Canlon's Voice | Why is the widespread application of polymer membranes the best way to save energy and reduce carbon emissions in the building waterproofing industry?

Energy conservation and emission reduction have undoubtedly become a consensus across the industry.

However, when it comes to a specific industry, a specific company, or even a specific individual, everyone has different understandings of how to save energy and reduce emissions.

Taking the building waterproofing industry as an example, many manufacturers will achieve low-temperature construction and reduce gas consumption by improving and optimizing the manufacturing process of modified asphalt membranes; reduce VOCs (volatile organic compounds) emissions and improve heat recovery efficiency through thermal storage incineration systems; some have developed cold construction processes to replace traditional hot melt; some have reduced overall emissions through recyclable and renewable materials; and some have reduced on-site construction emissions through prefabricated production and assembly construction, and so on... It can be said that each of them has their own unique skills.

However, in Canlon's opinion, the comprehensive promotion and application of polymer membranes is the best way to save energy and reduce carbon emissions in the building waterproofing industry!

Admittedly, the environmental friendliness of polymer materials (such as PVC, TPO, etc.) is not absolute, but their advantages in terms of emission reduction and carbon reduction mainly come from the characteristics of the entire production and use cycle.

Low energy consumption and high controllability

The production of polymer materials uses petrochemical intermediates (such as ethylene and propylene) as raw materials and is generated through polymerization reactions. The process is mainly low-temperature (relative to asphalt processing) and closed.

Taking polyolefin materials as an example, the polymerization reaction temperature is usually 50-150°C, and the reaction process can reduce by-products by precisely controlling the pressure and catalysts; the waste gas generated during the production process is mainly unreacted small molecular monomers, which can be recycled through recovery equipment, and the wastewater and solid waste are mostly treatable organic residues, without heavy metals or strong carcinogens (such as benzopyrene), and the treatment difficulty is much lower than asphalt-based waterproofing membranes.

While the environmental performance of asphalt membranes is certainly not unimprovable, the potential for improvement is limited by the properties of the raw materials and the nature of the process, resulting in certain bottlenecks. Asphalt must be heated to a fluid state before it can be bonded to the matrix. While many manufacturers have made efforts to conserve energy and reduce emissions, such as adopting low-temperature processes, this still consumes significant energy (typically more than twice that of polymer materials).

Durability indirectly reduces full-cycle emissions

It is well known that high-quality polymer coils can have a service life of more than 30 years and are puncture-resistant and UV-resistant, requiring no frequent maintenance or replacement.

Asphalt-based membranes, on the other hand, have a service life of only 10-15 years due to the characteristics of asphalt that are easily oxidized and become brittle at low temperatures. Repeated construction will lead to the accumulation of energy consumption and emissions from raw material production, transportation, and construction.

Therefore, the long life characteristics of polymer materials can reduce the frequency of the "production-disposal-reproduction" cycle, and indirectly reduce total emissions from a full life cycle perspective.

The recycling system is mature and has a wide range of application scenarios

The final piece of the puzzle is recycling.

The mixed structure of traditional modified asphalt membranes (asphalt + polymer modifier + matrix) determines that their separation costs are extremely high. Currently, there is no economically viable recycling system in the world, and most of them are currently disposed of by landfill or incineration.

However, incineration releases dioxins (if chlorine additives are included) and CO₂, while landfilling occupies land and may cause soil pollution. Therefore, the recycling of asphalt-based membranes is still under continuous optimization and improvement.

Polymer membranes such as TPO/PVC use a single material system that is easily recyclable. Most polymer materials can be recycled through melt regeneration technology and reprocessed into low-performance products such as pipes, gaskets, and seals. The energy consumption of the recycling process is only 30%-50% of that of the original material, and it can be recycled 3-4 times.

Of course, if there is a lack of recycling conditions in remote areas and landfill is necessary, since polymer materials have strong chemical stability and are almost undegradable in the natural environment, they will occupy certain land resources. However, because they do not contain toxic substances such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, they will not cause soil or groundwater pollution and are still superior to asphalt-based waterproof membranes.

There is still a long way to go to promote polymer coils

According to data from the China Building Waterproof Association, by 2024, polymer waterproofing membranes will account for 75% of the US market, with significant market share in Europe and Japan. However, in China, polymer waterproofing membranes still account for less than 15% of the building waterproofing material market. This not only highlights the importance of polymer waterproofing membranes in the global waterproofing market, but also suggests they are poised to become a mainstream product in my country's waterproofing industry.

At present, the TPO waterproof membrane customized by the polymer industrial park under Canlon can achieve 15,000 hours of artificial climate accelerated aging, 11.5kPa of wind uplift resistance, and copolymer raw materials, with an exposed service life of more than 25 years; the customized PVC waterproof membrane, which uses solid plasticizer raw materials, is more stable and environmentally friendly, with 12,000 hours of artificial climate accelerated aging and 9.3kPa of wind uplift resistance, far exceeding the national standard level.

Adhering to the scientific, rigorous, solid and reliable work style, Canlon is committed to meeting customers' needs for weather resistance, high temperature resistance, waterproofing, corrosion resistance, flame retardancy and other aspects of waterproofing systems, and creating one-stop polymer system services for customers.

Canlon expects that with the joint efforts of the entire industry and the continuous improvement of society's demand for building quality, polymer membranes will eventually become the mainstream choice in the Chinese market.