The new colorants are 100% bio-based and are derived from sources including turmeric root, radish, algae, tomatoes, wood or lignin, and indigo. By incorporating additional raw material sources and suppliers, ROWASOL now has access to a considerably broader range of base colors. Blending the individual colorants and combining them with bio-based white and black opens an even wider spectrum of possible shades.

For an initial comparative evaluation, the new colorants were deliberately tested under identical conditions: at a single concentration, in the same biopolymer, and at a processing temperature of 180 °C. This initial set of samples illustrates the extensive range of colors now available. Further concentrations, color blends, and tinting options offer considerable additional potential for customer-specific color concepts.

ROWASOL was supported in these trials by FKuR Kunststoff GmbH, which provided Bio-Flex^® S 7514, a modern, bio-based injection molding compound, to produce the sample plaques. According to FKuR, the material has a calculated bio-based carbon content of 75% and combines good flow properties with high heat resistance.

In addition to expanding its color offerings, ROWASOL is continually enhancing the GreenLine carrier system. Its bio-based content is already a minimum of 75%. By focusing on reducing non-biobased components, the bio-based content of the carrier has already been increased to more than 96% in the initial formulations. Concurrently, ROWASOL is collaborating with multiple suppliers of bio-based surfactants to develop a fully bio-based carrier system suitable for its liquid color technology.

The current samples illustrate how ROWASOL GreenLine is evolving from a first series of bio-based color concepts into an increasingly versatile modular system for coloring more sustainable plastic applications.

The new color palette can be seen at FAKUMA at two locations: at the ROWASOL booth in Hall B1, Booth 1212, and at FKuR in Hall B4, Booth 4406.