Henkel Transforms Industrial CO₂ into Eco-Friendly Adhesives

Capturing CO₂ not only reduces emissions but also paves the way for innovative reuse methods.

From carbonating fizzy drinks to creating building materials and producing synthetic fuel, industries have embraced the potential of captured CO₂.

One groundbreaking use is in the production of water-based adhesives, enhancing resource circulation in emulsion production through carbon capture-derived materials.

This innovative step forward is spearheaded by a strategic collaboration between Henkel and Celanese.

Introducing Celanese

Celanese, a prominent global entity in the chemical and specialty materials sector, has proven its mettle across various industries with tailored, innovative solutions.

A Fortune 500 company, Celanese excels due to its adept integration of chemistry, technology and commercial acumen, aligning with the escalating demands for sustainable products.

Deeply committed to sustainability, the company focuses on the responsible lifecycle management of materials, constantly expanding its eco-friendly product range to align with both consumer expectations and societal norms.

Celanese’s Clear Lake facility in Texas showcases its dedication through carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technology.

By converting captured industrial CO₂ emissions into methanol, Celanese enables these emissions to be repurposed beneficially, notably in adhesive production.

Transforming industrial CO₂ into adhesives

Henkel, the powerhouse behind brands like Dylon, Bloo, and Colour Catcher, collaborates with Celanese to harness industrial CO₂ emissions, transforming them into methanol through a sophisticated hydrogenation process.

Celanese’s Clear Lake facility in Texas showcases its dedication through carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technology.

By converting captured industrial CO₂ emissions into methanol, Celanese enables these emissions to be repurposed beneficially, notably in adhesive production.

Transforming industrial CO₂ into adhesives

Henkel, the powerhouse behind brands like Dylon, Bloo, and Colour Catcher, collaborates with Celanese to harness industrial CO₂ emissions, transforming them into methanol through a sophisticated hydrogenation process.

This methanol is a vital precursor in manufacturing vinyl acetate monomer, a crucial component for creating polymers essential in adhesive formulations.

“We are pleased to partner with Henkel to demonstrate another way in which Celanese ECO-CC products can support the transition to a more circular economy,” says Kevin Norfleet, Global Sustainability Leader at Celanese.

“Our CCU platform offers a compelling and scalable path to delivering sustainability into the adhesives market and we are continuing to work to develop solutions for a broad range of applications.”

By producing methanol from captured CO₂, Henkel can employ this CCU-derived substance to formulate water-based adhesives.

This innovative process offers significant environmental benefits, aligning with the surge in demand for sustainable products across various industries, including e-commerce, packaging and labelling.

Henkel: Advocating eco-friendly packaging solutions

Henkel's involvement with Celanese epitomises how industries can transform waste into ecologically sound products.

The increasing consumer demand for environmentally responsible products has elevated CCU-based adhesives as pivotal to sustainability within diverse sectors such as packaging, envelopes, graphic arts and more.

By integrating captured CO₂ emissions in adhesive production, these industries can effectively shrink their environmental impact while catering to increasing sustainability demands from their clientele.

“Our purpose is to pioneer packaging solutions for the benefit of people and planet, which means taking a holistic look at sustainability and making bold moves toward forward-looking technologies that offer our customers cost-effective options for improving sustainability,” Pernille Lind Olsen, Global Head of the Packaging and Consumer Goods Adhesives division at Henkel, adds. 

“This initiative will provide new options for our customers to meet overall sustainability goals in the packaging industry.”

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