A new material recently developed by German research institutes can directly replace polyolefin foam without requiring modifications to existing production equipment.
Under the PBS extrusion foaming (xPBS) project, researchers at the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy (Fraunhofer CCPE) successfully developed a foam material based on bio-based polybutylene succinate (PBS). This material is designed to replace foamed polyethylene, which is widely used in protective packaging and construction.
The material's key advantages include its ability to be processed directly on existing extrusion lines-eliminating the need for costly equipment retrofitting-and a density comparable to that of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) foam. From an environmental perspective, PBS is a bio-based, biodegradable material that also possesses thermoplastic properties, making it theoretically recyclable.
This achievement is the result of a collaborative effort among several Fraunhofer CCPE institutes: the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) handled formulation, foaming process development, and scale-up to pilot production, while the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP) focused on polymer synthesis and the precise tuning of material properties.
Thanks to this collaboration, the PBS foam not only yielded promising laboratory results but also successfully transitioned to industrial-scale trial production. Anja Dennard, project manager at Fraunhofer ICT, stated: "Our goal was to create a material solution ready for immediate industrial application. We are now able to mass-produce PBS foam products with performance characteristics comparable to polyethylene foam; this is an industry first and a crucial step toward the material's commercialization."
