Braskem Presented Latest Biobased Resins and Recycling Projects at Tokyo Pack

To showcase its products developed using renewable raw materials and to strengthen its presence in the Japanese market, Braskem participated in Tokyo Pack. Braskem is the largest thermoplastic resin producer in the Americas, with annual production volume of over 20 million tons, which includes chemical products and basic petrochemicals.

World's First Biobased Polyethylene

 In its debut at the event, the company welcomed visitors to its booth displaying products such as I'm green™ plastic, which is the world's first biobased polyethylene produced on an industrial scale, and I'm green™ EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), which also is made from sugarcane.

"Asia has become an important market for us, especially in businesses involving Green PE, and Tokyo Pack is the perfect opportunity to consolidate our presence in the packaging industry. We will take the opportunity to introduce to the local public our latest developments in biobased resins and our projects to support recycling through the Wecycle platform, demonstrating that many of our innovation initiatives are guided by environmental issues and by sustainable development," said José Augusto Viveiro, renewable chemicals sales director at Braskem.

Global Expansion

Braskem has been expanding its presence in the Asian market since 2010 and today has deals involving Green PE in countries such as Vietnam, China, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, India and Malaysia. In Japan alone, 366 supermarket chains distribute bags made from renewable polyethylene and over 40 products are made from the resin in applications that range from cosmetics,
personal care and home care to food packaging and more.

See below for more details on what Braskem showcased at Tokyo Pack:

I'm green™ PE

• The green resin, made from sugarcane ethanol, has the same physical properties as conventional polyethylene and can be fully recycled in the traditional recycling chain. 
• One of its main features is that the material captures 3.09 tons of CO₂ for each ton of product made, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 
• Green Plastic is manufactured at one of Braskem's plants in Brazil. The plant has annual production capacity of 200 kta of renewable resin.

I'm green™ EVA

• Developed in partnership with U.S.-based Allbirds, the EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) is made from a biobased raw material (sugarcane). 
• Featuring superior flexibility, lightness and resistance, it also helps to reduce greenhouse gases in the air by capturing and storing CO₂ during its production process. 
• The resin's applications include the footwear, automotive and transportation industries.

I'm green™ Seal

• Braskem certification that allows consumers to recognize products made from the renewable resin. 
• To be able to bear the seal, products must undergo a carbon-14 test, which is the same one used to estimate the age of fossils found around the world. 
• To be certified, the product must contain at least 51% renewable content.

Wecycle Platform

Braskem's Wecycle platform was created to foster businesses and initiatives that value post-consumer plastic waste and develop the recycling chain.
 
Source: Braskem

Hexagon Acquires Testing Technology for Type 4 HP Cylinders

Hexagon Composites ASA has moved to acquire the technology testing company Digital Wave Corporation, based in Denver, Colorado. With this acquisition, Hexagon Composites will fully integrate capabilities for testing and requalification of high-pressure cylinders.

“Hexagon has worked successfully with Digital Wave for three years to apply Modal Acoustic Emissions (MAE) technology to test Type 4 cylinders. With this acquisition we take control of the unique testing process, which effectively reduces the operators’ down time, while ensuring an approved, safe and reliable requalification method. We are further enhancing our leadership position by obtaining the most advanced capabilities and technology currently available,” said Jack Schimenti, Executive Vice President of Hexagon Composites Group. “We believe that this technology has the potential of fulfilling the holy grail of real-time health monitoring of composite cylinders.”

Digital Wave is a leading provider of modal acoustic emission (MAE) requalification and ultrasonic examination (UE) testing of pressure vessels. MAE is a relatively new and unique process that uses sound waves to measure structural integrity in composite structures. It greatly improves both routine re-qualifications and post-accident inspections.

Operators of gas transportation modules in North America are required to requalify their cylinders every five years. MAE testing collects data from cylinders under pressure and provides a comprehensive evaluation of the composite structure of each cylinder. UE is an efficient alternative to the traditional hydro-testing of all-metal cylinders.

