Sukano's Masterbatches Show Antiviral Efficacy Against Feline Coronavirus

 Sukano has developed Antiviral Masterbatches for PET and PA fibers that have a strong antiviral effect on the plastic parts, while also potentially helping to reduce waste and improve the sustainability credentials of the final articles produced.

Antiviral Effect Maintained Even After Washing

Sukano’s Antiviral Masterbatches work by directly integrating an antiviral additive into the polymer, using proprietary technologies. The power of this technology is that the antiviral effect not only remains stable during the usage of the product, but that it is maintained after washing. This is because the additive is consistently present on the surface of the product, without being released into the environment.

Sukano conducted tests at an external laboratory specialized in microbiological testing and in accordance with ISO 18184:2019 (fabrics) and ISO 21702:2019 (plastics inject molded parts and films) to independently confirm the effectiveness of its antiviral effect on the plastic parts. The result showed that over 98 % of the Feline Coronavirus was eliminated within the first two hours. The tests were performed using the Influenza H1N1 virus and a Feline Coronavirus, which has structures and mechanisms similar to SARS-Cov-2.

SUKANO® Antiviral Masterbatches offer the highest performance and durability: the antiviral efficacy of the fibers remains after multiple washing cycles at 40° C. All this is possible without impacting the fibers’ physical properties or yellowing.

Application in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Reusable non-medical masks are typically made from fibers without antiviral properties. Manufacturing textile masks using fabrics that include SUKANO® Antiviral Masterbatch could help reduce viral contamination via surfaces, even if the mask is not washed after each usage.

The SUKANO® Antiviral Masterbatch is already included when spinning the fiber, which eliminates additional finishing steps like external coating. This helps the environment by reducing waste and energy, saving natural resources.

“Our SUKANO® Antiviral Masterbatch is already in use by our existing customers who have successfully and effectively produced face masks during the pandemic outbreak. We now have additional, external lab results to back up our claims regarding its antiviral effect,” said Alessandra Funcia, head of marketing and sales, Sukano.

Extending Viral Protection Beyond PPE

SUKANO® Antiviral Masterbatches for PET and PA applications have externally proven their efficacy against viruses at different dosage levels, polymers and conversion processes, all of which can impact potential antiviral protection performance.

“Beyond the textile and fiber applications, our external lab results confirm the efficacy of our technology used in our PET and PA based masterbatches when applied in film extrusion processes and injection molded parts,” states Michael Kirch, global head of R&D for Sukano.

Source: Sukano

New Project to Sustainably Recycle Polystyrene Waste into New Products

 VTT and its partners will explore in their two-year MoPo project how recycling of polystyrene could be substantially increased by reshaping its collection and handling. The goal is to convert waste into pure polystyrene or styrene monomers used in other plastics and chemicals.

Technically and Economically Feasible Solution

In the new MoPo project the target is to offer a technically and economically feasible solution to the recycling of polystyrene waste in Europe. VTT will explore the state of polystyrene production, consumption and recycling in Finland and in selected European countries. A logistics model for collecting polystyrene waste and methods for its mechanical and chemical recycling will be developed.

Polystyrene is typically used in its hard form and as a foam known as Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) when insulating or damping properties are needed. Both types can be mechanically recycled, which means they can be molded into new polystyrene products by melting the material. The amount of collected polystyrene waste is, however, quite small in Finland, so it usually ends up incinerated. The collection of EPS is especially challenging, as EPS takes up a lot of space for its weight and crumbles and stains easily.

New Thermochemical Recycling Methods

As not all polystyrene waste is suited for mechanical recycling, thermochemical recycling methods will be developed in the MoPo project as well. In thermochemical recycling polystyrene is pyrolyzed, i.e., heated in the absence of oxygen, and thus disintegrated into shorter polymer chains and even to styrene monomers. The resulting pyrolysis oil, upon purification, can replace oil fractions when producing for example aromatics, latex, polystyrene and carbon black. A method will also be developed to allow safe utilization of polystyrene waste containing flame retardants and other hazardous components.
Budget and Partners

The MoPo project led by VTT has a total budget of EUR 964 000, which will be covered by Business Finland, VTT and research and business partners: Aalto University, L&T, HSY, Finnfoam, PS Processing, CH-Polymers, Pohjanmaan Hyötyjätekuljetus and Suomen Uusiomuovi.

“Together with our partners we can develop the whole value chain involved in polystyrene recycling. We expect that the project will substantially increase recycling opportunities and create new businesses. Our goal is to lead the way in polystyrene recycling Europe wide,”Muhammad Qureshi, senior scientist says.

During the project, participants will demonstrate various processes such as separate collection of polystyrene waste, handling of polystyrene waste with a new kind of extruder developed at VTT, and mechanical and chemical recycling of polystyrene waste.

Source: VTT

New Nanocomposite Material to Prevent Malfunctioning of Electronics

 Scientists from South Ural State University in collaboration with colleagues from Belarus, India and China have created a composite material for nanoelectronics. The material can be used as a dielectric (insulating substance) in polymer capacitors. These devices store energy and may be used in the electronics of the future: They last longer, weigh less, have high strength and charge speed.

Unique Material for Nanoelectronics

The material created by scientists can improve the capacitors properties. Senior Researcher at the Nanotechnology Research and Education Center Aleksey Trukhanov says, “the composite was created on the basis of encapsulated nanostructures consisting of dielectric nanosized magnesium oxide (MgO) with a ferroelectric nanosized shell of barium titanate (BaTiO3). The addition of just three weight percent of these components in the polymer matrix increases the discharge current density by 187% thus demonstrating outstanding energy storage performance.”

Such research is relevant, since the rapid development of micro- and nanoelectronics requires new approaches and the development of new materials to reduce the size of functional components. A fundamentally significant result of this research is the development of new composite materials with improved dielectric characteristics, combining several technologies: core-shell - the technology of creating nanoparticles of dielectric MgO with a nanoscale shell from the ferroelectric BaTiO3, as well as the technology of dispersing these nanostructures in a polymer matrix.

Future of Functional Composites

During the "breakdown" of the dielectric, there will be no electric voltage and no charge injection from the electrodes. The new material will prevent malfunctioning of electronic systems. This was achieved by developing a new core-shell nanostructure and coating the shell with highly insulating magnesium oxide. The new nanoparticles significantly increase the strength of polymer nanocomposites, making them ideal materials for dielectrics.

“The results of our joint work will be used for controlling the electrical characteristics of functional polymeric materials of this class. At the moment, there are plans to continue research of functional composites with controlled properties. Currently, active research work is being carried out in the field of composite materials with magnetic fillers”, Aleksey Trukhanov adds.

The material developed by SUSU scientists can be used in capacitors for "green" energy, electric transport and medical equipment.

Source: South Ural State University