polymerguru

A new chemical process can transform waste sulfur into a lightweight plastic that may improve batteries for electric cars, reports a University of Arizona-led team. The new plastic has other potential uses, including optical uses. The team has successfully used the new plastic to make lithium-sulfur batteries. "We've developed a new, simple and useful chemical process to convert sulfur into a useful plastic," lead researcher Jeffrey Pyun said. Next-generation lithium-sulfur, or Li-S, batteries will be better for electric and hybrid cars and for military uses because they are more efficient, lighter and cheaper than those currently used, said Pyun, a UA associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry. The new plastic has great promise as something that can be produced easily and inexpensively on an industrial scale, he said. The team's discovery could provide a new use for the sulfur left over when oil and natural gas are refined into cleaner-burning f...

Cobalt Technologies ("Cobalt"), one of the leading developers of next generation bio-based chemicals, announced the successful completion of a production campaign of n-butanol at a fermentation scale greater than 100,000 liters. The performance demonstrates scalability by replicating the performance previously obtained at both the 10 liter bench scale and the 4,000 liter pilot scale. This scale validation is a crucial stepping stone to finalizing any commercial project, since scale up to a commercial fermentor is under 10x, well within industry norms. With the results achieved during the latest production run, Cobalt demonstrated a clear economic advantage over petroleum-based butanol under current market conditions. Ongoing process improvements at commercial scale are expected to yield at least a 40% cost advantage. "This most recent production run demonstrates commercial-scale metrics for Cobalt's biobutanol fermentation technology," said Bob Mayer, CEO, Co...

The European Commission has launched a new three-year project "Bio Base NWE" to support the development of the bio-based economy in North West Europe (NWE). The €6.2 million (£5.35 million) project will work mainly with small and medium businesses (SME's) to help facilitate innovation and business development in bio-based technologies. Bio Base NWE will also provide training and education to help tackle the shortage of skilled professionals in North West Europe's bio-based industries. The Bio Base NWE partnership includes organizations from five different countries. Dr. Lieve Hoflack, Manager of the Bio Base NWE project, said: "SME's have a vital role to play in Europe's journey towards the bio-based economy, which could be worth more than €2 trillion to the European economy by 2020." "Bio-based products are a growing area of interest for SME's working in chemical industry, agro-industry, plastics, fuels, food, textile and pharma in...

DSM announced the introduction of Beyone™ 1, a new high performance resin system at JEC 2013 [Mar 12-14]. This revolutionary resin forms an integral part of DSM's continuous effort of delivering products that combine excellent mechanical strength and fatigue resistance, ease of processing, and reduced impact on the environment. The Beyone™ 1 resin is a BluCure™ Product, is styrene- as well as cobalt-free, and approximately 40 % of its raw materials are based on renewable resources. This resin is targeted at applications in building, infrastructure, marine and wind energy. Composite components need to provide structural integrity, while being exposed to high dynamic loads and fatigue. DSM has a mission to deliver cutting edge solutions to satisfy designers and OEMs needs for superior strength materials that will ensure continuous functioning of their products. DSM has been at the forefront of introducing new products and technologies that can meet the most stringent perform...

The UK's innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, has awarded a grant to a consortium led by Biome Technologies; to investigate a bio-based alternative for the oil derived organic chemicals used in the manufacturing of  bioplastics. The research will be undertaken by the group's bioplastic division Biome  Bioplastics,  one of the UK's leading developers of natural plastics, in conjunction with the University of Warwick's Centre for Biotechnology and Biorefining. The £150,000 grant is part of the Technology Strategy Board's 'Sustainable high value chemical manufacture through industrial biotechnology' technical feasibility competition, which funds projects that apply sustainable bio-based feedstocks and biocatalytic processes in the production of chemicals. The Technology Strategy Board has identified the potential of industrial biotechnology to help the chemical industry move away from a dependency on fossil resources to a bioeconomy ba...

Effectively immediately, Mercedes, a leader worldwide in the manufacture of automobiles, will be using the adhesion promoter from Evonik Industries in several of its mass-produced models. Although it is used inside the vehicle and thus concealed from view, the VESTAMELT®-based hybrid component performs an important job. The aluminum tubing connects both A-pillars together and supports the entire dashboard — from the steering wheel to the glove compartment. These elements used to be welded or screwed together with metal connecting plates, a stable solution, but one that involves more weight. By contrast, VESTAMELT® X1333-P1, a co-polyamide, covers the aluminum tubing and joins the holding brackets made of fiberglass-reinforced polyamide 6 of the individual components to the tubing by means of an injection molding process based on melt-bonding. When this adhesion promoter is used, component weight can be dramatically reduced by up to 20% compared to conventional solutions. "To...

Metabolix, Inc., an innovation-driven bioscience company focused on delivering sustainable solutions for plastics, chemicals and energy, announced that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Tianjin GreenBio Materials Co., Ltd. ("GreenBio"), a biomaterials company based in Tianjin, China. Under the terms of the agreement, Metabolix will distribute GreenBio's SoGreen™ heat shrink film in Europe and will be the exclusive distributor in the Americas. In addition to a distribution relationship, Metabolix and GreenBio have also signed a supply agreement for PHA biopolymers. Under the arrangement, GreenBio will supply PHA resins to Metabolix, which will extend the range and availability of the Company's PHA products. "Tianjin GreenBio has developed a heat shrink film based on PHA biopolymers. This product complements our product slate aimed at film and bag applications and we expect will be of interest to customers in the U.S. and Europe seeking biobased...

Zoltek Corporation and Thermoplast Composite GmbH of Germany announced that they are working together to develop and improve carbon fiber thermoplastic tapes and other carbon fiber thermoplastic products, based on Zoltek fibers and using TCG innovative process technologies, for structural applications for automotive and other industries. Co-developed carbon fiber thermoplastic tapes produced by TCG were on display at this year's JEC Composites Show. These thermoplastic tapes, manufactured with Zoltek's Panex® 35 carbon fiber and using TCG's patented process technology, have the ability to be used as the primary reinforcement in structural parts or as localized reinforcement for injection molding applications. Strategic placement in localized areas in combination with injection molding processes produce low cost, structurally optimized composite parts with the potential to be used for seat backs, front end carriers, bumpers, doors, and other automotive components with co...