Environmental attributes of coating materials

Abstract

Disclosed are systems for producing painting materials associated with painting material passports or digital assets, methods for producing painting materials associated with painting material passports or digital assets, apparatus for generating passports or digital assets associated with painting materials, computer implemented methods for generating painting material passports or digital assets, computer program elements for generating painting material passports or digital assets, uses of painting materials associated with painting material passports or digital assets, uses of painting material passports or digital assets, products produced from painting materials associated with painting material passports or digital assets, painting materials, painting material passports or digital assets including data relating to one or more decentralized identifiers and environmental impact data, apparatus for producing products associated with painting material passports or digital assets, and methods of producing products associated with painting material passports or digital assets.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a system for producing painting materials associated with a painting material passport or digital asset, a method for producing painting materials associated with a painting material passport or digital asset, an apparatus for generating a passport or digital asset associated with a painting material, a computer implemented method for generating a painting material passport or digital asset, a computer program element for generating a painting material passport or digital asset, uses of painting materials associated with a painting material passport or digital asset, uses of painting material passports or digital assets, products produced from painting materials associated with a painting material passport or digital asset, a painting material, a painting material passport or digital asset including data relating to one or more decentralized identifiers and environmental impact data, an apparatus for producing a product associated with a painting material passport or digital asset, and a method for producing a product associated with a painting material passport or digital asset. [Background technology]

[0002] Technology background In the supply chain, the environmental impact of each supply chain participant is of great interest. Especially in the chemical sector, coating materials are employed in a wide range of applications and are supplied to diverse value chains. In such a complex system, transparency between value chain participants is difficult to achieve. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] Summary of the Invention In one aspect, disclosed is a system for producing a painting material passport or digital asset and associated painting materials, the system comprising: - a chemical production network configured to produce a coating material from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes of the chemical production network, the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes being associated with an environmental attribute; - a production operation device, providing a distributed identifier associated with the coating material to be produced and one or more environmental attributes of one or more input materials and / or one or more chemical processes; Linking decentralized identifiers and environmental attributes a production operations device configured to generate a coating material passport or digital asset by - Optionally, a chemical production network or a chemical production system configured to provide a produced coating material associated with the coating material passport or digital asset. Includes.

[0004] In another aspect, disclosed is a system for producing a painting material passport and / or a painting material associated with a digital asset, the system comprising: - a chemical production network configured to produce a coating material from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes, the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes being associated with an environmental attribute; - a production operation device configured to generate a coating material passport or digital asset by providing and / or linking a distributed identifier associated with a coating material to be produced and one or more environmental attributes associated with one or more input materials and / or one or more chemical processes. Includes.

[0005] In another aspect, disclosed is a method of producing a painting material passport or a painting material associated with a digital asset, the method comprising: - producing a coating material from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes of a chemical production network, the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes being associated with an environmental attribute; - Paint material passport or digital asset, providing a distributed identifier associated with the coating material to be produced and one or more environmental attributes associated with one or more input materials and / or one or more chemical processes; Linking a decentralized identifier and one or more environmental attributes generating said - Providing the paint materials produced in relation to the paint materials passport or digital asset Includes.

[0006] In another aspect, disclosed is a method of producing a painting material passport or a painting material associated with a digital asset, the method comprising: - producing a coating material from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes of a chemical production network, the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes being associated with an environmental attribute; - generating a coating material passport or digital asset by providing and / or linking a decentralized identifier associated with the coating material produced and one or more environmental attributes of one or more input materials and / or chemical processes; Includes.

[0007] In another aspect, disclosed is an apparatus for generating a passport or digital asset associated with a coating material, the coating material being produced from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes of a chemical production network, the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes being associated with environmental attributes, the apparatus comprising: - a distributed identifier provider configured to provide a distributed identifier associated with a coating material to be produced and one or more environmental attributes of one or more input materials and / or one or more chemical processes used to produce the coating material; - an assigner configured to link a decentralized identifier and an environmental attribute; - a passport provider configured to provide a coating material passport or digital asset associated with a coating material produced to a distributed network, where environmental attributes associated with the coating material produced are made accessible to consumers of the coating material produced through the coating material passport or digital asset; Includes.

[0008] In another aspect, disclosed is a method, e.g., a computer-implemented method, for generating a coating material passport or digital asset associated with a coating material, the coating material being produced from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes of a chemical production network, the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes being associated with environmental attributes, the method comprising: - providing a distributed identifier associated with the coating material to be produced and one or more environmental attributes of one or more input materials and / or one or more chemical processes used to produce the coating material; - linking decentralized identifiers and environmental attributes; - Providing a coating material passport or digital asset associated with the coating material produced in a distributed network, where environmental attributes associated with the coating material produced are made accessible to consumers of the coating material produced through the coating material passport or digital asset. Includes.

[0009] In another aspect, disclosed is a computing element, such as a computer readable storage medium, a computer program, or a computer program product, that includes instructions that, when executed by a computing node or a computing system, cause the computing node or the computing system to perform the steps of the computer-implemented methods disclosed herein.

[0010] In another aspect, disclosed is a computer element, such as a computer readable storage medium, a computer program, or a computer program product, that includes instructions that, when executed by an apparatus described herein, cause the apparatus to perform the steps configured to be performed by the apparatus disclosed herein.

[0011] In another aspect, disclosed is a painting material passport or a painting material associated with a digital asset produced by the method disclosed herein. In another aspect, disclosed is a painting material passport or a painting material associated with a digital asset produced by the system disclosed herein.

[0012] In another aspect, disclosed is a painting material associated with a painting material passport or digital asset, the painting material being produced from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes in a chemical production network, the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes being associated with environmental attributes, and the painting material passport or digital asset includes a distributed identifier associated with the painting material produced and a link to the environmental attributes associated with the one or more environmental attributes of the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes used to produce the painting material.

[0013] In another aspect, disclosed is a coating material passport produced by the methods and / or apparatus disclosed herein.

[0014] In another aspect, disclosed is a production system that produces a product from a painting material associated with a painting material passport or digital asset provided by the system, device, or method disclosed herein. In another aspect, disclosed is a production method that produces a product from a painting material associated with a painting material passport or digital asset provided by the system, device, or method disclosed herein.

[0015] In another aspect, disclosed is the use of a painting material associated with a painting material passport or digital asset disclosed herein to produce a product from the painting material associated with the painting material passport or digital asset.

[0016] In another aspect, disclosed is a use of a painting material passport or digital asset disclosed herein to generate a painting material passport or digital asset associated with a product produced from a painting material associated with the painting material passport or digital asset. In another aspect, disclosed is a method of using a painting material passport or digital asset generated by a method disclosed herein in the production of a product produced from a painting material associated with the painting material passport or digital asset.

[0017] In another aspect, disclosed is a coating material associated with a coating material passport or digital asset that includes a decentralized identifier associated with the coating material and linked to one or more environmental attributes of one or more input materials and / or one or more chemical processes used to produce the coating material.

[0018] In another aspect, disclosed is a use of a painting material associated with a painting material passport or digital asset to produce a product from the painting material and associate the painting material passport or digital asset with a product produced from the painting material. In another aspect, disclosed is a use of a painting material associated with a painting material passport or digital asset to produce a product from the painting material and derive a product passport or digital asset from the painting material passport or digital asset. In another aspect, disclosed is a method of using a painting material associated with a digital asset to produce a product from the painting material disclosed herein and derive a digital asset associated with the product from the painting material passport or digital asset.

[0019] Any disclosure and embodiment described herein may relate to the methods, systems, chemical products, coating materials, coating material passports or digital assets and computer elements as outlined above or below, and vice versa. Advantageously, benefits provided by any of the embodiments and examples apply to all other embodiments and examples as well.

[0020] Embodiment The following will outline the embodiments of the present disclosure through embodiments and / or examples. It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments and / or examples. All terms and definitions used in this specification are understood in a broad sense and have a general meaning.

[0021] The method, system, coating material, coating material passport or digital asset and computer element disclosed herein provide an efficient, secure and robust way of sharing or exchanging environmental impact data across different participating nodes in the value chain. In particular, by providing coating material specific data via each coating material passport or digital asset, the environmental impact can be shared and made transparent from the coating material to the product produced from such coating material. The coating material passport or digital asset allows for secure data exchange, since data access can be controlled by the coating material provider, e.g. the entity providing the coating material. The data assets exchanged can be specific to the coating material produced and adapted to the needs of the consumer of said product. In this way, improved tracking and tracing of coating materials can be achieved by providing environmental impact data securely to a diverse and highly complex value chain. Thus, the environmental impact of the coating material can be tracked, leading to easier, more efficient and sustainable handling of the coating material by the value chain participants. For example, the environmental impact data associated with each painting material may be used by a painting material consumer, such as a vehicle manufacturer or an auto repair shop that repairs a vehicle, to select the appropriate painting material needed to meet the required environmental impact of the resulting product, such as a painted or repaired vehicle.

[0022] The coating material may comprise a liquid, paste-like or powder material that, when applied to at least a portion of the surface of the substrate, produces a coating having protective, decorative and / or other specific properties (see also DIN EN971-1:1996-09). The substrate may comprise a metal substrate, a plastic substrate and mixtures thereof. The substrate may be pretreated or may have at least one coating layer. The coating material may be applied using commonly known application techniques such as dipping, bar coating, spraying, rolling, etc. The machine may be a stationary machine or a mobile machine. Stationary machines may include air conditioners, power units (nuclear, coal, natural gas, oil, wind, hydro, solar, geothermal), generators, pumps, hydraulic power units, wind turbines, substations, thermal heat pumps and compressors. Mobile machines may include vehicles. Vehicles may include automobiles. Examples of automobiles may be motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, vans, minivans, ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) and motorized carts for the disabled. The vehicle may include rail vehicles. Examples of rail vehicles may include trains and trams. The vehicle may include a ship. Examples of ships may include ships, boats and underwater vehicles. The vehicle may include an amphibious vehicle. Examples of amphibious vehicles may include propeller vehicles and hovercraft. The vehicle may include an aircraft. Examples of aircraft may include planes, helicopters and lighter aircraft. The vehicle may include a spacecraft. The stationary or mobile machine may be powered by a spark ignition or auto-ignition engine, a two or four stroke engine, an electric engine, a fuel cell or a combination thereof (hybrid engine).

