Berlin – Elmira Industrial Supplies has started supplying cardanol-based polyols from cashew nut shells in Europe, Turkey and the CIS.
New supplier of Cashew Nut polyols in Europe, Turkey and CIS
Cashew nut shells can be turned into polyols. Credit: iStock
The material is sold under the Exaphen brand. It is available in viscosities from 1000-30, 000 cP. Grades are available with hydroxyl number of around 200. The range includes materials with functionalities ranging for 4 to 8.
'There is a variety there, and range can be used in PU resins and rigid foams,' said Pierluigi Ferri, manger Elmira.
These are not drop-in replacements for oil, PET or sugar-derived polyols, he said. They are a co-polyol that can offer useful properties. They give good performance which matches petroleum-based polyols, he added.
Elmira has access to around 3kT/year of production capacity in Mumbai India.
The firm has a depot in Latvia. Unipol Kimya operates a distribution centre for the products in Istanbul. ResChem Italia also operates a distribution centre for the materials in Milan, Italy.
These are currently supplying 'volumes of a few drums or a few tonnes.'
Ferri added that DKSH is evaluating the material in France. 'If the order is above a few tonnes it will be shipped directly from India,' he added.
Elmira will be outlining details of its polyols at UTECH Europe in Maastricht 29-31 May 2018.
