailed Life Cycle Analyses (LCAs) in accordance with ISO 14040/14044 and ISO 14067 standards, as well as the Together for Sustainability (TfS) PCF guideline 2024. These LCAs serve as a critical tool, providing a comprehensive data set that enables Evonik’s customers to leverage the beneficial effects of VISIOMER® Terra Specialty Methacrylates in their products.

Our motivation is to use sustainable raw materials and to offer added value for the end applications. We aim to expand the VISIOMER® Terra product portfolio by incorporating bio-based feedstock in place of fossil feedstock for the existing monomers or by developing new structures based on readily available bio-based raw materials.
In addition to the use of biobased raw materials, the mass balance approach serves as a method to account for the proportion of renewable resources used in production. This approach allows for the integration of both renewable and non-renewable resources in the customer’s production process, ensuring that the final product has a reduced carbon footprint.
Through the mass balance approach, Evonik’s VISIOMER® eCO product line contributes to lowering greenhouse gas emissions and supports a more sustainable future.

An overview of the two families of sustainable methacrylates is provided in Table 1.

Table 1: Overview of our sustainable methacrylates portfolio.

VISIOMER® Terra CARMA, VISIOMER® Terra ISDMA, VISIOMER® Terra OCMA and VISIOMER® Terra IPGMA

VISIOMER® Terra CARMA enables post-crosslinking at ambient temperatures, enhancing the properties of the final coating at low minimum film formation temperatures. Crosslinking after film formation improves mechanical and chemical properties, while curing at ambient temperature saves energy. Furthermore, VISIOMER® Terra CARMA enables the reduction or substitution of co-solvents in water-borne coatings, promoting more sustainable formulations.

Acrylic resins containing VISIOMER® Terra CARMA exhibit excellent compatibility with alkyd resins. This combination harnesses the strengths of both acrylic and alkyd systems, offering enhanced weathering resistance and improved open time in water-based systems.

VISIOMER® Terra ISDMA serves as a co-monomer in the core of core-shell systems, offering enhanced crosslinking efficiency and tensile strength compared to conventional, fossil-based crosslinkers like EGDMA. Its low polymerization shrinkage of only 8 percent, coupled with the excellent mechanical properties, makes it an essential component for adhesives, composites, and various other applications.

Our new VISIOMER® Terra OCMA, with a bio content of 66 percent, complements our portfolio as an alternative to fossil-based alkyl acrylates and alkyl methacrylates, like butyl acrylate or EHMA. VISIOMER® Terra OCMA is easily polymerized in emulsion polymerization processes and enhances water resistance in coatings.

VISIOMER® Terra IPGMA is a newly developed, nearly odorless methacrylate with 30 percent bio-content. This low-hazard monomer can potentially replace traditional, hazardous methacrylates entirely. VISIOMER® monomers, whether used alone or in combination, enable formulators increase product safety without compromising the high performance of reactive (meth)acrylic adhesives.

Utilizing bio-based raw materials doesn’t automatically result in lower carbon footprints for bio-based methacrylates compared to fossil-based counterparts. Factors such as the origin of raw materials, transportation distances, production set-up, and energy sources significantly impact the carbon footprint. To ensure our VISIOMER® Terra products guarantee our customers a reduced carbon footprint compared to petrochemical analogues, we have calculated their global warming potentials (GWP). Additionally, our VISIOMER® eCO product line provides familiar products with a lower carbon footprint through the mass-balance approach.

Sustainable VISIOMER® methacrylates not only improve the performance of acrylic coatings but also significantly reduce their carbon footprint. Additionally, features such as ambient-temperature curing and low-VOC properties further increase the sustainability of these coatings.