An investigation of epoxidised linseed oil as an alternative to PVC in flooring applications

This paper considers the replacement of some flooring materials that have well-documented sustainability issues with a material of lesser controversy. Many products used in the flooring industry contain a large amount of embodied energy and have issues with reuse, recycling and disposal. It has been argued that epoxidised linseed oil (ELO), made from renewable resources, could provide an attractive alternative to polyvinyl-chloride (PVC) flooring products in some applications. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of processing parameters on the final cure product of ELO and a di-acid cross-linker. The final cure product is assessed for the performance through a variety of methods standard to the flooring industry and compared to other flooring materials. This paper shows that for contract use, the product may have comparable performance to PVC products.