ZILA Works is working to commercialize the bio-based epoxy resin for use, first, in the outdoor industry.  ZILA Works has already created the world’s first snowboard using a hemp-based epoxy resin.  The same resin can be used in other outdoor recreational equipment, including kayak paddles, surf boards, and even frames for hang gliders.

ZILA Works second formulation of the technology was for the floor coatings industry.  The ZILA Works bio-epoxy resin will be used for hospitals and schools, among others, to create healthier buildings for our communities.

Once commercialized, ZILA Works will purchase cold-pressed seed oil from hemp farmers.  We will contract with a chemical formulator to use our patent-pending technology to convert the hemp seed oil into a bio-epoxy resin.  This step can be initially outsourced to keep capital costs down.  ZILA Works will set up a compounding and R&D facility in Alberta to customize formulations for our customers and ship directly.  We will then sell this resin system to manufacturers as a drop-in replacement for their existing resin so it can be fabricated into their products.  These goods are then sold through retailers to the end consumer.

Not all bioplastics are the same. They vary in production route, characteristics, end uses, and applications. Most bioplastics innovators have focused on thermoplastics such as Polylactic acid (PLA) and starch blends, which are great for compostable plates and silverware, however they do not have the strength necessary for industrial use. Thermoset plastics, like those that ZILA Works is creating, offer a superior alternative that forms more complex three-dimensional bonding structures during the curing process, improving the material’s mechanical properties such as enhanced chemical resistance, heat resistance, and structural integrity. That is, hemp has twice as many double bonds by volume as the nearest competitive bio-based feedstock, and double bonds are advantageous because they allow manipulation of the polymer to customize it to specific end characteristics.

Customers and manufacturers are looking for ways to cut our dependence on fossil fuels, which contributes to global warming and the destruction of our environment.  Traditional epoxy resins are made from virgin fossil fuels, and these products make up ~6% of global oil consumption.  Traditional epoxy resins are also made with a cocktail of chemicals that cause long-term health effects in humans – not only consumers, but also the manufacturing workers who handle this stuff every day.  The ZILA Works hemp-based bio-epoxy resin takes fossil fuels out of the picture and is made with plant-based materials so it is safer for consumers and manufacturing workers.

• Carbon sequestering
• Agronomic benefits to soil/farmers
• Reduced toxins for consumers
• Economic benefits to rural communities
• Safer for manufacturing workers
• Increasing global and US supply

Net carbon sequestration by industrial hemp growth is estimated at 0.67 tons per hectare per year.  This calculates to approximately 1.70 pounds of CO2e sequestered in every gallon of hemp based bio-epoxy resin.  Compared to approximately 17.47 pounds of CO2e produced for every gallon of traditional epoxy resin, switching to this bio alternative means your company is part of the solution, not the problem.

Industrial hemp is not marijuana. Industrial hemp comes from a different variety of the same plant species. Hemp, like flax, is grown outdoors in high volume, producing 4 to 12 tons of biomass per acre. Hemp has historically been used for industrial and commercial purposes because of its strong, durable fibers. Hemp is especially attractive as a crop because it can thrive in many climates and conditions around the world without pesticides and herbicides, making it a low-input sustainable crop with reduced toxicity and cost of production. Farmers cultivating it as a rotational crop reap benefits such as soil aeration, protection from wind erosion, and increased yields from subsequent crops. Hemp is an agricultural commodity, grown in many countries around the world with over 300,000 acres in cultivation. In the US alone, over the past three years, the number of acres has grown by approximately 150% each year and continues to rapidly increase. If you want to learn more about hemp as a low-input, sustainable crop, contact us at the email below.