[0023] In one embodiment, the coating material associated with the coating material passport or digital asset may be selected from the group consisting of a coating material and a coating material component. The coating material may be selected from an electrocoat coating material, a primer material, a primer surfacer material, a filler material, a putty material, a basecoat material, a clearcoat material, or a tinted clearcoat material. For example, the coating material may be a primer material. In another case, the coating material may be an electrocoat coating material. In yet another case, the coating material may be a clearcoat material. The coating material component may be selected from a hardener composition, an additive composition, a thinner, a diluent, a spot blender composition, a pigment paste, or a binder composition. For example, the coating material component may be a hardener composition. In another case, the coating material component may be a binder composition. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a thinner. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a diluent. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a spot blender composition. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a pigment paste. In yet another case, the coating material component may be an additive composition.

[0024] Electrocoating materials typically include aqueous dispersions or emulsions of film-forming materials, such as epoxy resins, with ionic stabilizers, such as anionic or cationic stabilizers. The film-forming materials may be self-crosslinking or crosslinkable using a crosslinker. The electrocoating materials may further include pigments and / or crosslinkers. The electrocoating materials may be formulated by mixing a binder dispersion, including the film-forming material and the crosslinker, with a pigment paste, including at least one pigment. During electrocoating, the electrocoating material is deposited on a conductive substrate by immersing the substrate in an electrodeposition bath, including the electrocoating material, and then applying an electric potential between the substrate and a pole of opposite charge, such as a stainless steel electrode. Upon application of the electric potential, the electrocoating composition is deposited on the conductive substrate. The resulting thin film may then be cured to obtain a substrate having an electrocoating. Suitable electrocoating materials include the electrocoating compositions described in EP 0241476 B1, EP 0675926 B1, EP 0961797 B1, EP 1192226 B1, WO 2021 / 123106 A1 and WO 2021 / 239264 A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0025] Primer materials are typically used to form the first layer of a coating system that is applied to a substrate or a previous coating. Primer materials can be solvent-based or water-based. The primer layer typically provides adhesion to the entire coating structure, i.e., not only the primer but also subsequent layers. In addition, the primer layer can perform different tasks depending on the type of substrate, such as corrosion protection of metal substrates. Primer materials can include film-forming materials such as polyesters, poly(meth)acrylics, and epoxy resins. Primer materials can further include pigments. Primer materials can further include crosslinkers such as isocyanates and amine compounds. Primer materials can further include at least one adhesion promoter. Suitable primer materials are described, for example, in WO2019081461A1, WO2020234066A1, WO2020233939A1, and WO2021009252A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0026] Primer surfacer materials are coating materials that combine the properties of a primer with those of a filler. Primer surfacer materials can be solvent-based or water-based. The primer surfacer layer produced from the primer surfacer material can function to protect against mechanical exposure, such as gravel, and to smooth out unevenness in the substrate. Primer surfacer materials can include film-forming materials such as polyester resins, poly(meth)acrylic resins, epoxy resins, and / or poly(meth)acrylic-epoxy resins. Primer surfacer materials can further include pigments. Primer surfacer materials can further include crosslinkers such as isocyanates and amine components.

[0027] Filler materials are typically used to form undercoats within a multi-layer coating. Filler materials can be solvent-based or water-based. The purpose of the filler material is to eliminate substrate irregularities, support adhesion and corrosion protection (especially when used as a primer surfacer material) and provide good gravel resistance throughout the coating system. Filler materials can provide good, high-speed sandability. Filler materials can be used wet-on-wet to cover fine sanding scratches or smooth the filler surface. Filler materials can include film-forming materials such as polyurethane acrylates, polyurethane-based resins, epoxy resins, polyester-based resins, polyacrylate-based resins, or combinations thereof. Filler materials can further include crosslinkers such as isocyanates, blocked isocyanates, and amines. Filler materials can include pigments. Suitable filler materials are described, for example, in WO2020234066A1, WO2020233939A1, each of which is incorporated by reference herein.

[0028] The putty material may be a highly pigmented material used to smooth out irregularities in the substrate that are too large to be corrected any more with primer or filler materials (see also DIN 55945:1996-09). The putty material may comprise a film-forming material such as an unsaturated polyester-based resin or an epoxy resin. The putty material may comprise a crosslinking agent such as a peroxide or amine component.

[0029] The basecoat material may typically be used as a pigmented intermediate coating material. The basecoat material may be solvent-based or water-based. The basecoat material may include at least one color pigment and / or at least one effect pigment. The basecoat layer produced from the basecoat material may be opaque, i.e., the underlying paint layer may no longer be visible through the basecoat layer. The basecoat material may include film-forming materials such as poly(meth)acrylates, polyurethanes, polyesters, poly(meth)acrylate-polyurethanes, polyethers, melamine resins, or combinations thereof. Suitable base coat materials are described, for example, in WO 2018177731 A1, WO 2018197163 A1, WO 2019020324 A1, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20190031910 A1, WO 2019015953 A1, WO 2019207085 A1, WO 2019185306 A1, WO 2019211473 A1, WO 2020151977 A1, WO 2020136016 A1, WO 2020185946 A1. No. 2021074187A1, No. 2021074359A1, No. 2021078923A1, No. 2021094131A1, No. 2021148255A1, No. 2021191015A1, No. 2021224232A1, No. 2022063854A1, and European Patent Application Publication No. 3957693A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0030] Clearcoat materials can typically be used for the production of transparent coatings with protective, decorative or specific technical properties (see also DIN EN971-1:1996-09). Clearcoat materials may be free of color / effect pigments and / or fillers. Clearcoat materials may comprise transparent pigments. Clearcoat materials can be solvent-based, water-based or solid materials. Clearcoat compositions preferably comprise at least one (first) polymer as binder with functional groups and at least one crosslinker with a function complementary to the functional groups of the binder. It is preferred to use at least one hydroxy-functional poly(meth)acrylate polymer as binder and polyisocyanate as crosslinker. Suitable clearcoat materials are described, for example, in WO 2006 / 042585 A1, WO 2009 / 077182 A1, WO 2008 / 074490 A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0031] Tinted clearcoat materials can be used to produce paint layers that are typically neither completely clear as a clear coat, nor completely opaque as a typical pigmented basecoat. Thus, tinted clearcoat layers are clear or semi-transparent in color. Color can be achieved by adding small amounts of pigments commonly used in basecoat paint materials to the clearcoat material.

[0032] The hardener composition may include at least one crosslinking agent. Suitable crosslinking agents may be selected from melamine resins, polyisocyanates, blocked isocyanates, polycarbodiimides, amines, or combinations thereof. The hardener composition may include a solvent, such as an organic solvent and / or water.

[0033] The binder composition may comprise at least one binder. The binder may correspond to the non-volatile components of the dispersion without pigments and fillers (see also DIN EN ISO4618:2007-03). The binder may correspond to a physically and / or chemically curable polymer, examples of which are polyurethanes, polyesters, polyethers, polyureas, polyacrylates, polysiloxanes and / or copolymers of the mentioned polymers. The polymer may comprise anionic, cationic and / or non-ionic groups. The binder may be dissolved or dispersed in a solvent. The binder dispersion may comprise water as solvent. The binder composition may comprise pigments, such as color pigments and / or effect pigments. The binder composition may comprise crosslinking agents, such as blocked isocyanates. The binder composition may comprise additives commonly used in coating materials, such as those described below. Suitable binder dispersions are described, for example, in EP 3197961 A1, EP 1720923 A1, EP 3183304 A1, WO 2021018595 A1, WO 2021018594 A1, US 2011042222 A1, EP 2283087 A1, WO 20202 No. 33939A1, European Patent Publication No. 3423535A1, International Publication No. 2020234066A1, International Publication No. 2020234066A1, International Publication No. 2016116299A1, International Publication No. 2022189111A1, and International Publication No. 2015090442A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. Suitable binder solutions are described, for example, in WO 2006 / 042585 A1, WO 2009 / 077182 A1, WO 2008 / 074490 A1, WO 2021018595 A1, WO 2021018594 A1 and DE 4110520 A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0034] The binder solution may comprise at least one binder dissolved in a solvent. The binder may correspond to the non-volatile components of the pigment- and filler-free dispersion (see also DIN EN ISO4618:2007-03). The binder may correspond to a physically and / or chemically curable polymer, examples of which are polyurethanes, polyesters, polyethers, polyureas, polyacrylates, polysiloxanes and / or copolymers of the polymers mentioned.

