Grey to Green – LANXESS biocides for green roofs

Mumbai: With increase in urbanization, there is a great demand for not only more buildings but aesthetically appealing architectural spaces. Given the space constraint in the larger cities, green roof on buildings come as a welcome respite. Green roof for buildings is partially or completely covered with vegetation, planted over a waterproofing membrane. Green roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater, providing insulation and helping to lower urban air temperatures and mitigate the heat island effect while creating peaceful retreats for people and animals.

Biocides from LANXESS offer a very tangible solution for maintaining green roofs on buildings. When designing flat roofs, especially green roofs, it must be kept in mind that plant roots can grow into and through roof sheeting over time. Leaks and damage from infiltrating water would be the result.  

LANXESS Preventol® B 5 is specially designed for the formulation of root-resistant bituminous building materials. It is highly soluble in bitumen and, once added to the material and distributed uniformly, it offers integrated, highly effective protection. Direct contact between root sprouts and treated material allows the absorption of minimal amounts of the active substance, which slows down and finally stops the length growth of roots, thus preventing partial or total root penetration in the building structure. The influence of Preventol® B 5 on the root growth is localized. Root sprouts in the immediate neighborhood which do not have contact with the treated material remain unaffected.

Preventol® B 5 requires no additional special handling, ensuing existing planning and installation practices can be maintained. Architects can rely on the standard handling properties of a recognized natural material. The use of Preventol® B5 contributes a significant value add to the manufacture of bitumen roof sheeting. It provides long term effect and remains effective even under extreme weather conditions.

Some examples of application of Preventol ® B 5 are:
•    Joint compounds and cold-workable sealants such as putties, strips and the like for drainage and wastewater lines
•    Bitumen insulation of pipes, bridges, dyke or dam constructions and other hydraulic structures
•    Footpaths or sidewalks, cycle-ways or car parks made of bituminous asphalt
Preventol B5 can also be used in rubber seals, latex emulsions, liquid plastics

Other applications of the Preventol product range include leather, textile, paper, gums and adhesives, construction chemicals, inks, emulsions, metal working fluids, wood preservation and coatings, slurries, sealants and any application where water is used for any of the processes. Such applications are prone to attack by microbes and hence biocides act as the protectors.

The LANXESS business unit Material Protection Products offers one of the broadest product lines in industrial biocides and preservatives and belongs to the LANXESS’ Performance Chemicals segment.

Detailed product information can be found at lanxess.in/en/industries-products-india/business-unit-india/material-protection-india/


About LANXESS:
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 9.1 billion in 2012 and roughly 17,500 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. LANXESS is a member of the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World and FTSE4Good as well as the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).

Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by LANXESS AG management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Information for editors:
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