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Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, says a combination of two of its most innovative thermoplastics technologies has resulted in high performance pressure vessels that are ideally suited for use as lightweight fuel tanks for automobiles running on compressed natural gas (CNG) or hydrogen. With a solution for both the inner liner and the outer tape reinforcement, DSM is able to reduce the weight of the tank by up to 70%.  Hydrogen and natural gas are claiming their place in the field of cost-effective and low carbon-footprint fuels for use in automobiles. Countries with major natural gas reserves are looking at the advantages of using CNG as an alternative fuel which reduces the CO2 emission by 15% compared to current solutions in petrol or diesel.  A traditional steel tank of 40L weighs around 60 kg, while a composite ‘Type IV’ tank with Akulon® Fuel Lock liner can weigh down to 20 kg. Every 10 kg removed from a vehicle translates roughly into ...

At the TIME Conference Center in New York, Parx Plastics wins the World Technology Award for Materials. The Parx technology was identified as an innovation with the likely long-term significance.    Once a year The World Technology Network brings together many of the world’s most innovative individuals and organizations in science, technology, and related fields to present, discuss and celebrate innovations and accomplishments. In this year’s edition Parx Plastics was awarded for its inventions creating a  biocompatible antibacterial plastic . The technology developed by Parx Plastics is unique in its kind as it is fully biocompatible, ecofriendly, non-toxic and without substances leaching from the plastic. These characteristics make this solution the only antibacterial technology that without limitations can be used in food packaging materials to improve the shelf life of food, and can be used for medical applications such as implants where it will reduce the chances o...

The Solar Impulse 2 airplane, revealed on April 9 and successfully test flown in June of this year, is designed using Dassault Systèmes’ 3DExperience platform. Solar Impulse uses Dassault Systèmes’ 3DExperience platform, including its Catia and Enovia applications, to design, build, and validate this second solar airplane. Solar Impulse 1 was a test bed for the incredibly complex new technologies required to fly day and night using solar energy alone. Solar Impulse 2 will carry the mission forward and fly around the world in 2015. The team faced new challenges and trade-offs in designing such an innovative plane, including a new design for the fuselage and wings, and using new materials to achieve strict weight objectives. Designing a cockpit providing safety, comfort, and command accessibility for a pilot on an around-the-world flight required sophisticated design and management tools. Dassault Systèmes applications, in use by the team since 2006, helped ensure smooth execution o...

Verdezyne, Inc., a privately-held industrial biotechnology company focused on producing renewable chemicals, recently announced it has reached an agreement with Bio-XCell Malaysia to construct Verdezyne’s first commercial-scale renewable chemicals manufacturing facility in Bio-XCell’s premier biotechnology and ecosystem park in Nusajaya, Iskandar, in southern Malaysia. With construction scheduled to commence in 2015, the plant will be capable of producing approximately 30 million pounds per year of diacids, including dodecanedioic acid (DDDA), and will be the world’s first bio-based plant for the production of DDDA.  The exchange of agreement ceremony took place during the official opening ceremony of “BioMalaysia: Bioeconomy Asia Pacific 2014 Conference & Exhibition,” and was attended by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.  “This agreement is part of our comprehensive strategy of expansion into Asia, and represents a huge step toward our goal of replacing petroleum...

Cross-contamination must be eliminated in valves used for sensitive pharmaceutical process technology. The safest method is to use one-way valves, which until now has meant replacing the entire valve. With its controlled single-use membrane valve GEMÜ SUMONDO®, with a special TPE membrane from KRAIBURG TPE, GEMÜ is introducing a safe and cost-effective system. With it, only the valve unit has to be replaced, because thanks to the interior membrane, it is the only part that comes into contact with the pharmaceutical media. The actuator itself remains in the system for re-use. The valve unit, which is manufactured in a cleanroom out of sterilized polypropylene, is equipped with a TPE membrane. The ultrasonically heat-sealed membrane hermetically separates the media from the environment and from the valve's actuator. Moreover, it also regulates the volume flow in the valve during operation.  "Using THERMOLAST® M, the medically-compliant TPE from KRAIBURG TPE, represents a fund...