[0035] A pigment paste may comprise a mixture of pigments in carrier materials, i.e. different polymers. The concentration of pigments in a pigment paste is typically higher than the concentration of said pigments in the coating material prepared from said pigment paste. More specifically, in such pigment pastes, the weight ratio of pigment to polymer is generally higher than in the coating composition in which the paste is used. A pigment paste may comprise water-based and / or organic solvents. A pigment paste may comprise different additives, such as wetting agents and / or dispersants. A pigment paste may be used to prepare color coating materials, such as base coat materials. A pigment paste may be used in a mixer system to prepare color coating materials used during repair processes. Suitable pigment pastes are described, for example, in EP 3083851 A1, US 10131808 B2, EP 3083836 A1, WO 2018172475 A1, US 2020140713 A1, WO 2021018595 A1, WO 2021018594 A1, WO 2021018594 A1, WO 2021018595 ... These and other related art applications are disclosed in International Publication No. 2022175076A1, International Publication No. 2018019628A1, International Publication No. 2021123106A1, U.S. Published Application No. 2007269606A1, International Publication No. 2015070930A1 and International Publication No. 2004018580A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0036] The additive composition may include at least one additive. The additive may be selected from thermally decomposable salts, reactive diluents, transparent pigments, fillers, pigments soluble in molecular dispersions, nanoparticles, light stabilizers, antioxidants, degassing agents, emulsifiers, lubricants, polymerization inhibitors, free radical polymerization inhibitors, adhesion promoters, flow control agents, coalescence aids, sag control agents (SCAs), flame retardants, corrosion inhibitors, waxes, drying agents, biocides and matting agents, leveling agents, light stabilizers such as UV absorbers or HALS, free radical scavengers, lubricants, polymerization inhibitors, defoamers, wetting agents, flow control agents, coalescence aids such as cellulose derivatives, rheology control agents, flame retardants and / or water scavengers, catalysts or combinations thereof, with no or substantially no residue. The additive composition may include a solvent such as water or an organic solvent. The additive composition may include a binder such as those mentioned above.

[0037] Thinners and diluents are typically used to adjust the viscosity of the coating material to a desired value or range. Thinners may include solvents such as organic solvents or water. Diluents may include solvents such as organic solvents or water. The organic solvent may be selected from Solvesso 100™, aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene or xylene, alcohols such as butanol or isopropanol, esters such as butyl acetate or ethyl acetate, ketones such as methyl isobutyl ketone or methyl amyl ketone, ethers, ether alcohols or ether esters, or any mixture thereof. Suitable diluents and thinners are described, for example, in WO2022200533A1 and WO2011068855A1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0038] The spot blender composition may typically be applied over an uncured refinish clear coat to provide a "soft" transition zone and an "invisible" finish that leaves no visible trace of the repair at the damaged area. The spot blender composition may include a film-forming agent, such as polyols, urethane (meth)acrylates, or mixtures thereof. The spot blender composition may include a crosslinker, such as a polyisocyanate, and may be free of a contrast agent, e.g., may be free of a contrast agent. The spot blender composition may include a solvent, such as an organic solvent. The organic solvent may be selected from n-butyl acetate, isobutyl acetate, and xylene. Suitable spot blender compositions are described, for example, in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010216945A1, WO2006097386A1, WO2006097385A1, and WO2007027286A2, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0039] A chemical production network may include one or more chemical and / or mechanical processes. A chemical production network may produce one or more output materials through chemical and / or mechanical processing. A chemical production network may include multiple types of production processes that produce one or more output materials from one or more input materials. A chemical production network may produce one or more output materials from input materials provided to the chemical production network. A chemical production network may include a complex production network that produces multiple chemical products through multiple production processes. A chemical production network may include connected production processes, interconnected production processes, and / or unconnected production processes. A chemical production network may include a composite or Verbund network.

[0040] The chemical production network may include identity-preserving or non-segregating production processes. Identity preserving or non-segregating in this context may refer to the environmental attributes of the input materials being preserved or separated in the production process. An example is a non-fossil, e.g., renewable or recycled, input material used to produce one or more coating materials without fossil content. A further example is a fossil input material used to produce one or more coating materials with fossil content. The chemical production network may include non-identity-preserving or non-segregating production processes. Non-identity-preserving or non-segregating in this context may refer to a non-fossil input material being mixed with a fossil input material to produce a coating material. For example, fossil and renewable input materials may be mixed to produce a coating material with fossil and renewable content.

[0041] A chemical production network may include one or more production processes with multiple production steps. The production steps included in the chemical network may be defined by the physical system boundary of the chemical production network. The system boundary may be defined by the location and / or control over the production process or step. The system boundary may be defined by the site of the chemical production network. The system boundary may be defined by the production process or step that is jointly controlled by one entity or multiple entities. The system boundary may be defined by a value chain with staggered production processes or steps to chemical end products that may be jointly or separately controlled by multiple entities. The chemical production network may include waste collection, sorting steps, recycling steps such as pyrolysis, cracking steps such as steam cracking, separation steps to separate intermediates of certain process steps and further processing steps to convert such intermediates into output materials that exit the system boundary of the chemical production network, in particular the coating materials that are produced. Input materials may enter the physical system boundary of the chemical production network. An entry point of the chemical production network may be characterized by the entry of input materials into the chemical production network or into the system boundary of the chemical network. The output material, in particular the coating material produced, can exit the physical system boundary of the chemical production network. An exit point of the chemical production network can be characterized as the output material, in particular the coating material produced, exiting the system boundary of the chemical production network or chemical network.

[0042] The chemical production network may include one or more production chains for the production of coating materials. The production chains for the production of coating materials may be interconnected. The production chains for the production of coating materials may be interconnected with production chains for the production of other output materials. The production chains for the production of coating materials may include a production chain for the production of intermediates used to produce the coating materials. The production chains for the production of coating materials may use input materials provided by the chemical network for the production of intermediates that can be used to produce the coating materials.

[0043] One or more input materials may be provided to the chemical production network of one or more output materials, in particular coating materials. The output materials, in particular coating materials, may be produced from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes of the chemical production network. The input materials may include any input material that enters the chemical production network at any entry point. The input materials may include organic input materials or inorganic input materials. The input materials may be precursor products, intermediate materials, raw materials or raw materials used to produce one or more output materials, in particular coating materials. The input materials may be fed into the chemical production network to produce one or more output materials, in particular coating materials. The input materials may be fed into the chemical production network including one or more production processes with multiple process steps. The input materials may be fed into the chemical production network at the start of the production process or at any intermediate stage of the production process. The input materials that enter the chemical production network may be used to produce one or more output materials, in particular coating materials.

[0044] The input material may be associated with an input material identifier. The input material identifier may include any identifier that is uniquely associated with the input material. The input material identifier may be associated with a physical input of the input material. The input material identifier may be associated with a single batch of the input material. The input material identifier may be associated with a group of the input material. The identifier may be associated with multiple physical entities of the input material. The input material identifier may be associated with a continuous or semi-continuous stream of the input material. The input material identifier may be associated with a stream of input material over a particular time period or from a particular supplier, for example. The input material identifier may be linked or connected to one or more environmental attributes.

[0045] The environmental attributes may refer to characteristics related to environmental impact. Such characteristics may be characteristics of the input materials, chemical processes, chemical production networks, and / or coating materials. The environmental attributes may indicate the environmental performance of the input materials, chemical processes, chemical production networks, and / or coating materials. The environmental attributes may be derived from the characteristics of the input materials, chemical processes, chemical production networks, and / or coating materials. The environmental attributes may be related to the environmental impact of the input materials, chemical processes, chemical production networks, and / or coating materials at any stage of the life cycle of the input materials and / or coating materials. The stages may include providing raw materials, providing raw materials, producing chemical products such as intermediate products or final products, producing individual products by using chemical products, using chemical products or individual products, processing end-of-life products, recycling end-of-life products, disposal of end-of-life products, reuse of ingredients from end-of-life products, or any subset of stages. The environmental attributes may be specified or derived from any activity of one or more entities participating in any stage of the life cycle of one or more materials or products.

[0046] The environmental attributes may include one or more properties attributable to the environmental impact of the input materials, the chemical process, the chemical production network, and / or the coating material. The environmental attributes may include environmental properties, technical properties, recyclability properties, or circularity properties associated with the environmental impact of the input materials, the chemical process, the chemical production network, and / or the coating material.

[0047] The environmental attributes may include one or more properties attributable to the environmental impact of the input materials, the chemical process, the chemical production network and / or the coating material. The environmental attributes may include environmental properties, technical properties, recyclability properties or circularity properties related to the environmental impact of the input materials, the chemical process, the chemical production network and / or the coating material. The one or more environmental attributes may be attributable to the environmental impact of the coating material. The one or more environmental attributes may relate to the environmental properties, technical properties, cyclability properties, circularity properties and / or complementary risk properties of the coating material.

[0048] The environmental characteristics may specify or quantify environmental protection criteria associated with environmental impacts. The environmental characteristics may be or be derived from measurements made during the life cycle. The environmental characteristics may be identified at any stage of the life cycle and characterize the environmental impacts at or up to such stage. The environmental characteristics may include, for example, carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions, resource use, air emissions, ozone depletion potential, water pollution, noise pollution, energy consumption, waste reduction, or eutrophication potential. The environmental characteristics may include, for example, product characteristics related to the production of the product, such as bio-based, plant-based, animal-based, halogen-free, fluorine-free, vegan, halal, kosher, palm oil-free, natural, toxic-free, isocyanate-free, melamine-free, volatile organic compounds-free, or any combination thereof.

[0049] A technical characteristic may specify or quantify a performance that is at least indirectly related to an environmental impact. A technical characteristic may be or be derived from measurements made during the life cycle. A technical characteristic may be identified at any stage of the life cycle and characterize the environmental impact of or up to such stage. A technical characteristic may include, for example, chemical composition data, raw material composition such as bio-based or recycled input material content, specifying, for example, x% non-fossil content and y% fossil content, bill of materials, product specification data such as product purity, product form (as an indicator of impact on dust formation / release), safety data, product extractability, migration data, toxicity data or ecotoxicity data, product ingredient data, safety data, applicability data, application instructions, quality data or any combination thereof.

