IP Group Plc : Encos Ltd - Chemical engineering expertise added to the Encos Advisory Board

Encos Ltd - Chemical engineering expertise added to the Encos Advisory Board

10 Jan 2012

Professor Richard Darton of the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford has joined building products expert David Szymanski and architect and former head of the Brick Development Association Michael Driver on the Advisory Board of Encos Ltd.

Richard graduated as a chemical engineer from the University of Birmingham in 1970. After earning a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Cambridge in 1973, he remained at Cambridge as an ICI post-doctoral Research Fellow for two years before joining Royal Dutch Shell in 1975 as a research engineer at the Koninklijke/Shell Laboratory in Amsterdam. After holding a number of positions at Shell, he returned to the UK in 1991 to help set up the new course in chemical engineering at the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford.  He was head of Engineering Science from 2005-2009. His research interests include separation processes, surfactants and sustainability. He is a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering, an honorary member of the Czech Society of Chemical Engineering and has served as a vice-president, deputy-president and president of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. He is currently President of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering. He was appointed OBE in 2011 for services to engineering.

Richard Darton said: "I am very much looking forward to using my chemical engineering expertise to help Encos Ltd develop its sustainable masonry units and bring them to the market. Improving sustainability is a huge challenge for society, and these new products offer an exciting opportunity to reduce the environmental footprint of the building industry."

Mark Nichols, CEO of Encos Ltd, said: "We are delighted that Richard has joined the Encos Ltd Advisory Board where his knowledge of chemical engineering will be of immense benefit in the scale up of our patented binder technology. Richard's help in moving our chemical processes from the laboratory to the production plant which is currently being designed will greatly reduce manufacturing risk and time to market."

Notes to Editors
For more information or to obtain pictures, please contact:
Mark Nichols, Chief Executive Officer, Encos Limited [phone]
[e-mail]

Nina Morgan
Science Press Officer, Encos Limited [phone]
[e-mail]

Encos Ltd

Encos Ltd was founded in 2007 as a spin-out from the University of Leeds to exploit research carried out by Dr John Forth of the Department of Civil Engineering into the use of alternative binders in construction materials. The Company has developed a unique patented process for producing fully sustainable construction products. The process which consumes no water and produces no waste enables the manufacture of carbon negative masonry units. Encos' founding and current principle investor is IP Group Plc who are listed on the London Stock Exchange (see below).

The Encos process
Encos masonry blocks, bricks and brick slips consist of a combination of graded aggregates derived from non-hazardous waste streams, and vegetable-oil-based binders. They are manufactured using a patented method which is based on research carried out at the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Leeds by Dr John Forth into the use of alternative binders in construction materials.

The binders contain plant extracts, such as those from sunflowers, rapeseed and corn in either virgin or waste forms. In the manufacturing process, the oils are mixed with the aggregates and low temperature heat is applied. During the process the oils undergo a number of complex chemical reactions which transform it from a liquid into a solid binding matrix.

Encos research and development focuses on the use of recovered binders and aggregates which would otherwise have been disposed of either to landfill or potentially less sustainable end uses.

Masonry units incorporating the binders and manufactured at the Encos laboratories have successfully passed crucial industry tests including fire, freeze-thaw and compressive strength. The products were also successfully used in the construction of several 'test walls' including one at Poundbury - the urban development project built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.

Environmental impact
Traditional clay bricks and concrete blocks are not very environmentally friendly. Because of the relatively high levels of energy needed to convert raw materials into finished products, approximately the equivalent of 240 kg of carbon dioxide is emitted during the manufacture of 1 ton of clay bricks. The manufacture of concrete blocks also results in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Around 9% of a standard concrete block is composed of cement. For every ton of cement produced, approximately 1 ton of carbon dioxide is emitted.

A third party report produced by Best Foot Forward Ltd estimates that manufacture of the Encos masonry blocks and bricks would result in a reduction of 160% and 120% respectively in greenhouse gas emissions, compared to traditional clay bricks and concrete blocks.