polymerguru

he Aqua Pure Traveller is a unique water purification system in a convenient hand held water bottle. The advanced filter uses a combination of technologies to disinfect containments in the water that pose a risk to human health. The Aqua Pure Traveller has been proven to remove the bacteria from the water before drinking, such as E.Coli, Vibrio Cholera and S.pyogenes (the cause of Strep Throat). It also kills parasites that may be present in the water and even viruses such as Polio type 1. This is particularly useful when clean water is scarce such as during natural disasters, expeditions or long outdoor trips in remote areas. The Aqua Pure Traveller is also perfect for taking abroad and purifying water from hotels and Aqua Pure Traveller restaurants or for outdoor pursuits and taking in water from streams or rivers. It is also available to military specifications. The bottle part of the Aqua Pure Traveller is blow moulded in LDPE and contains Addmaster's antimicrobial additi...

The German material producer Bayer MaterialScience has announced that it has developed an innovative viscoelastic carpet based on polyurethane foams and a special textile fabric. This new viscoelastic carpet concept is already commercialized by the German company Kymo GmbH under the brand name Pure Moss™. According to the firms, walking across this carpet feels like walking over soft moss. This new viscoelastic carpet is based on a four-layered structure. The top layer is an overlay of bielastic knitted fabric with a soft, long-pile texture. Below this is a viscoelastic polyurethane layer and, underneath that, a rebonded foam made from recycled polyurethane material. The bottom layer in contact with the floor is a thin reinforcing fabric that stabilizes the entire structure and protects the less tear-resistant layers above against tensile forces, for example when laying the carpet. The viscoelastic carpet provides a high level of comfort together with excellent insulating properties. ...

between 2008 and 2009, the sale of virgin plastic in Italy dropped by almost one million tons, down to a level of 6 million tons in 2009. A two step drop: -8% in 2008 and -9% last year. This is the conclusion of the latest Plastic Trend Synthesis study published by Plastic Consult, the Italian consulting company, which analyzes the trends of all major thermoplastic polymers. In terms of consumption, the only polymer going against the trend is PET (+2.9%), thanks to the good performance of bottling liquid beverages. Negative signs are all that’s left for the other thermoplastics: -10,5% for low density and linear low density polyethylene, due to negative trends in palletizing and -8,1% for high density polyethylene, dragged downward by industrial applications (pipes and drums/tanks) and the building market. Polystyrene’s performance was slightly better than average, with consumption of expanded and compact polymer shown a negative trend of -6.2%. The demand for PVC (-15%) and tehcnop...

Some natural latexes are the main ingredient in the extraction of natural rubber, an indispensable raw material for all kinds of industries and essential for the manufacture of surgical gloves, condoms or tyres. All the latex used in Europe is imported, extracted fundamentally from the the Hevea brasiliensis tree. The largest producers in the world are Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, three Asian countries that have practically the worldwide monopoly of this resource. In order to find alternatives to this commercial dependence and promote the cultivation of latex-producing plant species in the European Union, within the VII Framework Programme, a research project is being undertaken in which twelve technological centres, universities and companies related to this matter are taking part. The Basque Neiker-Tecnalia technological centre is part of this consortium and its function is to carry out research into, amongst other matters, the genotype and the possibilities of introducing into ...

Composite door for the French high-speed train made by RTM-Light A collaborative industrial project between the American material producer Owens Corning, a world leader in glass fiber reinforcement and building material systems, and the French company Stratiforme Industries has allowed to produce a new composite door for the French high speed train i.e. TGV. This innovation is a lateral cover or engine compartment door made by using a resin transfer molding (RTM-Light) process and Uniconform™ mat as reinforcement while the previous doors were made by hand lay-up. As a result the new composite door exhibits higher characteristics in terms of stiffness, impact resistance, dimensional stability and fire resistance. Moreover the new process allows to reduce the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and styrene emissions.

http://www.eroei.com/eroei/solutions/turning-plastic-into-oil/

LEVERKUSEN -- Bayer MaterialScience has opened a new pilot facility for the manufacture of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) at CHEMPARK Leverkusen. The company has invested some EUR 22 million in the planning, development and construction of the facility, which is the largest of its kind in the world and has an annual capacity of 200 metric tons.This whole Bayer's Baytubes expected 25% growth every year and this will creat 2 billion dollar market within 10 years.This going to provide 100,000 jobs in forthcoming months. CNTs are manufactured from ethylene in a reactor at an elevated temperature using a catalytic process . "Under the right conditions, the next few years will see nanotechnology becoming a powerful branch of industry in Germany and other places in the world. Baytubes® are a highly innovative modification of carbon. They can be added to polymer matrices or metal systems as a filler or modifier to improve their mechanical strength and impart electrical properties. Potential...

I have found 2 articles very interesting on Toyota's Failure of Plastic Friction Device. http://www.plasticsnews.com/headlines2.html?id=17753 http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/why-toyota-must-replace-flawed-cts-gas-pedal-with-superior-denso-pedal/

LM Glasfiber in research project on wind turbine blade laser sensory system LM Glasfiber, the independent manufacturer of wind turbine blades, is entering into a three-year research project supported by the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation to develop laser-based wind sensory systems as an integrated part of future wind turbine blades. The project, which is a joint venture with Risø DTU and NKT Photonics , aims to improve the load control of the wind turbine in operation thus enhancing the efficiency of the turbine and improving its overall reliability. “ LM Glasfiber is working on several projects to improve the efficiency of the blades and consequently the overall energy production from the wind turbine. An important part of this is developing ‘intelligent’ blades that measure the wind and either adapt to the current wind conditions or supply data to the wind turbine control system,” says Lars Fuglsang, LM Glasfiber Research Director. Integrating so called LI...