[0050] The circularity characteristic may specify or quantify a life cycle characteristic associated with circular use. The circularity characteristic may be or be derived from measurements made during the life cycle. The circularity characteristic may be or be derived from circularity data recorded at one or more previous life cycles including reuse. The circularity characteristic may be identified at any stage of the life cycle and may characterize the reuse or recycling performance at or up to such stage. The circularity characteristic may include, for example, recycling data, reuse rate, recycling rate, recycling loop, reuse performance, reuse quality, or any combination thereof.

[0051] The recyclability characteristic may specify or quantify a life cycle characteristic associated with a recycling use. The recyclability characteristic may include the composition of a material, including specifically adapted components that make the material suitable for recycling. The recyclability characteristic may be or be derived from measurements taken during the life cycle. The recyclability characteristic may be or be derived from recycling data recorded at one or more previous life cycles. The recyclability characteristic may be identified at any stage of the life cycle and may characterize the recycling performance at or up to such stage. The recyclability characteristic may include, for example, recycling data, reuse times, recyclable composition, recycling quality, waste stream composition, waste stream quality, or any combination thereof.

[0052] In one embodiment, a coating material passport or digital asset associated with a coating material may include mass balance environmental attributes for the input materials. The mass balance environmental attributes may include environmental attributes of the input materials used to produce the coating material that are tracked and attributed to the coating material by mass. The environmental impact of the input materials may be determined based on the input materials used in the chemical process to produce the coating material. For example, the bio-based content, renewable content, and / or recycled content of the input materials used to produce the coating material may be tracked. Additionally, for example, characteristics of the chemical process used to produce the coating material may be tracked. Examples of process characteristics tracked with respect to environmental impact include processing characteristics such as CO2 emissions and / or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, waste generation, mixed material generation, recycling design, energy consumption, less waste or less property loss. The characteristics may be tracked based on a certificate from a certification agency. The characteristics may be tracked based on an intrinsic physical characteristic derived from a measurement.

[0053] In one embodiment, the coating material produced is connected to a distributed identifier that physically identifies the coating material produced. The production operations device may be configured to provide a distributed identifier associated with a physical entity of the coating material produced. The production operations device may be configured to link the distributed identifier to the physical identifier of the coating material produced. The production operations device may be configured to assign the distributed identifier to the physical identifier connected to the coating material produced. The production operations device may be configured to assign the distributed identifier to the physical identifier connected to the coating material produced.

[0054] In one embodiment, the distributed identifier relates to data associated with at least one product produced from the coating material, and the one or more environmental attributes associated with the at least one product are derived from the one or more environmental attributes associated with the coating material. The one or more environmental attributes associated with the coating material may relate to one or more input materials and / or chemical processes used to produce the coating material. The distributed identifier may relate to any identifier that is uniquely associated with the coating material. The distributed identifier may relate to a physical entity of the coating material. The distributed identifier may refer to a single batch of the coating material produced. The distributed identifier may relate to a group of the coating material. The identifier may refer to multiple physical entities of the coating material produced. The distributed identifier may relate to a continuous or semi-continuous flow of the coating material. The identifier may refer to a flow of the coating material over a particular time period or from a particular supplier, for example.

[0055] In one embodiment, the one or more environmental attributes associated with the coating material are provided from at least one balancing account configured to store environmental attributes associated with the input material. The balancing account may be for a storage structure associated with metadata such as an environmental attribute type. For example, the balancing account may be associated with metadata indicating that the environmental attribute type is recycled content or bio-based. The inbound allocator may be configured to allocate the one or more environmental attributes associated with the input material to at least one balancing account, for example, when the input material enters the chemical production network. A balancing account may be associated with each environmental attribute type. The outbound assigner may be configured to assign at least one environmental attribute from the at least one balancing account associated with each environmental attribute to a distributed identifier. The one or more environmental attributes may be assigned to at least one distributed identifier. The allocation may include de-allocation of the one or more environmental attributes from the balancing account associated with each environmental attribute type. By using the balancing account, the environmental attributes of the input material may be reliably tracked and assigned to the coating material produced.

[0056] The inbound allocator may be configured to allocate one or more environmental attributes to at least one balancing account associated with each environmental attribute when the input material enters the chemical production network, for example. A balancing account may be associated with each environmental attribute type. One or more environmental attributes associated with the input material may be allocated to a balancing account associated with each environmental attribute type. The outbound assigner may be configured to assign or link at least one environmental attribute from at least one balancing account associated with each environmental attribute type to a distributed identifier. This may include de-allocating one or more environmental attributes from the balancing account associated with each environmental attribute type. By using the balancing accounts, the environmental attributes may be tracked through the chemical production network. In this way, the environmental attributes may be decoupled from the material flow. The attribution of the environmental attributes may be performed on a mass balance basis in the chemical production network. In such an approach, the total mass of the input material and the coating material produced and the attribution of each environmental attribute associated with the input material and the coating material produced are balanced.

[0057] In one embodiment, the one or more environmental attributes are associated with at least one characteristic related to the environmental impact of one or more input materials and / or chemical processes. The one or more environmental attributes may specify the environmental characteristics of the input materials used to produce the coating material, and / or the one or more environmental attributes may specify the environmental characteristics of the chemical process used to produce the coating material. The one or more environmental attributes may be generated from the environmental characteristics of the input materials used to produce the coating material, process data associated with the chemical processing of the input materials, and / or energy data associated with the energy consumption of the chemical processing. The one or more environmental attributes may include recycled content associated with the input materials and allocated or allocable to the coating material produced, renewable content associated with the input materials and allocated or allocable to the coating material produced, and / or product carbon footprint associated with the coating material produced.

[0058] In one embodiment, the production operation device is configured to collect environmental attributes associated with the coating material produced before, during, and / or after the production of the coating material by the chemical production network. The environmental attributes associated with the coating material produced may be related to the input material. The environmental attributes associated with the input material may be provided before, during, and / or after the production of the coating material by the chemical production network. The environmental attributes associated with the input material may be allocated to at least one balancing account before, during, and / or after the production of the coating material by the chemical production network. The environmental attributes associated with the coating material produced may be related to environmental characteristics generated from process data associated with chemical processing of the input material and / or energy data associated with energy consumption of the chemical processing. The environmental attributes associated with the coating material produced may be generated before, during, and / or after the production of the coating material by the chemical production network. The process data associated with chemical processing of the input material and / or energy data associated with energy consumption of the chemical processing may be collected before, during, and / or after the production of the coating material.

[0059] In one embodiment, the painting material passport or digital asset may include a decentralized identifier associated with the painting material and one or more environmental attributes linked to the decentralized identifier. The one or more environmental attributes may be linked to the decentralized identifier included in the painting material passport or digital asset. The one or more environmental attributes may be stored in a database associated with the painting material producer or a database of the painting material producer for access by any consumer of the produced painting material. The one or more environmental attributes may be stored in a database associated with the painting material producer or a database of the painting material producer for transfer to a consumer of the produced painting material, for example, when accessed or when the painting material is provided. The decentralized identifier may include any unique identifier uniquely associated with the painting material producer and painting material data, such as environmental attributes. The decentralized identifier may include one or more universally unique identifiers (UUIDs) or digital identifiers (DIDs). The decentralized identifier may be issued by a central or decentralized identifier issuer. The decentralized identifier may be linked to authentication and / or authorization information. Through the decentralized identifier and its unique association with coating material data, such as coating material producers and environmental attributes, access to the coating material data can be controlled by the coating material producers. This is in contrast to a centralized approach, where the identifiers are provided by such a central authority and access to the data is controlled by such a central authority. Decentralized in this context refers to the use of identifiers in an implementation that is controlled by the data owner, such as the coating material producer.

[0060] The decentralized identifier may be uniquely associated with the painting material or the physical entity of the painting material, for example, when packaged for transport to a consumer of the painting material. The decentralized identifier may be unique to one or more environmental attributes. The painting material passport or digital asset may include one or more digital representations pointing to the painting material data including the environmental attributes or a portion thereof including the environmental attributes. The digital representations may include at least one interface to a data providing service. It may further include at least one interface to a data consuming service. It may further include a data exchange or sharing endpoint (resource endpoint) or a service interaction endpoint (service endpoint) that is uniquely identified via a communication protocol. The digital representations pointing to the painting material data or a portion thereof may be uniquely associated with the decentralized identifier.

[0061] The painting material passport or digital asset may include or be connected to a digital representation of painting material data, such as environmental attributes. The digital representation may include a representation for accessing painting material data, such as environmental attributes or a portion thereof. The digital representation may include a representation of painting material data, such as environmental attributes. The painting material passport or digital asset may include or be connected to data related to the painting material data, such as environmental attributes, authentication information, and a distributed identifier. Data related to the painting material data, such as environmental attributes, may include a digital representation of painting material data, such as environmental attributes.

