polymerguru

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Runaway Polymerisation Polymerisation is a chemical reaction, or process in which a monomer or a mixture of monomers is converted into a polymer such as polystyrene. Styrene polymerises slowly at normal ambient temperatures but very rapidly at elevated temperatures. It can be accelerated by heat, the lack of dissolved oxygen, the lack of a polymerisation inhibitor, and when contaminated by oxidising agents and most halides. The polymerisation process is exothermic and, if the resulting heat is not removed, the bulk styrene temperature may rise to a level at which polymerisation is self-sustaining and very rapid. This is referred to as ‘runaway polymerisation’ and will usually be initiated by temperatures above 65°C. During a runaway polymerisation, the cargo will expand causing pressure to increase to the point that vapour is released from tank vents or p/v valves. In some cases, the resulting build-up of pressure is sufficient to rupture the tank. Case Stud...

BASF announced the start-up of the world’s first commercial loopamid® plant. The production facility at the Caojing site in Shanghai, China, has an annual capacity of 500 metric tons and marks an important step in the supply of sustainable products for the textile industry. “The startup of this plant once again demonstrates BASF’s innovative strength,” said Stephan Kothrade, member of the Board of Executive Directors and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of BASF SE. “As an integral part of our Winning Ways strategy, we utilize our chemistry to develop solutions for the biggest challenges of our time. loopamid transforms textile waste into a valuable resource, helps save raw materials and closes the textile loop. loopamid is a recycled polyamide 6 that is entirely based on textile waste. The new production facility supports the growing demand for sustainable polyamide 6 fibers in the textile industry. “I am proud of our team, which has worked with great passion and dedication to ach...

  Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Let's imagine we do a fatigue test on a 40% GF filled polymer. Visually, such material will always show what appears to be a brittle failure. Even a less severe quasi-static tensile test will typically show failure at 1 or 1.5 % strain, which we mentally associate with "BRITTLE FAILURE". However, you'd be surprised to see to what an extent such failures are largely due to plasticity/ductile mechanisms. If we do our fatigue test (with a classic stress ratio R=0.1 ) at 1 Hz and then we repeat it on a fresh sample at 2 Hz, very often we will observe that life-time is the same, despite doubling the number of cycles ! This indicates that failure is essentially controlled by the underlying creep and accumulated plastic strain. A totally ductile mechanism ! If we were to observe failure two times faster, i.e. at the same number of cycles, this would point towards a dominant crack growth/brittle mechanism. In real life, we may also find something...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Chainmail-like polymer could be the future of body armor Scientists created and imaged a 2D interlocked polymer that is lightweight yet flexible and strong — and contains the highest density of mechanical bonds ever achieved. Researchers supported by grants and instrumentation provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation have created the first 2D polymer material that mechanically interlocks, much like chainmail, and used an advanced imaging technique to show its microscopic details. The material combines exceptional strength and flexibility and could be developed into high-performance and lightweight body armor that moves fluidly with the body as it protects it. The nanoscale material was developed by researchers at Northwestern University and the electron microscopy was conducted at Cornell University. The results are published in a paper in Science.  Groundbreaking in more ways than one, the paper describes a highly efficient and scalable polymer...

The world marines market saw something of a coming-of-age in December 2023 when Japanese shipbuilder Tsuneishi Shipbuilding launched the very first tug with its power sulfur-capable molecular natural gas injected, which led Saigyo’ s demonstration from Norway to Japan. The award winning single sitter, which can be powered by hydrogen and traditional fuels represents an important milestone in global environmental initiatives to curb pollution emissions from fossil fuel burning vehicles. The adoption of this clean and green zero-emission technology is not going to improve Japan’s national hydrogen strategy, but also enabling the country led by their parliament as a leader in sustainability advances. World’s First Hydrogen Dual-Fuel Tugboat The tugboat is not a proof of concept, but rather an example that the practical use of hydrogen fuel cells and also dual-fuel technology with hydrogen can work even in one of perhaps most hostile environments on our planet: marine operation. Japan, wit...

  Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Engineers turn the body’s goo into new glue They combined a blend of slimy and sticky proteins to produce a fast-acting, bacteria-blocking, waterproof adhesive for use in biomedical applications. Within the animal kingdom, mussels are masters of underwater adhesion. The marine molluscs cluster atop rocks and along the bottoms of ships, and hold fast against the ocean’s waves thanks to a gluey plaque they secrete through their foot. These tenacious adhesive structures have prompted scientists in recent years to design similar bioinspired, waterproof adhesives. Now engineers from MIT and Freie Universität Berlin have developed a new type of glue that combines the waterproof stickiness of the mussels’ plaques with the germ-proof properties of another natural material: mucus. Every surface in our bodies not covered in skin is lined with a protective layer of mucus — a slimy network of proteins that acts as a physical barrier against bacteria and othe...

  The Government of Canada has published the State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) report. This report follows public consultations for the Draft State of PFAS Report, launched in May 2023, and the Updated Draft State of PFAS Report, launched in July 2024, during which over 400 stakeholders provided input. Prevent substitution of regulated PFAS by unregulated PFAS: Following the latest science, the Government of Canada has examined PFAS as a class of substances.The class of PFAS comprises of substances meeting the broad chemical definition by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Scientific evidence suggests that concerns identified for human health and the environment for well-studied PFAS are more broadly applicable to other PFAS. A class approach can help prevent the substitution of one regulated PFAS by an unregulated PFAS that potentially possesses similar hazardous properties. Based on latest science and evidence, this report concludes that...