— By Plasteurope.com correspondent — 

Tekni-Plex Healthcare, the medical technology unit of US processor Tekni-Plex (Wayne, Pennsylvania; www.tekni-plex.com/healthcare), has introduced bio-based, medical-grade PVC compounds that utilise resins and plasticisers manufactured with renewable energy and bio-attributed classification.

The materials are ISCC-Plus certified and are equivalent to traditional medical-grade PVC in terms of chemical composition, functionality, and regulatory viability, the company said. It noted that it is the first to introduce bio-based compounds for medical plastics applications in which the performance and properties are equivalent to conventional PVC.

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The bio-based PVC compounds can reduce carbon emissions by up to 90% compared with conventional PVC polymers and by up to 60% compared with traditional PVC plasticisers, the company said.

The material is produced at the company’s manufacturing facility in Belfast, UK, and can be used as a drop-in replacement for a wide variety of injection-moulded or extruded PVC compounds utilised in an array of applications. This includes tubing solutions such as IV therapy tube sets, drip chambers, and peristaltic pump tubing, as well as films used for trays, pouches, bags, and other form-fill-seal settings, Tekni-Plex said.