[0062] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following, the present disclosure is further explained with reference to the accompanying figures. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0063] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates generally one example of a chemical production network that produces one or more output materials from one or more input materials in conjunction with a production operations system that includes an attribute management system. [Diagram 2] 1 illustrates a schematic of an example of attributing environmental attributes of input materials to output materials in a chemical production network. [Diagram 3]1 illustrates a schematic of an example of attributing environmental attributes of input materials and chemical processes to output materials of a chemical production network. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of another example of a method or apparatus for providing environmental attributes associated with output materials to material users as data consumers via a distributed network. [Diagram 5] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example of a method or apparatus for providing environmental attributes of output materials across a value chain via a distributed network. [Figure 6A] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example of a chemical production network that produces coating materials associated with coating material passports or digital assets. [Figure 6B] 1 illustrates a schematic of an example of a chemical production network that produces hardener components and / or binder solutions associated with a coating material passport or digital asset. [Figure 6C] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example of a chemical production network that produces a binder dispersion associated with a coating material passport or digital asset. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0064] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a chemical production network 104 that produces one or more output materials, particularly a coating material 106, from one or more input materials 102 in conjunction with a production operation system 108 that includes an attribute management system. The coating material may be selected from a coating material or a coating material component. The coating material may be selected from an electrocoat coating material, a primer material, a primer surfacer material, a filler material, a putty material, a basecoat material, a clearcoat material, or a tinted clearcoat material. For example, the coating material may be a primer material. In another case, the coating material may be an electrocoat coating material. In yet another case, the coating material may be a clearcoat material. The coating material component may be selected from a hardener composition, an additive composition, a thinner, a diluent, a spot blender composition, a pigment paste, or a binder composition. For example, the coating material component may be a hardener composition. In another case, the coating material component may be a binder composition. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a thinner. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a diluent. In yet another embodiment, the coating material component can be a mixing clear. In yet another embodiment, the coating material component can be a spot blender composition. In yet another embodiment, the coating material component can be a pigment paste. In yet another embodiment, the coating material component can be an additive composition.

[0065] Different input materials 102 may be provided as physical inputs to the chemical production network 104 to produce one or more output materials, particularly coating materials 106. The physical input materials 102 and the output materials, particularly coating materials 106, may be associated with one or more characteristics related to environmental impact. The characteristics related to environmental impact may be digitized in the form of environmental attributes, such as recycled or bio-based content of the input materials. The production operations system 108 may be configured to capture such environmental attributes and track the environmental attributes across the chemical production network 104 from the input materials 102 to the output materials, particularly coating materials 106.

[0066] The chemical production network 104 may include multiple interlinked process steps. The chemical production network 104 may be an integrated chemical production network 104 with interrelated production chains. The chemical production network 104 may include multiple different production chains with at least one common intermediate product. The chemical production network 104 may include multiple stages of a chemical value chain. The chemical production network 104 may include gas or crude oil production, refining, processing and / or refining. The chemical production network 104 may include a stream cracker or syngas plant connected to multiple production chains that output products 104 from the effluents of such plants. The chemical production network 104 may include multiple production chains that output one or more output materials 104 from one or more input materials 104, in particular coating materials 106. The chemical production network 104 may include multiple sub-layers of the chemical value chain. The chemical production network 104 may include a physically interconnected organization of production sites. The production sites may be in the same location or in different locations. In the latter case, the production sites may be interconnected by dedicated transportation systems, such as pipelines, trucks, supply chain vehicles such as supply chain ships or other cargo transport vehicles.

[0067] The chemical production network 104 may chemically convert the input material 102 into one or more output materials, particularly the coating material 106. The chemical production network 104 may convert the input material 102 into one or more output materials, particularly the coating material 106, by chemical conversion.

[0068] The input materials 102 may be fed into the chemical production network 104 at any entry point. The input materials 102 may be fed into the chemical production network 104 at the initiation of the chemical production network 102. The input materials 102 may constitute, for example, a feedstock for a steam cracker. The input materials 102 may include non-fossil input materials and / or fossil input materials, such as chemical intermediates and chemical output materials, particularly bio-based or recycled materials for producing coating materials 106.

[0069] The chemical production network 104 may include multiple production processes. The production processes included in the chemical production network 104 may be defined by the system boundary of the chemical production network 104. The system boundary may be defined by the location of the production process or the control of the production process. The system boundary may be defined by the site of the chemical production network 104. The system boundary may be defined by the production process controlled jointly by one entity or multiple entities. The system boundary may be defined by a value chain with staggered production processes to a final product that may be controlled separately by multiple entities. The chemical production network 104 may include waste collection and sorting processes, recycling processes such as pyrolysis, cracking processes such as steam cracking, separation processes to separate intermediates of certain process steps and further processing steps to convert such intermediates into output materials that leave the system boundary of the chemical production network 104, in particular the coating material 106 produced.

[0070] The production operation system 108 of the chemical production network 104 may be configured to monitor and / or control the chemical production network 104 based on different process operating parameters. One process step that may be monitored and / or controlled may be the feeding of input materials 102 or the release of output materials, particularly coating materials 106. Another process step that may be monitored and / or controlled may be the registration of environmental attributes associated with the input materials 102 entering the system boundary of the chemical production network 104. Yet another process step that may be monitored and / or controlled may be the attribution of environmental attributes to output materials, particularly coating materials 106, produced via the chemical production network 102. Yet another process step that may be monitored and / or controlled may be the management of environmental attributes associated with the input materials 102 and output materials, particularly coating materials 106, of the chemical production network 104.

[0071] The production operations system 108 may be configured to register inbound environmental attributes and assign outbound environmental attributes. The production operations system 108 may be configured to access data related to the input materials 102, processes, and / or output materials, particularly the coating materials 106, used in the chemical production network 104. For example, the production operations system 108 may be configured to register the recycled or bio-based content of one or more input materials 102 used in the chemical production network 104 as an environmental attribute. The production operations system 108 may be configured to allocate the environmental attribute to at least one balancing account associated with the recycled or bio-based content of the input materials 102. The production operations system 108 may be configured to allocate at least a portion of the environmental attributes from the at least one balancing account to at least one output material, particularly the coating materials 106.

[0072] The production operations system 108 may be configured to handle environmental attributes related to the input materials 102 and output materials, particularly the coating material 106, of the chemical production network 104. For example, the production operations system 108 may be configured to identify environmental attributes associated with the use of the input materials 102 and output materials produced by the chemical production network 104, particularly the coating material 106, that affect the environmental characteristics of the chemical production network 104. Furthermore, particularly, the production operations system 108 may be configured to identify environmental attributes associated with the output materials, particularly the coating material 106. In this manner, the production operations system 108 may be configured to store or retrieve environmental attributes from a balancing account. Thus, the environmental attributes may be viewed as credits that may be credited or debited to or from accounts related to the input materials and output materials, particularly the coating material 106, of the chemical production network 104. In this manner, the environmental impact of the production may be tracked and / or traced.

[0073] In the chemical production network 104, multiple value chains may be linked. Furthermore, different input materials 102 or chemical processes may be used that affect the environmental properties of the output materials produced by the chemical production network 104, in particular the coating materials 106. Examples of input materials 102 that affect at least one environmental property of the output materials produced from such input materials 102, in particular the coating materials 106, are recycled, renewable or bio-based input materials 102. Examples of chemical processes that affect environmental properties are chemical processes that use carbon capture, carbon utilization, heat pump environmentally friendly technologies or energy produced from natural sources such as the sun or wind.

[0074] Due to the processing of chemicals in continuous or semi-continuous production and the complexity of the chemical production network 104, the traceability of the input material 102 through the network may be hindered. In such a scenario, an equivalent environmental attribute, which indicates the impact on the environmental properties of the output material produced by the chemical production network 108, in particular the coating material 106, may be allocated to a balancing account and assigned to one or more output materials of the chemical production network 104, in particular the coating material 106. Thus, the environmental attribute may be decoupled from the physical material flow inside the chemical production network 104. The decoupling may be based on a mass balance model in that the equivalents assigned to one or more output materials in the coating material 106 do not exceed the equivalents provided by the input material 102 or process. If an equivalent is allocated to a virtual account of one environmental attribute type, it is not allocated a second time to another virtual account of that one environmental attribute type. The environmental attribute type may be recycled, bio-based, renewable, etc. The environmental attribute may be provided in the form of a digital asset or a coating material passport that is attached to the physical entity of the coating material.

[0075] 2 illustrates generally an example of attributing environmental attributes associated with input materials 102 of a chemical production network 104 to an output material, specifically a coating material 106. The chemical production network 104 has a physical system boundary 202. The physical system boundary 202 may be defined as described above.

[0076] 1 , the chemical production network 104 and the operation of the chemical production network 104 may be monitored and / or controlled by a production operating system 108. The production operating system 108 may be configured to track environmental attributes from the input materials 102 provided to the chemical production network 104 to the output materials, particularly the coating materials 106, produced by the chemical production network 104. For tracking purposes, the operating system 108 may be configured to register environmental attributes associated with the input materials 102 provided to the chemical production network 104 and to attribute the environmental attributes to the output materials, particularly the coating materials 106, produced by the chemical production network 104.

[0077] An input material 102, such as petroleum, natural gas, pyrolysis oil, bio-naphtha, and bio-methane, may be provided to a chemical production network 104. The input material 102 may enter the chemical production network 104 at an inlet point, such as a steam cracker or a syngas plant. The input material 102 may be used in the chemical production network 104 to produce one or more output materials, in particular a coating material 106, from the input material 102. The output material, in particular a coating material 106, may be provided at an exit point of the chemical production network 104. The output material may be a coating material. The coating material may be selected from the group consisting of an electrocoat coating material, a primer material, a primer surfacer material, a filler material, a putty material, a base coat material, a clear coat material, or a tinted clear coat material. For example, the coating material may be a primer material. In another case, the coating material may be an electrocoat coating material. In yet another case, the coating material may be a clear coat material. The output material may be a coating material component. The coating material component may be selected from the group consisting of a hardener composition, an additive composition, a thinner, a diluent, a mixing clear, a spot blender composition, a pigment paste, or a binder composition. For example, the coating material component may be a hardener composition. For example, the coating material component may be a hardener composition. In another case, the coating material component may be a binder composition. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a thinner. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a diluent. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a mixing clear. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a spot blender composition. In yet another case, the coating material component may be a pigment paste. In yet another case, the coating material component may be an additive composition.

