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HERITAGE PLASTICS HM10
®
CALCIUM CARBONATE CONCENTRATE
U.S.-based Heritage Plastics was the first resin compounding company to demonstrate a commitment
to sustainability by focusing on highly-functional calcium carbonate concentrates, offering superior
products that boost performance in numerous plastic applications.
Heritage Plastics has a long history of leadership in the advancement of calcium carbonate additive
technology, notably its innovative HM10
®
performance additive-calcium carbonate concentrate, which
is produced at the company’s Sylacaugua, AL facility near one of the world’s largest limestone mines.
HM10
®
calcium carbonate concentrate is used in applications for polyolefin extrusion; including
film, sheet and thermoforming. As will be illustrated in the next section, displacing about 20%
of the petrochemical-based components in film with HM10
®
can yield extraordinary environmental
benefits, including:
• 15%-20% overall energy savings
• 16%-20% reductions in the use of crude oil
• 15%-19% reductions in the use of natural gas
• 12%-17% reductions in the use of coal
• 12%-16% reductions in the use electricity
• 13%-17% reductions of greenhouse gasses
• 15%-20% reductions of oxides of sulfur (SOx)
• 13%-17% reductions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
• 11%-15% reductions of particulates
HM10
®
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT TESTS
To demonstrate commitment to sustainability and to provide evidence of the environmental benefits
of its innovative HM10
®
calcium carbonate concentrate, Heritage Plastics contracted with independent
third party Boustead Consulting & Associates LLC (BCAL) to complete a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA),
or cradle-to-gate analysis, of the additive.
The study analyzed the energy consumption and environmental impacts of using 100% pure
polyethylene (PE) resin compared to displacing 20% of the PE resin with HM10
®
calcium carbonate
additive in both pre-film plastic pellet production, and in film production scenarios.
BCAL based its calculations on a database built over the last 25 years containing a wide variety of
data relevant to the proposed study. The LCA considered both the manufacturing process of Heritage
Plastics HM10
®
additive and its use in HDPE film production.
The following data clearly shows the benefits derived from using the innovative technology of Heritage
Plastics over the comparable existing technology.
Producing one ton of Heritage Plastics HM10
®
calcium carbonate concentrate
uses 72% less energy than producing one ton of HDPE.
OIL
OTHER
TOTAL
HM10
®
HDPE
05
,000
1,808
— 2,533
9,450
7,320
19,303
1,702
1,814
5,324
10,000
15,000
20,000
ELECTRICITY
72% LESS ENERGY REQUIRED
DURING PRE-FILM PRODUCTION
05
Replacing 20% of the HDPE in film with Heritage
Plastics HM10
®
calcium carbonate concentrate
reduces the amount of electrical energy needed to
convert the film by 23%.
23% ELECTRICITY SAVINGS
DURING FILM PRODUCTION
Electrical Energy , kWh per ton
HDPE
HDPE with 20% HM10
®
350
300
250
200
450
400