Questions and answers

Which renewable raw material is used for NMC Naturefoam®?

NMC Naturefoam® is predominantly manufactured from polyethylene on the basis of sugar cane. The bio-polyethylene used as the raw material for the NMC Naturefoam® PE foams is manufactured from ethanol, which is in turn produced from sugar cane.

What is the big advantage of renewable raw materials?

CO2 emission in the entire production process, from cradle to the factory gate, could be reduced to zero. In the production of the previous CLIMAFLEX® formulation, these emissions amounted to 62,8 kg CO2 per m3 of foam, whereas in common rubber insulation they even come to between 200-220 kg per m³ of foam.

The use of renewable raw materials also protects resources, because fossil raw materials are preserved.

Is Amazonian rain forest destroyed by the cultivation of sugar cane in Brazil?

90% of the sugar cane plantations lie in the central south of the country, 2,500 km away from the Amazonian rain forests, and are cultivated there with social responsibility. Brazil has 330 million hectares of cropland. Only 1.4% of this area is used to produce ethanol from sugar cane. The use of the agricultural areas is checked and monitored by the legislator.

How do renewable raw materials behave in an overall examination of the ecobalance?

In addition to the positive climate and energy values, an ecobalance encompasses further environmental parameters for renewable raw materials in agriculture. NMC’s suppliers continually attempt to optimise these environmental effects.

Why has NMC developed Naturefoam® foam?

In developing Naturefoam®, NMC would like to contribute towards the Paris climate protection treaty agreed in Paris at the end of 2015. The treaty specifies that global warming is to be kept well below 2 degrees Celsius in order to counteract climate change. NMC Naturefoam® makes a double contribution towards achieving the goals of the climate protection treaty, firstly through the climate-friendly material itself and secondly through the insulating action of the pipe insulation.  As a family-run company, we also regard Naturefoam® as part of our task as a responsible company.

Where is NMC Naturefoam® currently in use?

NMC Naturefoam® is offered as standard for technical pipe insulations. These include the well-known NMC quality brand CLIMAFLEX® (CLIMAFLEX®, CLIMAFLEX® XT, CLIMAFLEX® STABIL and EXZENTROFLEX® COMPACT).

Renewable raw materials are used for packaging and industrial products at the customer’s request.

Is NMC Naturefoam® compostable?

NMC Naturefoam® is a bio-based plastic that is not compostable. Compostability would have no ecological or economical advantage with regard to NMC’s products. On the contrary – it is important to NMC that the products can be processed in established collection and recycling systems after use.