[0078] As the input materials 102 are entered, the input material data 204 may be provided to a computing interface of the production operation system 108 via a communications network. A data provider, such as a QR code reader, may be configured to provide material data 108 for one or more input materials 102 and each environmental attribute 108 to a computing interface configured to allocate the environmental attributes associated with the input materials 102. The material data 108 may include an input material identifier and the environmental attributes associated with the input material 102. The input material identifier may be associated with the physical entity of the input material 102 entering the chemical production network 104. The material data may be provided when, before, or after the one or more input materials are provided to an entry point of the chemical production network 104.

[0079] The input material identifiers may be linked to environmental attributes associated with each input material 102, the quantity of the input material 102, and a certificate attesting to the environmental attributes. The quantity of the input material may be a measured amount of the input material 102 provided to a plant or repository of the chemical production network 104 for producing one or more output materials from the input material 102, in particular a coating material 106. The input material identifiers associated with each input material 102, the environmental attributes associated with each input material 102, and the quantity of the input material 102 provided to the chemical production network 104 may be provided to the production operations system 108. Such data may be provided via a communications network upon entry into the chemical production network 104, or the data may be transferred from a computing system to the production operations system 108.

[0080] The inbound allocator 204 may be configured to allocate one or more environmental attributes to at least one balancing account 208 associated with each environmental attribute. For example, one balancing account 208 may be for environmental attributes from bio-based materials and another balancing account 210 may be for environmental attributes from recycled materials. A balancing account may be associated with each environmental attribute type, such as bio-based or recycled. Based on such association, a balancing account may be selected that is associated with the environmental attribute type of each input material 102. The environmental attributes may be allocated to the selected balancing account. For example, a balancing account 208 for recycled materials may be selected and the environmental attributes may be allocated to such account 208.

[0081] For allocation, one or more environmental attributes may be converted into balancing units, and the balancing units may be allocated to the balancing account 208. The conversion may be based on a conversion factor, such as mass, weight, carbon atoms, hydrogen atoms, methane equivalents, or any other suitable measure for quantifying the environmental impact of the environmental attribute. Thus, the conversion factor may take into account the difference between the production of chemical products from conventional input materials and non-conventional input materials, or the production of chemical products from a mixture of conventional input materials and non-conventional input materials. The conversion factor may relate to the difference in chemical and / or physical properties of the conventional and non-conventional input materials.

[0082] The use of balancing accounts 208 may ensure that environmental attributes of an input material 102 can only be used once for allocation to a coating material 106. In this manner, double counting of inputs or outputs is avoided, ensuring that positive environmental impacts can be reliably tracked and allocated to coating materials 106.

[0083] The identifier provider 212 can be configured to provide a coating material identifier (ID2) associated with a coating material produced by the chemical production network 104 and provided at an exit point from the chemical production network 104.

[0084] The outbound assigner 214 may be configured to assign at least one environmental attribute from at least one balancing account 208 associated with each environmental attribute to a painting material identifier ID2. One or more environmental attributes may be assigned to at least one painting material identifier ID2. The assignment may include deallocating one or more environmental attributes from a balancing account 208 associated with each environmental attribute type. The assignment may include converting one or more balancing units to one or more environmental attributes.

[0085] Assigning at least one environmental attribute associated with the input material to the machine fluid may include linking the environmental attribute to a coating material identifier ID2. The coating material identifier ID2 may be associated with the physical entity of the coating material. In this way, a virtual identifier of a material, such as a coating material, may be uniquely linked to the physical material. Such linking may include a physical link or a virtual link of an identifier uniquely associated with the physical material. In the case of physical linking, a tag or code may be physically connected to the material, for example, by printing a QR code on the packaging or embossing a code on the material. In the case of virtual linking, different identifiers associated with the physical material may be linked. For example, an order number, a batch number, a lot number, or a combination thereof may be linked.

[0086] The outbound signer 214 may be configured to provide environmental attributes associated with the painting material to a data consumer, such as a data consumption service 218 associated with a consumer of the painting material. The outbound signer 214 may be configured to provide environmental attributes associated with the painting material to a distributed network, such as the distributed network 216, as illustrated in the example of Figure 4. The environmental attributes may be provided via the identity-based schema described above in the form of a painting material passport or a digital asset associated with the physical entity of the painting material.

[0087] 3 illustrates a schematic of an example of attributing environmental attributes of input materials 102 and chemical processes to a coating material 106 produced by a chemical production network 104. The chemical production network 104 includes a physical system boundary 202. The physical system boundary 202 may be defined as described above.

[0088] 1 and 2, the chemical production network 104 and its operation may be monitored and / or controlled by a production operations system 108. Input materials 102, such as petroleum, natural gas, pyrolysis oil, bio-naphtha, and / or bio-methane, may be provided to the chemical production network 104. The input materials 102 may be used in the chemical production network 104 to produce one or more coating materials 106 from the input materials 102.

[0089] Upon input of the input materials 102, input material data 204 may be provided to a computing interface of the production operation system 108 via a communication network. A data provider, such as a QR code reader, may be configured to provide the input material data 204 for one or more input materials 102 and respective environmental attributes to a computing interface configured to allocate the environmental attributes associated with the input materials 102. The input material data 204 may include an input material identifier and an environmental attribute associated with the input material 102. The input material identifier may be associated with the physical entity of the input material 102 entering the chemical production network 104. The input material identifier may be linked to the carbon footprint of the input material 102 as an environmental attribute. The material data may be provided when, before, or after the one or more input materials are provided at the entry point to the chemical production network 104.

[0090] The inbound allocator 206 may be configured to obtain one or more environmental attributes and provide such attributes to a carbon footprint (CF) generator 304. The process data provider 302 may be configured to collect process data associated with the chemical processing of the input material 102 to produce the coating material 106. The process data provider 302 may be configured to collect energy data associated with the energy consumption of the chemical processing. The process data provider 302 may be configured to provide the process data and the energy data to the CF generator 304.

[0091] The CF generator 304 can be configured to determine a carbon footprint of a coating material produced by the chemical production network. The carbon footprint of the coating material can be determined based on the process data, the energy data, and the carbon footprint of the input materials 102 used to produce the coating material.

[0092] The identifier provider 212 can be configured to provide a coating material identifier associated with a coating material produced by the chemical production network 104 and provided at an exit point from the chemical production network 104 .

[0093] The outbound addresser 214 may be configured to assign the determined carbon footprint to a coating material identifier ID2. One or more environmental attributes may be assigned to at least one coating material identifier ID2 as described with respect to FIG.

[0094] The outbound signer 214 may be configured to provide environmental attributes, particularly a carbon footprint, associated with the paint material produced to a data consumer, such as a data consumption service 218 associated with a paint material consumer. The outbound signer 214 may be configured to provide the environmental attributes associated with the paint material to a distributed network, such as the distributed network 216, as illustrated in Figure 4. The environmental attributes may be provided via the identity-based schema described above in the form of a digital asset or paint material passport associated with the paint material physical entity.

[0095] FIG. 4 illustrates generally another example of a method or apparatus for providing environmental attributes associated with painting materials to a material consumer as a data consumer via a distributed network.

[0096] The coating material 106 produced by the chemical production network 104 may be provided in association with a digital asset, as described with respect to Figures 2 and 3. The digital asset may include a coating material identifier. The digital asset may include one or more environmental attributes, such as a carbon footprint of a product, recycled content, or bio-based content. The digital asset may relate to one or more environmental attributes, such as a carbon footprint of a product, recycled content, or bio-based content. The digital asset may include a digital representation of one or more environmental attributes, such as a carbon footprint of a product, recycled content, or bio-based content.

[0097] The digital asset may further include or relate to authentication and / or authorization information linked to the painting material identifier. The authentication and / or authorization information may be provided for authentication and / or authorization of the data providing service 402 and / or the data consuming service 218. The painting material identifier may include or relate to a decentralized identifier uniquely associated with the painting material. The decentralized identifier may be connected to a digital representation of the environmental attribute. The digital representation may include a representation for accessing the environmental attribute or a portion thereof. The decentralized identifier may include one or more universally unique identifiers (UUIDs) or digital identifiers (DIDs). The decentralized identifier may include any unique identifier uniquely associated with the data owner and / or the painting material. The data owner may be a producer of the painting material. Through the decentralized identifier and the unique association of the decentralized identifier with the data owner and / or the painting material, access to the material configuration data may be controlled by the data owner.

[0098] Digital assets including a digital representation of one or more environmental attributes, such as a product's carbon footprint, recycled content, or bio-based content, may be stored in a distributed database 404. The one or more environmental attributes, such as a product's carbon footprint, recycled content, or bio-based content, may be stored in a database 406 associated with a data owner, such as a producer of the coating material 106.

[0099] The painting material 106 may be physically delivered to a consumer of the painting material. A QR code may be attached to the painting material or may be embossed with a code that encodes a painting material identifier. The consumer of the painting material may read the code through a code reader, such as the QR code reader 410. The painting material identifier may be provided to a database 408 associated with the consumer of the painting material 106. In other embodiments, a consumer of the painting material may obtain the painting material identifier through the distributed database 404 .

[0100] The data owner in this example may be the input material producing vehicle, the output material producer, the output material user, or the final product producer. The data owner may include any entity that generates data. The data producing node may be coupled to the data owner or the entity that owns or produces the physical product from which the data was generated or to which the generated data pertains. The data may be generated by a third party on behalf of the entity that owns the physical product from which the data was generated or to which the generated data pertains.

[0101] The data consuming service 218 may include computer-executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data, such as painting material data, associated with a data owner. The data providing service 402 may include computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data, such as painting material data, associated with a data owner for access and / or processing by the data consuming service 218.