“Hexagon Composites is a leader in the composite pressure cylinder market and a great strategic fit for Digital Wave’s array of products and patents,” adds Mike Gorman, CEO of Digital Wave Corporation. “It provides a strong platform for the Company’s employees, who have developed testing technology for all types of pressure vessels, to use their talents to expand both the range of applications and global reach for Digital Wave’s intellectual property. We are convinced that both organizations complement each other in terms of products and services and this will lead to a stronger position in the cylinder market.

Digital Wave reported revenues of USD 3.8 (NOK 31.4) million in 2017, with an adjusted EBITDA of USD 0.4 (NOK 3.0) million.
The agreed transaction value of Digital Wave is USD 7.5 million (approx. NOK 61.8 million). The signing of a definitive agreement has taken place on 26 October with expected closing in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The business will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Hexagon’s US affiliate and will continue to research and develop new products and services in this field.

Transforming Food Waste into High Quality, Fully Biodegradable Bioplastics

Luna Yu, a recent graduate from the Master of Environmental Science program at University of Toronto Scarborough teams up with a talented group of scientists and engineers — many of whom are U of T students or alum — to form Genecis. The company uses recent advancements in biotechnology, microbial engineering and machine learning to take food destined for landfill and convert it into high quality, fully biodegradable plastics.
Food waste is a significant environmental issue in North America, explains Yu. In the United States roughly 55 million tons of food is thrown away annually. Once that food hits landfill it generates methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In fact, it’s estimated that 34 per cent of methane emissions in the U.S. alone are caused by food waste.
Luna Yu said: “We feel that by using synthetic biology create high quality products out of this organic waste in a cost-effective way – while also mitigating the effects of plastic pollution – is really the way of the future.”
Though only in her early 20s, this isn’t Yu’s first foray into entrepreneurship. She has more than six years’ experience, first at a start-up software company as an undergrad before moving to another start-up that converted restaurant food waste into biogas.
It was there that she met several talented engineers, learned about the microbiology of converting discarded food into other materials, and discovered a valuable lesson in the economics of re-using food waste.
Luna Yu said: “Converting food waste into biogas is not only a time-consuming process, the end product is fairly low value.”
It was shortly after this experience that she connected with a fellow environmental science student in The Hub, U of T Scarborough’s entrepreneurial incubator, to figure out what else could be made from food waste.
Luna Yu said:
“We looked at different types of bio-rubbers and bio-chemicals before landing on PHAs. We felt it had the biggest market potential.”

A Reusable, Biodegradable form of Plastic

PHAs, or polyhydroxyalkanoates, are a type of polymer produced in nature by bacteria that have many benefits over other forms of bio-plastics. For one, it can be a thermoplastic, meaning it can be easily molded and remolded into different products. Another benefit is that, unlike many other forms of bio-plastics, it won’t ruin the recycling process. 

Luna Yu said: “Many people throw bio-plastics into the recycling bin rather than the compost, but if it’s not a thermoplastic, it can’t be remolded,” says Yu.

“This disrupts the physical properties of new recycled products — they will end up falling apart.”
PHAs won’t cause this problem if it accidentally ends up in recycling bins, which makes it much easier for waste management companies to handle.
But what really sold Yu on PHAs is the fact that it’s fully biodegradable. PHAs degrade within one year in a terrestrial environment, and fewer than 10 years in marine environments. Meanwhile, synthetic plastics can take hundreds of years to degrade in similar environments.
Given its superior physical properties and the process it takes to create, Yu says Genecis’s PHAs are best suited for higher-end products like toys, flexible packaging, 3D-printing filament and medical applications including surgical staples, sutures and stints.
Luna Yu said: “The PHAs we create can be used to make pretty much anything, but it makes the most economic sense to use it in higher-quality, multi-use products.”
While PHAs have been in the market for the past two decades, most come directly from corn and sugarcane crops. Yu explains that the process Genecis uses to create its PHAs is much cheaper because they avoid the expenses required to acquire their feedstock.

