polymerguru

Rhodia, member of the Solvay Group, and Avantium recently announced that they have entered into a partnership to jointly develop a range of new bio-based  polyamides  targeting a variety of applications. This partnership expands and completes the previously announced development agreement in the field of bio-based engineering plastics between Solvay and Avantium. Building on the newly combined forces of Rhodia and Solvay, the extended relationship offers the partners a unique opportunity to explore a wide range of compositions and applications based on Avantium's YXY technology in the larger  Polyamide field. In the frame of this joint development, the companies will explore the market potential of  polyamide  compositions on the basis of YXY building blocks. Produced from renewable and bio-based feedstock, these compositions are expected to exhibit superior environmental profile and at the same time to deliver applicative performances at a competitive cost. Rh...

At the Heimtextil trade fair from 11 to 14 January 2012, RadiciGroup is exhibiting its product range for the home and contract textile markets. Yarn lines that were developed to meet any request, requirement and application need: yarn produced from post-consumer recycled polymer or made from polylactic acid biopolymer; microstructured yarn; yarn with flame-retardant, anti-UV and bacteriostatic/antimicrobial properties; and two-component yarn. Thanks to its superior quality level, production know-how and expertise in innovative production and processing technologies, the Group can provide its customers with state-of-the-art, high value-added products. RadiciGroup customers are demanding ever more innovative products. They want high-quality, high-performance customized yarn that enables them to make technologically advanced fabrics. That is why, in the yarn design stage, RadiciGroup allows customers to choose the count, lustre, quantity and type of yarn they need. Colour can...

More than 80 million LED lights are running cooler, thanks to CoolPoly® thermally conductive plastics, notes Cool Polymers®, Inc., currently celebrating ten years of successful thermal management of high power LEDs. This equates to annual energy savings for users of as much as $115 million. Cool Polymers, Inc. of North Kingstown, is the original manufacturer of thermally conductive thermoplastics for injection molding. The firm first targeted heat problems in laptops computers and quickly realized that thermally conductive plastics were a flexible and low cost solution for managing excess heat from the tiny LED chips. Due to ongoing accelerated sales in the LED marketplace as well as other markets, the firm recently moved to expansive new facilities in North Kingstown, just south of Providence and Boston. General Manager, Kevin McCullough, recounts that "In initial LED applications, customers benefited from high brightness and low power consumption, but experienced ...

Gevo, Inc., one of the leading renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels companies, received a $5 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the development of biojet fuel from woody biomass and forest product residues. The award is a portion of a $40 million grant presented to the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA), a consortium led by Washington State University (WSU). "This is an opportunity to create thousands of new jobs and drive economic development in rural communities across America by building the framework for a competitively-priced, American-made biofuels industry," said U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Public-private partnerships like these will drive our nation to develop a national biofuels economy that continues to help us grow and out-compete the rest of the world while moving our nation toward a clean energy economy." NARA includes a broad consortium of scientists from ...

Due to constant increase in human life expectancy, more and more people require total hip replacement surgeries; a field generating billions of US$ per year. One of the major problems with current materials used for hip implants is the extremely high friction and wear created between the different articulating implant components. Thus, the big players in the field are constantly striving to find improved materials. The Johnson and Johnson unit DePuy Orthopaedics issued a global recall of two hip aid systems after finding that more people than expected suffered pain which required additional surgery. The friction and wear may cause mechanical failure of the implant resulting in its breakage and dislocation. This friction and wear creates sub-micron particles which and may activate the inflammatory system leading to local inflammation. This could lead to more significant complications including loosening of the implant, fracture of the hip bone and dislocation of the implant...