[0102] Based on the received painting material identifier, a request to access environmental attributes associated with the painting material identifier may be triggered by the data consuming service 218, as indicated by arrow 412. The painting material identifier may be associated with or provided to the data providing service 402 of the paint material producer. Additionally, authentication and / or authorization information may be provided.

[0103] The request may be authenticated and / or authorized to access the environmental attributes associated with the coating material identifier. Based on successful authentication and / or authorization, access to the environmental attributes associated with the coating material identifier may be granted.

[0104] For access, the painting material identifier may be provided to the data providing service 402, as indicated by arrow 412. The data providing service 402 may use the received painting material identifier to obtain environmental attributes associated with the received painting material identifier, as indicated by arrows 416 and 418. The obtained environmental attributes associated with the received painting material identifier may be provided to the data consuming service 218, as indicated by arrow 414. The environmental attributes associated with the painting material 106 may be stored in a database 408 associated with a consumer of the painting material 106, as indicated by arrow 418.

[0105] Through the output identifier or distributed identifier, the environmental attributes can be uniquely associated with the coating material. Through the distributed network, the environmental attributes can be transferred between the producer of the coating material and the consumer of the coating material. In this way, the environmental attributes can be shared directly and without a central intermediary between the value chain players with a unique association to the coating material. This allows transparency of the environmental attributes across the value chain and allows tracking of positive environmental impacts from the coating materials produced by the chemical production network 104 throughout the value chain.

[0106] FIG. 5 illustrates generally one example of a method or apparatus for providing coating materials and associated environmental attributes across a value chain via a distributed network.

[0107] In the example of Figure 5, a fully connected value chain is shown that includes a chemical production network 104. In this example, input material providers, coating material producers, coating material consumers, and end product producers may be connected in a distributed network as described with respect to Figure 4. Environmental attributes may be provided via the identity-based schema described with respect to Figures 2-4 in the form of coating material passports or digital assets associated with the physical entities of the input materials, coating materials, any intermediate products, or end products.

[0108] An input material provider may provide an input material 102. The input material 102 may include a bio-based input material or a recycled material. The environmental attributes of the input material 102 may be provided through a data providing service connected to the distributed network, as described with reference to FIG. 4. A coating material producer may produce a coating material from an input material 506 provided to the chemical production network 104. The coating material producer may access the environmental attributes associated with the input material 102 through a data consuming service 218 connected to the distributed network, as described with reference to FIG. 4. The environmental attributes may be obtained from a data providing service 402 associated with each input material provider. The coating material producer may manage the environmental attributes through a production operation system 108, as described with reference to FIG. 1-3. The coating material producer may assign the environmental attributes associated with the input material 102 or the environmental attributes associated with the chemical production network 104, such as a carbon footprint, to the coating material 106 produced, as described with reference to FIG. 1-3. A coating material producer may provide environmental attributes associated with the coating material 106 produced through a data providing service 402 connected to the distributed network as described with respect to Figure 4. A coating material consumer or end product producer may access environmental attributes associated with the coating material 106 produced through a data consuming service 218 connected to the distributed network as described with respect to Figure 4.

[0109] Each data owner in this example may be an input material producer, an output material producer, an output material consumer, or an end product producer. A data owner may include any entity generating data. A data generating node may be coupled to a data owner or an entity that owns or produces the physical product from which the data was generated or to which the generated data pertains. Data may be generated by a third party on behalf of an entity that owns the physical product from which the data was generated or to which the generated data pertains.

[0110] The data consuming service 218 may include computer-executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data, such as painting material data, associated with a data owner. The data providing service 402 may include computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data, such as painting material data, associated with a data owner for access and / or processing by the data consuming service.

[0111] In the example of Fig. 5, the decentralized identifier may be for the final product. Such a decentralized identifier may be provided to the value chain participants. Through the final product unique decentralized identifier, data associated with the final product produced from the coating material may be collected across the production chain and assigned to the final product unique decentralized identifier. For example, one or more environmental attributes associated with the final product may be derived from environmental attributes associated with the coating material, the input material 102, or any other product entity present in the value chain of the final product.

[0112] In this way, the environmental attributes of the input materials 102, the coating materials 106 produced, and any products produced from said coating materials can be traced through the value chain to the final product. Such tracing of the environmental attributes of materials allows for information transparency across the value chain while allowing the flow of information to be controlled by the supply chain participants. Additionally, the environmental attributes can be handled by the production operations system according to the needs of the individual participants, as described with respect to Figures 1-3. Overall, such tracing allows for positive environmental impacts to be transparent and traceable to and attributable to individual supply chain participants.

[0113] 6A is a schematic diagram of an example of a chemical production network that produces a coating material associated with a coating material passport or digital asset. The coating material may be a base coat material, a primer material, or a clear coat material. The example of FIG. 6A is an illustrative example and should not be considered limiting.

[0114] In the example of FIG. 6A, fossil raw materials, bio raw materials and recycled raw materials can be provided to a chemical production network to produce coating materials as an example (see, for example, FIGS. 1-5). Fossil raw materials can include natural gas or petroleum. Bio raw materials can include biomethane. Recycled raw materials can include pyrolysis oil. Natural gas / oil, biomethane and pyrolysis oil are input materials as mixed feedstocks in this example, and other products such as natural gas / oil, biomethane and pyrolysis oil, melamine formaldehyde, acrylic acid, diols and intermediate materials or output materials can be produced. Poly(meth)acrylates and other intermediate materials or output materials can be produced from acrylic acid. Polyesters and other intermediate materials or output materials can be produced from diols. Melamine formaldehyde, poly(meth)acrylates and polyester(s) can be used to produce coating materials as output materials.

[0115] In the example of FIG. 6A, the bio-based content of biomethane and the recycled content of pyrolysis oil can be tracked as non-fossil input materials. As described with respect to FIG. 2, at the beginning of the coating material production chain, the bio-based content and pyrolysis oil can be registered through the production operation system 108 (not shown) of the chemical production network 104 (not shown). Here, the bio-based content can be allocated to a balancing account 210 associated with metadata, such as metadata indicating that the balancing account is allocated to the bio-based material. Thus, the environmental attributes of the biomethane are decoupled from the mass flow of chemical processing in the chemical production network, as shown in FIG. 6A. Here, the recycled content can be allocated to a balancing account 208 associated with metadata, such as metadata indicating that the balancing account is allocated to the recycled material. Thus, the environmental attributes of the pyrolysis oil are decoupled from the mass flow of chemical processing in the chemical production network 104, as shown in FIG. 6A.

[0116] For attribution of the biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content used to produce the coating material, the biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content may be specified. The biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content attributable to the coating material production may be based on the mass conservation attributable to the coating material produced. For example, only half of the bio-based content of the biomethane and only half of the recycled content of the pyrolysis oil may be attributable to the coating material, and the remaining half may be attributable to other output products resulting from the biomethane and pyrolysis oil as input materials. The environmental attribute biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil may be attributable to such an extent to the coating material produced.

[0117] The registration of the biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content of the input material and the attribution of said registered environmental attributes to the produced coating material may be performed as described with respect to FIG. 2. In the system shown in FIG. 2, the environmental attributes related to the production of the coating material may be attributable to the coating material by associating a decentralized ID with the coating material and assigning the environmental attributes to the decentralized ID. By linking the decentralized ID and the environmental attributes, the environmental attributes may be uniquely linked to the produced coating material. The produced coating material may be delivered to a coating material consumer. The packaging, such as a container or tank, may include a code, such as a QR code or an embossed code. The decentralized ID may be included in or encoded in the code. In this way, the coating material consumer may access the environmental attributes related to the produced coating material via the ID-based protocol described with respect to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5.

[0118] As with this example, the registration of carbon footprint data associated with the input materials and production processes and the attribution of said carbon footprint attributes to the produced coating materials may be based on the method shown in FIG. 3 for carbon footprints.

[0119] 6B is a schematic diagram of a further example of a chemical production network that produces coating material components associated with a coating material passport or digital asset. The example of FIG. 6B is an illustrative example and should not be considered limiting.

[0120] In the example of Figure 6B, fossil, bio and recycled raw materials can be provided to a chemical production network to produce coating material components such as, for example, a binder solution and a hardener composition (see, for example, Figures 1-5). The binder solution can be a mixing clear or binder that includes components of a multi-component coating material such as a 2K clear coat material.

[0121] In the example of FIG. 6B, fossil raw materials, bio raw materials and recycled raw materials can be provided to a chemical production network to produce a binder solution as an example (see, for example, FIGS. 1-5). The fossil raw materials can include natural gas or petroleum. The bio raw materials can include biomethane. The recycled raw materials can include pyrolysis oil. The natural gas / oil, biomethane and pyrolysis oil are input materials as mixed feedstocks in this example, and other products such as natural gas / oil, biomethane and pyrolysis oil, ammonia, acrylic acid, diols and intermediate materials or output materials can be produced. Isocyanates such as polyisocyanates and other intermediate materials or output materials can be produced from ammonia. The isocyanates can be used to produce blocked isocyanates. The isocyanates can be used to produce a hardener composition as an output material. Poly(meth)acrylates and other intermediate materials or output materials can be produced from acrylic acid. Polyesters and other intermediate materials or output materials can be produced from diols. Blocked isocyanates, poly(meth)acrylates and polyesters can be used in the production of binder solutions as output materials.

[0122] In the example of FIG. 6B, the bio-based content of biomethane and the recycled content of pyrolysis oil can be tracked as non-fossil input materials, as described with respect to FIG. 6A above.