Three-step Process

Genecis uses a three-step process to produce its PHAs, explains Michael Williamson, the company’s head of mechanical engineering and U of T engineering grad.

• First, they use a mixture of anaerobic (without oxygen) bacteria that breaks down the food waste into volatile fatty acids, similar to how food is broken down in our stomachs. 
• Next, the fatty acids are added to a mixed culture of aerobic (with oxygen) bacteria that are specially selected to produce PHAs in their cells. 
• Finally, they use an extraction process to break open the cells, collect and purify the plastic.

The process takes less than seven days from getting the food waste to having the purified plastic — making biogas, on the other hand, takes an average of 21 days. When the company opens its demonstration plant later next year, it will be able to convert three tons of organic waste into PHAs weekly. 

While the process used by Genecis works for pretty much all types of food, some foods like simple carbs and proteins can be more efficiently converted, says Yu.
The company currently has two locations — their main lab in U of T’s Banting and Best Building, in the heart of Toronto’s Discovery District, and the other in the Environmental Science and Chemistry Building at U of T Scarborough, which is responsible for research and development.

U of T start-up

In their downtown lab they work with pilot-scale bioreactors, and are continuing to scale up their operations with an industry partner to a demonstration plant by the end of next year. Meanwhile, their facility at UTSC houses smaller bioreactors that are used to help optimize their production process.
Vani Sankar, Genecis’s head of biotechnology and a postdoc at U of T Scarborough, said: “We’re fine-tuning things to figure out the best conditions to operate our bacteria cultures. This includes what combinations of temperature, pH and amount of food will give us the best yield.”
  Source: University of Toronto Scarborough

Fire-resistant Bio-based Composite Prepreg Enables Lightweight Train Seating Support

Composites Evolution, Bercella and Element Materials Technology (Element) have successfully completed the development and testing of a composite cantilever support for rail passenger seating.

Composite Cantilever Seat Support

The component, which is 1 meter long but weighs less than 5 kg, passed a wide range of tests performed by Element. The evaluation included static loadings, fatigue cycles and fire testing to EN 45545 according to the requirements of Bercella’s customers.

Cantilever seat supports, which are mounted on the wall of a train carriage rather than the floor, offer a number of advantages including improved access for cleaning and luggage storage. The lightweight composite structure also provides advantages in terms of reduced train energy consumption and lower axle loads.

Bio-based Evopreg PFC Prepreg

The seat support was manufactured by Bercella using Composites Evolution’s Evopreg PFC prepreg with a high strength carbon fiber reinforcement. Evopreg PFC was specified for this application because of its excellent fire performance, low toxicity and outstanding environmental credentials - the base polyfurfuryl alcohol resin is 100% bio-derived. Evopreg PFC is one of the first prepregs to be manufactured on Composites Evolution’s new prepreg line that was installed in July 2018.

Brendon Weager, Composites Evolution’s Technical Director, commented:
“We are delighted with how well Evopreg PFC has performed for Bercella’s seating concept. Producing composites that are both structural and highly fire-resistant is often challenging, but we’ve passed Element’s tests with flying colors.”

The seat support will be on display at Composites Evolution’s stand (N99) at the Advanced Engineering Show on 31st October and 1st November in Birmingham, UK.

Source: Composites Evolution

First TITAN®53 Mobile Pipeline® units delivered in Nebraska

Hexagon continues delivering firsts to the Mobile Pipeline® market as the first TITAN®53 gas transport module was delivered in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. The TITAN®53 is the result of a rigorous design, development and testing process built on the foundation of the deepest engineering expertise in composite pressure vessel technology in the industry.

After nearly a decade of success with TITAN® products, customers are demanding the ability to move greater volumes of compressed gases including natural gas, hydrogen and industrial gases on every trip. The newly developed TITAN®53 cylinders and module optimize weight and capacity to meet the 80,000 lbs (36,300 kg) GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) to allow operation in all 50 US states while delivering an estimated gas volume of 492,000 SCF / 13,932 SCM of natural gas. Hexagon’s TITAN® cylinders are the largest composite cylinders now available.

