polymerguru

Global wind energy installed capacity increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.9% from 74.1 GW in 2006 to 198.2 GW in 2010, of which 36.1 GW came online in 2010. There was a fall in annual additions in 2010 by 10.9%, however, as major wind markets such as the US, Germany and Spain were hit by the global economic crisis. The global wind power markets are expected to recover in 2011 with the huge order intake by major wind manufacturers, the growing Asia-Pacific region, emerging South America and Africa regions, steady European wind markets and recovery in North America,  GlobalData  says. The growing Asia-Pacific wind power market powered by India, China and other emerging countries such as Republic of Korea, Thailand and Philippines will continue to drive the wind power market as well as emerging South America and Africa countries such as Brazil, Columbia, Argentina and South Africa. China largest in 2010 China was the global leader with a cumulative installed ...

French scientists have created a new lightweight plastic that is as strong and stable as other thermoset materials such as Bakelite, yet can be easily reworked and reshaped when heated. The team suggests the material could be used in many applications, from aviation to electronics, while being recyclable and repairable. Typically, the atoms in thermoset polymers are permanently crosslinked giving them excellent mechanical properties and solvent resistance. However, unlike thermoplastics, which can be repeatedly melted and moulded, thermosets remain fixed in shape once made and cannot be reprocessed. Now, Damien Montarnal and colleagues led by Ludwik Leibler at the Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution in Paris have created a thermosetting material that can be repeatedly reshaped like a silica glass using heat. According to the team the reworked material retains the mechanical properties of the original material. 'These materials are thermoset organic res...

Toray Industries, Inc. has succeeded in producing laboratory-scale samples of the world's first fully renewable biobased  PET  fiber by using fully renewable biobased  PET  derived from biobased para-xylene from Gevo, Inc., one of the leading companies in renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels. Gevo has succeeded in converting isobutanol, produced from biomass by employing its own highly effective production method that uses synthetic biology, to synthesize para-xylene employing conventional chemical process used in commercial operations. Toray used terephthalic acid synthesized from Gevo's biobased para-xylene and commercially available renewable mono ethylene glycol (MEG) as raw materials, and successfully produced the PET samples by applying a new technology and PET polymerization in June this year. This biobased PET has exhibited properties equivalent to petro-based PET in laboratory conditions. Toray has also succeeded in the production of a fiber using this...

Leftover lettuce, old bunches of flowers, potato peelings, coffee grounds: the average kitchen generates lots of organic waste. This can be turned into nutrient-rich compost in an industrial composting plant, but only if it is collected separately in advance and that can be a bothersome and unhygienic task. Throw the leftovers straight into the bin and you will be confronted with a foul-smelling residue after emptying it. Lining the bin with a paper bag means liquid soaks through, the paper tears. This dilemma results in large quantities of compostable material ending up in the normal rubbish and subsequently being incinerated, using lots of energy in the process. Alternatively, biodegradable waste is disposed of in regular plastic bags, which must be painstakingly removed at the composting plant. Bioplastic Bin Liners BASF has a solution to this problem: the compostable plastic Ecovio® FS. In an industrial composting plant, this innovative material biodegrades within four weeks. ...

The all-new 2012 model – the only factory-built, CNG-powered car produced in America – received the honor yesterday. The prize was presented to Honda by the editors of Green Car Journal representing a diverse panel of environmental experts and automotive enthusiasts who annually select a single vehicle for its outstanding environmental performance. The six-judge panel on the Green Car of the Year jury selected the Civic Natural Gas from a field of five contenders,  including the Ford Focus Electric, Mitsubishi i, Toyota Prius V and Volkswagen Passat TDI. "The Civic Natural Gas is not only a great vehicle, it also demonstrates Honda's commitment to provide a variety of alternatives to gasoline," said Michael Accavitti, vice president of marketing at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "The Civic Natural Gas and the all-new Fit EV that we introduced yesterday at the Los Angeles Auto Show are the latest additions to a rapidly expanding family of alternative energy Honda v...

As part of its commitment to help London 2012 stage a sustainable Olympic Games, The Coca-Cola Company is placing 260 new recycling bins in locations around the city centre. These bins will encourage people to recycle the 11,000 tons of waste produced in the capital every day - before, during and after the Games. Working in partnership with WRAP, Coca-Cola has already established 44 Recycle Zones across the country, and has plans to almost double this number by the time the Games commence. The process that follows the collection of waste includes the following steps:  1. The bottle gets picked up, squashed as small as possible and taken to a reprocessing plant 2. There, the bottle is spun in a special machine to shake off dirt and a magnet removes any metal 3. All the bottles are sorted by color and type 4. The sorted bottles are ground into flakes, and the flakes are then sieved through to get rid of any discolored or contaminated bits 5. These tiny pieces of plastic can then b...

Theoretical research by scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has led to record-breaking sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiencies in solar cells. The researchers showed that, contrary to conventional scientific wisdom, the key to boosting solar cell efficiency is not absorbing more photons but emitting more photons. "A great solar cell also needs to be a great light emitting diode," says Eli Yablonovitch, the Berkeley Lab electrical engineer who led this research. "This is counter-intuitive. Why should a solar cell be emitting photons?  What we demonstrated is that the better a solar cell is at emitting photons, the higher its voltage and the greater the efficiency it can produce." Yablonovitch is the corresponding author of a paper describing this work titled "Intense Internal and External Fluorescence as Solar Cells Approach the Shockley-Queisser Efficiency Limit." Co-author...

A new plastic chair introduced in Brazil is receiving awards for its contemporary look with a focus on features such as geometry, harmony and consistency thanks to Ticona Engineering Polymers and the exceptionally well balanced property profile of Celstran® long fiber reinforced thermoplastics (LFRT). Manufactured from a single mold, the IC01 chair by designer Guto Indio da Costa uses a  glass fiber  reinforced  polypropylene  ( PP ) Celstran LFRT grade from Ticona that offers design, processing and cost advantages vs. unfilled polypropylenes and acrylonitrile butadiene styrenes ( ABS ), as well as short glass reinforced nylons and polyesters. "In addition to the significant weight and cost advantages over typical materials used in similar applications, this Celstran  PP  LFRT offers high stiffness, strength, toughness and low warpage while providing wide design latitude, colorability and a much better surface finish out of the mold," said Simone Orosco, ...

SABIC's Innovative Plastics strategic business unit is presenting the low moisture absorption of Ultem*  polyetherimide  ( PEI ) foam for composite aircraft structures. Ultem resin's low-moisture absorption is critical in that it helps address two major aircraft OEM challenges: reducing weight for fuel conservation and emissions reduction, and lowering systems costs while delivering equal or better performance than traditional materials. Low moisture absorption combined with the proven flame-smoke-toxicity (FST), dielectric, acoustic and thermal performance of Ultem foam underscores the pioneering work of SABIC in engineering superior, world-renowned thermoplastic solutions for the aircraft industry. "By replacing competitive materials such as polymethacrylimide (PMI) with Ultem foam, OEMs and tiers can meet their environmental goals and industry challenges, while lowering systems costs by streamlining processing and extending the application's useful life," sai...