[0123] For the attribution of the biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content used in the production of the hardener composition and the binder solution, the biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content may be specified. The biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content attributable to the hardener composition production may be based on the mass conservation attributable to the hardener composition produced. For example, only half of the biomethane content may be attributable to the hardener composition, while the remaining biomethane and / or pyrolysis oil content may be attributable to other output products resulting from the mixed feedstock as input material. The environmental attribute biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content may be attributable to such an extent to the hardener composition produced. The biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content attributable to the binder solution production may be based on the mass conservation attributable to the binder solution produced. For example, only half of the pyrolysis oil content may be attributable to the hardener composition, while the remaining biomethane and / or pyrolysis oil content may be attributable to other output products resulting from the mixed feedstock as input material. Environmental attributes Biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content may be imparted to such an extent to the binder solution produced.

[0124] The registration of the biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content of the input material and the attribution of said registered environmental attributes to the produced hardener composition and binder solution can be performed as described with respect to FIG. 2. In the system shown in FIG. 2, the environmental attributes associated with the production of the hardener composition can be attributable to the produced hardener composition by associating a distribution ID with the hardener composition and assigning the environmental attributes to the distribution ID. Similarly, the environmental attributes associated with the production of the binder solution can be attributable to the produced binder solution by associating a distribution ID with the binder solution and assigning the environmental attributes to the distribution ID. By linking the distribution ID and the environmental attributes, the environmental attributes can be uniquely linked to the produced hardener composition and binder solution. The produced hardener composition and / or binder solution can be delivered to a consumer of the hardener composition and / or binder solution, such as a manufacturer that uses the received hardener composition and / or binder solution to produce further products, e.g. coated substrates. Packaging, such as containers and / or tanks, containing the hardener composition or binder solution may include a code, such as a QR code or an embossed code. A distributed ID may be included in or encoded into the code. In this manner, consumers of the hardener composition and / or binder solution may access environmental attributes related to the hardener composition and / or binder solution via the ID-based protocol described with respect to Figures 4 and 5.

[0125] As with this example, the registration of carbon footprint data associated with the input materials and production process and the attribution of said carbon footprint attributes to the produced hardener compositions and binder solutions may be based on the method shown in FIG. 3 for carbon footprinting.

[0126] 6C is a schematic diagram of a further example of a chemical production network that produces coating material components associated with a coating material passport or digital asset. The example of FIG. 6C is an illustrative example and should not be considered limiting.

[0127] In the example of Figure 6C, fossil raw materials, bio-raw materials and recycled raw materials can be provided to a chemical production network to produce coating material components, such as, for example, binder dispersions (see, for example, Figures 1-5). The binder dispersions can be binders that contain components of multi-component coating materials, such as electrocoating materials.

[0128] In the example of FIG. 6C, fossil feedstock, bio feedstock and recycled feedstock can be provided to a chemical production network to produce binder dispersions as an example (see, for example, FIGS. 1-5). Fossil feedstock can include natural gas or petroleum. Bio feedstock can include biomethane. Recycled feedstock can include pyrolysis oil. Natural gas / petroleum, biomethane and pyrolysis oil are input materials as mixed feedstocks in this example, and other products such as natural gas / petroleum, biomethane and pyrolysis oil, ammonia, epoxy functional compounds, diols and intermediate or output materials can be produced. Isocyanates such as polyisocyanates and other intermediate or output materials can be produced from ammonia. Isocyanates can be used to produce blocked isocyanates and other intermediate or output materials. Epoxy resins and other intermediate or output materials can be produced from epoxy functional compounds. Polyesters and other intermediate or output materials can be produced from diols. Blocked isocyanates, epoxy resins and polyesters can be used in the production of binder dispersions as output materials.

[0129] In the example of FIG. 6C, the biomethane content of the biomethane, the bio content of the biomass, and / or the pyrolysis oil content of the pyrolysis oil may be tracked as non-fossil input materials, as described with respect to FIG. 6B above.

[0130] For attribution of the biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content used in the production of the binder dispersion, the biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content may be specified. The biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content attributable to the binder dispersion production may be based on mass conservation attributable to the binder dispersion produced. For example, only half of the biomethane content may be attributable to the binder dispersion, while the remaining biomethane and / or pyrolysis oil content may be attributable to other output products resulting from the mixed feedstock as input material. The environmental attribute biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content may be attributable to such extent to the binder dispersion produced.

[0131] The registration of the biomethane content and / or pyrolysis oil content of the input material and the attribution of said registered environmental attributes to the produced binder dispersion can be performed by associating a decentralized ID with the binder dispersion and assigning the environmental attributes to the decentralized ID, as described with respect to Figs. 2, 6A and 6B. By linking the decentralized ID and the environmental attributes, the environmental attributes can be uniquely linked to the produced coating material. The coating material can be delivered to a coating material consumer. The packaging, such as the container and / or tank, can include a QR code. The decentralized ID can be included in or encoded in the QR code. In this way, the coating material consumer can access the environmental attributes related to the coating material via the ID-based protocol described with respect to Figs. 4 and 5.

[0132] As with this example, the registration of carbon footprint data associated with the input materials and production process and the attribution of said carbon footprint attributes to the produced binder dispersion may be based on the method shown in FIG. 3 for carbon footprinting.

[0133] Although the disclosure has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments and examples, other variations can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the claims.

[0134] Any steps presented herein may be performed in any order. The methods disclosed herein are not limited to these steps in any particular order. Furthermore, different steps are not required to be performed at any particular location or on any particular computational node of a distributed system. That is, each of the steps may be performed on a different computational node using different equipment / data processing.

[0135] As used herein, "determining" also includes "initiating or causing a determination," "generating" also includes "initiating or causing a generation," and "providing" also includes "initiating or causing a determination, generation, selection, transmission, and / or reception." "Initiating or causing the performance of an action" includes any processing signal that triggers a computational node or device to perform the respective action.

[0136] In the claims and in this specification, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite articles "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used in an advantageous implementation.

Claims

1. 1. A system for producing a painting material associated with a painting material passport or digital asset, comprising: a chemical production network configured to produce said coating material from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes of said chemical production network, said one or more input materials and / or said one or more chemical processes being associated with an environmental attribute; - production operating equipment, - providing a distributed identifier associated with the produced coating material; Linking the distributed identifier to the environmental attributes associated with the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes. A production operation device configured to generate the painting material passport or digital asset by A system including:

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the coating materials associated with a coating material passport or digital asset are selected coating materials and coating material components, in particular the coating materials are selected from electrocoat coating materials, primer materials, primer surfacer materials, filler materials, putty materials, base coat materials, clear coat materials or tinted clear coat materials, and / or the coating material components are selected from hardener compositions, additive compositions, thinners, diluents, spot blender compositions, pigment pastes or binder compositions.

3. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the painting material passport or digital asset associated with the painting material includes mass balance environmental attributes for the input material.

4. The system of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the one or more environmental attributes associated with the painting material are provided from at least one balancing account configured to store environmental attributes associated with input materials.

5. The system of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the one or more environmental attributes relate to at least one characteristic relating to the environmental impact of the one or more input materials and / or the chemical process.

6. The system of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the production operation device is configured to collect environmental attributes associated with the produced coating material before, during and / or after production of the coating material by the chemical production network.

7. The system of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the environmental attributes associated with the coating material produced through a chemical process from one or more input materials provided to the chemical production network include the environmental attributes associated with the input materials, the chemical process and / or the chemical production network.

8. The system of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the environmental attributes associated with input materials are provided before, during and / or after production of the coating material by the chemical production network, and the environmental attributes associated with input materials are allocated to at least one balancing account before, during and / or after production of the coating material by the chemical production network.

9. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the environmental attributes associated with the produced coating material relate to environmental characteristics generated from process data associated with chemical processing of the input material and / or energy data associated with energy consumption of the chemical processing.

10. 1. A method of producing a painting material passport or a painting material associated with a digital asset, comprising: producing said coating material from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes of a chemical production network, said one or more input materials and / or said one or more chemical processes being associated with environmental attributes; - said coating material passport or digital asset, - providing a distributed identifier associated with the produced coating material; Linking the distributed identifier to the one or more environmental attributes associated with the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes. generating said - providing said produced painting materials in association with said painting material passport or digital asset; The method includes:

11. A coating material associated with a coating material passport or digital asset, the passport or digital asset including a distributed identifier associated with the coating material and linked to one or more environmental attributes of one or more input materials and / or one or more chemical processes used to produce the coating material.

12. 12. The coating material according to claim 11, which is a selected coating material and coating material component, in particular selected from an electrocoating material, a primer material, a primer surfacer material, a filler material, a putty material, a base coat material, a clear coat material or a tinted clear coat material, and / or said coating material component is selected from a hardener composition, an additive composition, a thinner, a diluent, a spot blender composition, a pigment paste or a binder composition.

13. 1. A method for generating a coating material passport or digital asset associated with a coating material, the coating material being produced from one or more input materials through one or more chemical processes of a chemical production network, the one or more input materials and / or the one or more chemical processes being associated with environmental attributes, the method comprising: - providing a decentralized identifier associated with the coating material produced; - linking said distributed identifier to said environmental attributes associated with said one or more input materials and / or said one or more chemical processes used to produce said coating material; providing a painting material passport or digital asset associated with the produced painting material in a distributed network, the environmental attributes associated with the produced painting material being made accessible to consumers of the produced painting material through the painting material passport or digital asset; A method comprising:

14. A digital asset generated by the method of claim 13.

15. A method of using a digital asset generated by the method of claim 13 in the production of a product produced from the painting material associated with the digital asset, or a method of using a painting material as described in claim 11 or 12 associated with the digital asset to produce a product from the painting material and derive a digital asset associated with the product from the painting material digital asset.

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