From Innovation to Certification: NexKemia’s Sustainable EPS Breakthrough

NexKemia Petrochemical Inc., a leader in manufacturing expandable polystyrene (EPS) and graphite-enhanced resins, took a bold step towards demonstrating its commitment to sustainability with its innovative ME-Series of expandable polystyrene resin, branded as NexEco. This product includes a minimum of 30% mechanically recycled content and is specifically designed for the North American construction sector. However, to effectively market this new product line, NexKemia faced a significant challenge: the need for third-party certification to support their claims and promote acceptance within the construction sector.

To overcome this barrier, NexKemia teamed with UL Solutions, a leader in safety science with deep construction expertise and industry presence. Recognizing the growing demand for sustainable building materials and increasing regulatory pressures, NexKemia aimed to drive increased use of recycled EPS within the construction industry.

The collaboration involved a rigorous testing and certification process in which NexKemia submitted over 1,000 samples to evaluate for compliance with North American safety standards. UL Solutions employed advanced testing protocols to evaluate the uniformity and performance of the recycled materials. Following testing, the NexEco product line not only achieved certification under multiple standards, including UL 723, the Standard for Test for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials, and CAN/ULC 701.1 — but also garnered the UL Environmental Claim Validation Mark, indicating that the NexEco products had been produced in accordance with the company’s environmental claims.  

This case study outlines the innovative approaches employed by NexKemia as the company pushes to establish a circular economy in EPS manufacturing.