In 2000, DuPont introduced its newest polymer platform, DuPont™ Sorona® polymer. Although DuPont discovered Sorona® in the 1940s, it never launched due to the high cost of propanediol or PDO. A research program concluded with the development of a process to make Bio-PDO® using a fermentation process of corn sugar. In 2004, a joint venture known as DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, LLC was formed to produce this new renewably sourced monomer. Incorporating Bio-PDO® into Sorona® made it a renewably sourced polymer.
SmartStrand®, a line of residential carpeting offered exclusively by Mohawk, includes the revolutionary DuPont™ Sorona® renewably sourced polymer. Mohawk’s SmartStrand® with DuPont™ Sorona® is available in over 7000 carpet retailers. This carpet provides high traffic durability, exceptional crush resistance, luxurious softness, and permanent, natural stain resistance that will never wash or wear off. This results in Mohawk’s first ever limited lifetime stain warranty and the confidence that comes from Mohawk, one of the most recognized names in flooring, and DuPont, a leading supplier of innovative materials and technologies. SmartStrand® with DuPont™ Sorona® is the newest and most innovative product to hit the carpet industry in the past 20 years.
SmartStrand® with DuPont™ Sorona® offers “Performance PLUS Environmental benefits. Performance includes durability that will stand up to high traffic areas, crush resistance that won’t quit and barefoot softness. This combined with the inherent, permanent, natural stain protection that won’t wash or wear off and therefore never has to be reapplied. This engineered-in stain resistance reaches new levels of protection, allowing tough stains such as mustard, red wine, and cherry Kool-Aid® to be removed simply with warm water and a mild detergent, or with Mohawk FloorCare™ Essentials. The fiber even resists discoloration from bleach. On the environmental side, DuPont™ Sorona® renewably sourced polymer contains 37% renewably sourced ingredients by weight – meaning it uses 37% less petroleum based ingredients. Other environmental benefits include a 30% reduction in energy use and a 63% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions during the production of Sorona® over the production of an equal amount of nylon6. In other words, on average, the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline is saved for every seven square yards of carpet.
The unique spring-like molecular construction of the polymer gives the fiber remarkable resilience. In fact, two years of testing at independent labs and in Mohawk’s own facilities shows that the polymer performed equal to – or better than – comparable nylon carpets in durability tests.
DuPont™ Sorona® plays a major role in building a renewable economy and DuPont is proud to have Mohawk as its exclusive North American residential flooring partner. DuPont and Mohawk will continue to work together to provide strong environmental leadership along with innovative products that offer the performance consumers want and the environmental benefits the planet needs.- Maribel Rivera and Dawson Winch, DuPont Applied Bio Sciences
SmartStrand® and FloorCare Essentials are trademarks of Mohawk Industries, Inc.
DuPont™, Sorona® and Bio-PDO® are trademarks or registered trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates.
Kool-Aid® is a registered trademark of Kraft Foods.
To learn more about Mohawk SmartStrand® with DuPont™ Sorona®, please visit www.mohawk-flooring.com. And to learn more about Mohawk Greenworks – “Environmental Leadership that Works,” please visit www.greenworksblog.com.
