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To address the issue of rising marine pollution, the European Plastics Converters Association (EuPC) has initiated a pilot project entitled ‘European Waste Free Oceans’ (EWFO). The aim of this project is to collect floating plastics marine debris and further to recycle this waste. For this purpose, the association has signed an agreement with Thomsea according to which they would use Thomsea’s trawling net for carrying out the clean up. In return, EuPC will help promote its use by EU’s fishermen. The new trawling net, originally designed for use in controlling oil spills, is made of plastics and is 100% recyclable. A live display on the technique for gathering marine debris using the trawling nets will be presented by EuPC at their annual meeting on 20th May 2011. The project will be launched later this year post collection of required funds from the industry and will last for a maximum of 3 years.

As part of its Transformative Technology programme – which aims to transform Canada’s forest operations industry – forest research insitute FPInnovations wanted to conserve fuel and reduce the weight of traditional timber trailers. FPInnovations identified the potential to reduce the weight of traditional timber trailers by replacing steel stakes (the part that holds the timber inside the trailer) and bunks (the transversal part of the trailer’s main frame that joins the stakes) with a composite material. It contacted Serge Pagé of Mat-Comp , Canada, an expert in composite structural analysis, to help design the parts. "Originally, a filament winding process with glass fibre and epoxy resin was chosen, but the product couldn’t be produced within the target cost using that process," explains Pagé. "The focus then shifted to pultrusion, since its continuous process makes it a more cost-efficient option." Putrusion process The decision to use pultrusio

Borealis will present a polyethylene solution for self-administered easy-to-use ampoules to converters and brand owners at Pharmapack 2011 from February 23-24, 2011. Bormed™ LE6601-PH is the latest addition to Borealis' range of healthcare application-dedicated Bormed polyolefins combining end-user and manufacturing benefits, set to take the spotlight during the annual pharmaceutical industry event. LDPE Bormed LE6601-PH enables the development of transparent, simple to squeeze ampoules that allow users of all ages to dispense their eye, ear and nose drop treatments without professional assistance. The LDPE grade is intended for flexible, disposable ampoules that do not require post-steam sterilization. For packaging converters, Bormed LE6601-PH allows trouble-free conversion on standard blow molding machines as well as blow, fill and seal (BFS) machines. Wall thickness and ampoule weight are easy to control thanks to its optimised molecular weight distribution t

Ultrawave, a UK-based manufacturer of ultrasonic cleaning equipment, has added SteriTouch® antimicrobial silver additive to its Hygea 2 benchtop ultrasonic model. The intention of the company was to meet specific guidelines for the sterilization of surgical instruments in the dental and primary care settings. The fine particles of the additive powder allow polyethylene casing of the ultrasonic bath mix in a better manner even during the rotational molding process. Incorporating SteriTouch® into the medical equipment reduced MRSA levels by 99.93% (according to an independent lab testing). Addition of this antimicrobial additive significantly increased protection against black mould and other bacteria. Ultrawave has recently launched an updated model with a white case, replacing the previous grey model.

TenCate Advanced Composites USA in Morgan Hill has announced that a composite design utilizing TenCate thermoplastic prepregs is the recipient of a 2011 JEC Composite Innovation Award. TenCate Cetex® brand of PPS- based thermoplastic composite unitape is utilized in Cutting Dynamics award winning composite aircraft seat design. The 2011 JEC Thermoplastic Composite Innovation Award will be awarded to Cutting Dynamics Inc., with TenCate Advanced Composites, A&P Technology and Ticona Engineering Polymers, which teamed to develop a thermoplastic modular composite seat frame used in passenger seat assemblies on lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft. The award will be presented during the 2011 JEC Awards ceremony at 5 p.m. Tuesday 29 March, during the JEC Show in Paris, France. The 2011 JEC award winning modular composite seat frame from Cutting Dynamics consists of a match molded seat back and seat pan that supports the seat cushion. The frames depend on TenCate Cetex® TC 1

BASF Corporation has announced that it has received a license from Metabolix under U.S. Patent No. 5,883,199, titled "Polylactic Acid-Based Blends," to produce and market PLA and PBAT compounds under the BASF trade name Ecovio®. Ecovio biodegradable polymer is a blend of Ecoflex® biodegradable aliphatic-aromatic copolyester and polylactic acid on the basis of corn. The University of Massachusetts is the owner of the '199 patent, and Metabolix, Inc. is its exclusive licensee in the relevant field. U.S. Patent 5,883,199 is directed at PLA: polyester blends in the ratio 9:1 to 1:9 wherein the polyester forms a continuous or co-continuous phase in the blend. Metabolix, Inc. is a leader in the use of bioscience to provide biobased, sustainable, solutions for the world's needs for plastics, fuels and chemicals. Ecovio can be used to extrude biodegradable films without any further admixtures or preparation and is used to create tailor-made blends to me

Ticona Engineering Polymers announced that two Vectra® liquid crystal polymer ( LCP ) specialty grades E488i and E471i have received an Underwriters Laboratories (UL) V-O classification, according to the global independent safety science company's UL 94 plastic flammability standard for all colors and at wall thicknesses of 0.15 millimeters. Both the Vectra E488i and E471i specialty grades will be showcased at the Ticona Booth, #627, during the two-day DesignCon 2011 exhibition on Feb. 1 and 2 in the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, California. These glass and mineral filled specialty grades offer very low warp characteristics, which is important for injection molded, lead-free solderable electrical components with ultra-thin wall thicknesses. Designed for use in eco-friendly electrical and electronic components and available in different colors for quality and assembly purposes, these specialty grades offer unique property profiles that can help E/E cus