polymerguru

Nylon label materials can offer significant advantages over polyester or  polypropylene  based films in terms of conformability. This is very important when labeling rounded surfaces such as vials or test tubes used in medical and laboratory applications or identifying wire and cable bundles for the electrical industry. The label needs to survive the life of the part identified and stiffness of a polyester or  polypropylene  material, over time, may cause failures such as flagging or delamination. The flexibility of the nylon label would all the material to conform to a rounded surface and be less likely to see this type of failure. Why is nylon better? When compared to continuous film, the woven nylon absorbs the stresses that result from dimensional changes that occur from bending or at extreme temperatures. The aggressive 1 mil pressure sensitive adhesive allows for a strong bond in extreme low temperature when adhered to rounded plastic or glass surfaces. The XF-302 is a

In a first for the carton packaging industry, Tetra Pak® announces that it plans to sign an agreement with Braskem, the largest thermoplastic resins producer in the Americas, for the supply of  low-density polyethylene  ( LDPE ) made from sugar cane to its packaging material factories in Brazil. This breakthrough initiative, which will be limited in scope to Brazil only for the duration of the trial, is scheduled to start during the first quarter of 2014. According to the plan, Tetra Pak will use bio-based  LDPE  as a component of its packages produced in Brazil. The planned move to bio-based LDPE means that 100% of Tetra Pak packages produced in Brazil, about 13 billion, will have up to 82% packaging material from renewable sources. "The new agreement to be signed with Braskem demonstrates our commitment to bring environmental innovations to our customers and is a further step in our journey to develop fully renewable packages," said Tetra Pak President and Chief Exe

Hexagon Composites' subsidiary, Hexagon Lincoln has received an order from a new North American client to supply Titan natural gas transport modules. The value of the order is approximately USD 9 million. A North American gas supplier, will use the lightweight Titan modules for transportation of compressed natural gas from pipeline-connected mother stations to stranded industrial users traditionally powered by conventional liquid fuels. Compared to conventional steel offerings, Titan modules are lighter and transport more payload per trip. With its significantly lighter weight and substantial transport capacity, the type 4 composite tank Titan modules can be used where road weight restrictions might otherwise hamper deliveries or where maximum capacity is critical to reduce miles traveled. Operations using Titan units have proven to reduce fuel consumption in operation by more than 40% compared with conventional steel trailer technology. Delivery of the Titan modules will begin

Cryogenic propellants are gasses chilled to subfreezing temperatures and condensed to form highly combustible liquids, providing high-energy propulsion solutions critical to future, long-term human exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. Cryogenic propellants, such as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, have been traditionally used to provide the enormous thrust needed for large rockets and NASA's space shuttle. In the past, propellant tanks have been fabricated out of metals. The almost 8 foot (2.4 meter) diameter composite tank tested at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is considered game changing because composite tanks may significantly reduce the cost and weight for launch vehicles and other space missions. Switching from metallic to composite construction holds the potential to dramatically increase the performance capabilities of future space systems through a dramatic reduction in weight. A potential initial target application for the composite tech

RED Motorsport's Lotus Exige completed the third race of the new season on June 14th and 15th, took place in the Touring Car Championships (TCC) of the Deutscher Motorsport Verband (DMV) at the Hockenheimring. The racing car, which Evonik uses to test new applications, boasts a number of novel features this year including a multi-layer line for charge-air cooling. The green section of the line has an outer layer of a biobased polyamide, VESTAMID® Terra. This is the first time Evonik Industries is testing the multi-layer tube system with the biobased plastic on the race track.  Since 2007, Evonik has been testing coolant line systems consisting of multi-layer tubes of petroleum-based VESTAMID® under tough racing conditions. These multi-layer tubes serve as lightweight replacements for rubber hoses and reinforced lines. The MLT 8000 multi-layer tubing system has since proven its performance in vehicles worldwide. The racing car of the current season uses MLT 8000.3 with an orange

New materials have long been sought that help to tackle increasing concerns about the future sustainability of petroleum feedstocks and the increasing generation of waste (and litter) driven by our growing population. Reducing generation by using less, for example in packaging, and recycling and reusing materials that often end up as waste, are both great places to look to creatively apply these new materials. PVC  ( polyvinyl chloride ) is one of the best known, versatile plastics in the world and one of the least recycled.  PVC  has qualities that make it usable in everything from piping and construction to signs and packaging. However, PVC always requires additives before it can be made into a finished product and most of these additives, along with the PVC itself, are not made with renewable resources. Furthermore, while these additives provide important enhancements to the basic PVC polymer — from making the PVC more flexible to increasing its UV stability for outdoo

Purac, a subsidiary of CSM, has signed a long term supply contract for the delivery of up to 10,000 tons annually of PURALACT® lactides to a customer in Asia. PURALACT® lactides will be polymerized into high heat polylactic acid (PLA), a bioplastic made from annually renewable resources. Commercial production of the partner's production facility is expected to start in the second half of 2014, but material for sampling and testing will be available shortly. The supply agreement for high optical purity lactides will enable Purac's partner to produce a range of high performance PLA homopolymers. The target market for the partner's PLA is Asia, with a focus on high heat PLA for durable and demanding applications, such as automotive and electronics parts. Further to the supply agreement, Purac and its partner have signed a joint development agreement where Purac's know-how in the area of high performance PLA will be combined with the partner's market access and appl