Snowbond: The Environmentally Friendly ACP

In recent times, sustainability has become an increasing concern for many people, and society in general when it comes to the products they use. This ranges from the use of everyday consumer products and how their production processes and afterlife have an impact on the environment, to the sustainability and environmental impact of larger scale commercial and construction products and materials. 

Many plastics, acrylics and aluminium products are not biodegradable, and can take hundreds of years to break down in landfills, creating a lot of unnecessary waste and pollution. With this in mind, production processes have improved and new innovative techniques have been developed to produce more sustainable plastics and aluminium products that are more environmentally friendly. An example of this is the Snowbond® Aluminium Composite Panel which is produced using recycled materials, with the goal of decreasing landfill without compromising the strength, durability and quality of the finished product.

Let us explore some of the benefits of using sustainable plastics and aluminium products and how Snowbond® is a more environmentally friendly alternative.

 

 

What Are Aluminium Composite Panels

Aluminium composite panels (also commonly referred to as sandwich panels), are panels that are made up of two sheets of aluminium that are thermally bonded to a polyethylene core, this reinforces the strength of the panels which are extremely durable and perfect for construction projects. Some of the more widely used applications, for aluminium composite panels include;

  • Indoor and outdoor signage applications
  • Frames and display cases
  • POP/ POS displays and brochure holders
  • Shop fittings
  • Exhibition displays
  • 3D lettering

 

Environmental Impacts

Although plastics and aluminium products have such a wide range of uses and applications, and have excellent characteristics that make them a superior material, the production of plastics and aluminium products is not the most environmentally friendly process.

 

Production

Aluminium composite panels are made with two thin aluminium sheets that are bonded to a core material made of various forms of thermoplastic resins or minerals. This plastic is the ‘composite’ feature of Aluminium composite panels. Although thermoplastic resins have been revolutionary to the industry, the way they are made has significant environmental impacts. 

The process to produce plastics like thermoplastic resins begins with a distillation of hydrocarbon fuels into lighter groups called “fractions”, some of which are combined with other catalysts to produce plastics. Further processing is then required depending on the type of finished product. As can be imagined, for a number of reasons, this is not the most environmentally friendly process, and any way in which the production of plastics and acrylics can be minimised and reduced will have beneficial impacts on the environment.

 

Biodegradability

Aluminium is generally considered to be a “green metal” in the sense that it can be infinitely recycled with new products created from it, this being said the initial production of aluminium is not the most environmentally friendly process. This process involves the mining of raw clay and bauxite which consists of 45-60% aluminium oxide, along with various impurities such as sand, iron, and other metals.

 

Polyethylene being the other compound that makes up aluminium composite panels is a plastic polymer and is the most common form of plastic in use today. Polyethylene is non-biodegradable and is responsible for many of the millions of tonnes of plastic in the world’s landfills, even though it’s fantastic for being recycled and melted down for reuse. With this in mind, there has been a trend for many producers of manufacturing products and plastics to utilise recycled polyethylene in the production process.

 

Introducing Snowbond® ACP

Snowbond® is the latest generation of aluminium composite panels, consisting of two aluminium cover layers and a foamed PVC core. It’s lightweight and flexible, yet extremely flat– ideal for UV printing, advertising and decoration markets.

Visually, Snowbond® has the same structure as traditional aluminium composite panels, however what makes it different is the new foamed core made from virgin plastic (which is a form of recycled plastic). In addition to the production process, Snowbond® is more resistant to heat and fire than conventional forms of aluminium panels.

Snowbond® has a number of key features which include;

  • Lightweight and cost effective
  • Smooth surface
  • Easy-peel foam
  • Easy fabrication

Snowbond® is perfectly suited for a number of applications which include;

  • Indoor and outdoor signage
  • UV and screen printing
  • POP/POS displays
  • 3D lettering
  • Shop fittings
  • Exhibition displays

 

Conclusion

Being an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional aluminium composite panels, there are a number of benefits of using Snowbond® in place of more traditionally produced aluminium composite panels. If you would like more information about Snowbond® contact us at Mulford Plastics today and our team will be more than happy to help with any enquiries.

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