Safety is top priority for development teams, which have delivered over 700,000 high pressure full composite cylinders over their 25 years. Hexagon’s composite cylinders hold up to three times the capacity of steel at the same vehicle weight, dramatically improving payload and range.

Hexagon’s Mobile Pipeline® team is collaborating with energy leaders to develop innovative systems that provide safe, cost-effective and environmentally friendly solutions off the gas grid. To date, more than 1,200 Mobile Pipeline® modules are deployed globally, where they are driving energy transformation from conventional petroleum fuels to clean and affordable natural gas.

Supporting customers extends beyond the deployment of the modules with exceptional service and support. To facilitate future service and requalification of the module, Hexagon designed the TITAN®53 module to accommodate Hexagon’s Modal Acoustic Emission requalification testing. Modal Acoustic Emission testing is the most comprehensive method of testing composites available in the world and presents a technological leap in safety.

Source: Hexagon

Bioinspired Approach to 3D Print Recyclable Materials: ETH Zürich

Fused deposition modeling (FDM), often simply referred to as 3D Printing, has been hailed as the future of manufacturing. However, the bad mechanical performance of parts produced by FDM compared to conventionally manufactured objects has limited its use to prototyping. Therefore, despite its promise of mass customization, FDM 3D Printing has not been adopted by industry for production. 

Commercial 3D Printing of Complex Parts

Researchers at ETH Zürich have developed a bioinspired approach to 3D print recyclable materials using cheap desktop printers that outperform state-of-the-art printed polymers and rival the highest performance lightweight materials. This will finally enable the manufacturing of complex parts that mimic natural structural designs on the mass market. 3D Printing, particularly FDM, makes it possible to produce unique complex parts quickly and at a low cost by sequentially depositing beads of a molten polymer. However, the available polymers are relatively weak and the printed parts show poor adhesion between the printed lines. Because of these limitations FDM has not yet been successfully implemented in commercial products. Traditionally, people increased the performance of polymers by including strong and stiff fibers such as glass or carbon fibers into the material. Although the resulting materials exhibit very high strength and stiffness, the energy- and labor-intensive fabrication process as well as the difficulty to recycle state-of-the-art composites represent major challenges today.

3D Printing with Single Recyclable Material

• To combine the mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced composites with the freedom in design that comes with 3D printing, methods have been developed to include carbon fibers into the printed objects. 
• However, this approach requires expensive specialized equipment, and still is restricted with the possible geometries with materials that cannot be recycled. 
• For the first time, researchers from the Complex Materials group and the Soft Materials group at ETH, were able to print objects from a single recyclable material with mechanical properties that surpass all other available printable polymers and can compete even with fiber-reinforced composites.

Inspiration by Nature

The researchers were inspired by two materials that can be found in Nature – spider silk and wood – during the development of these structures. Spider silk gets its unrivalled mechanical properties from the high degree of molecular alignment of the silk proteins along the fiber directions. 

• First, it was possible to reproduce this high alignment during the extrusion from an FDM nozzle by using a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) as an FDM feedstock material, resulting in unprecedented mechanical properties in the deposition direction. 
• Second, the anisotropic fiber properties were utilized by tailoring the local orientation of the print path according to the specific loading conditions imposed by the environment. This design principle is inspired by the ability of living tissue like wood to arrange fibers along the stress lines developed throughout the loaded structure as it grows and adapts to its environment.

Recyclable 3D Printed LCP Structures

• The recyclable 3D printed LCP structures are much stronger than the state-of-the-art 3D printed polymers and do not require the labor- and energy-intensive steps involved in current composite manufacturing technologies. 
• Thus, the technology is expected to be a game-changer in several structural, biomedical and energy-harvesting applications where high-performance lightweight materials are required. 
• Additionally, because the research has been conducted using a readily available polymer and a commercial desktop printer, it should be easy for the broader additive manufacturing and open source communities to adopt this new material and digitally design and fabricate strong and complex lightweight objects from LCPs.

Source: ETH Zürich