polymerguru

Sanitized AG and DeRucci, China’s leading luxury sleep solutions brand, are proud to announce an exciting milestone in their exclusive partnership. Since 2018, SANITIZED has been the trusted provider of foam mattress treatments for DeRucci in the Chinese market. Now, DeRucci is set to revolutionize the sleep industry with the launch of its first AI mattress series, treated with Sanitized® technology, in December 2024. The new AI mattress series incorporates Sanitized®’s innovative technology, offering enhanced hygiene management features. With antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-dust mite protection, this advanced treatment supports long-lasting cleanliness and a more comfortable sleep environment. This focus on hygiene reflects DeRucci’s commitment to providing advanced and health-conscious sleep solutions to its customers. A partnership built on innovation and excellence: Since the partnership began in 2018, Sanitized AG and DeRucci have worked closely to integrate Sanitized®’s antim...

BASF’s Performance Materials division completely switched all its European sites to renewable electricity. “As BASF, we want to enable our customers green transformation, and we believe it starts with us. This is our ambition and the goal of #OurPlasticsJourney ,” said Martin Jung, President of BASF’s Performance Materials division. “The use of electricity from renewable sources such as wind or solar is necessary to achieve our climate targets.” The changeover applies to the compounding of Engineering Plastics, Polyurethanes and Thermoplastic Polyurethanes and Specialty Polymers. With the turn of the year, in total nine Performance Materials production sites across Europe have been converted. Renewable electricity also plays an important role in the whole value chain such as in the choice of suppliers. For example, BASF Performance Materials sources glass fibers for the reinforcement of plastics from 3B Fibreglass, one of BASF’s suppliers that uses solar panels to generate ele...

Sudarshan Chemical Industries Limited (SCIL) announced that through its wholly owned subsidiary Sudarshan Europe B.V., it has completed its  previously announced acquisition of Germany-based Heubach Group  in a combination of an asset and share deal. This strategic acquisition creates a global pigment leader, bringing together SCIL’s operations and expertise with Heubach's technological capabilities. It will enhance SCIL’s product portfolio, giving it access to a diversified asset footprint across 19 international sites. The combined company will have a strong presence in major markets including Europe and the Americas. Rajesh Rathi will lead the combined company as managing director and CEO. Heubach has a 200-year-old history and became the second-largest pigment player in the world after its integration with Clariant in 2022. It had more than a billion euros in revenue in FY21 and FY22, with a global footprint especially in Europe, Americas, and the APAC region.  Heubac...

 Today's KNOWLEDGE Share ADDYX srl present ExoFly, our innovative solution designed for the space and aerospace industries, presented at the Innovation Planets JEC Group. Featured at JEC World 2025, ExoFly integrates topological optimization, exoskeleton technology, and water-soluble mandrels to create lightweight, structurally superior components with reduced waste and lower CO₂ emissions. By leveraging Addyx’s lean exoskeleton methodology, ExoFly enables high-performance lattice structures that enhance efficiency, strength, and cost-effectiveness. source:ADDYX srl

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Liquid-Crystal Polymer? A liquid crystal polymer is a material that retains molecular order in both liquid and solid states. Specifically, the transition from order to disorder during the melting of an LCP occurs well above the temperature at which it loses its fully crystallized structure.  This effectively means that the material has two distinct melting points or, more accurately, two-phase changes. The first phase change takes it from solid to liquid crystal and the next from liquid crystal to a full liquid. The phase between liquid and crystal is referred to as the mesophase and the specific molecules that can form a mesophase are termed mesogens. LCPs can be divided into two main categories, namely lyotropic systems and thermotropic systems. Lyotropic systems - A liquid crystal that appears with the addition of a solvent. Thermotropic system - A liquid crystal that appears when heated. A liquid-crystal polymer is a polymer in which the variou...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share  Toray Industries, Inc., announced today a breakthrough in recycling nylon 66. The company recently deployed a proprietary depolymerization technology using subcritical water (see note 1) to depolymerize this resin uniformly and efficiently in just minutes, and recover it as a raw monomer material. Demand for nylon 66 is estimated at 100,000 metric tons annually in Japan and 1.3 million tons worldwide. Its high heat resistance and strength make it essential for automotive and industrial applications. These include automotive textiles such as airbags and tire cords, and plastic components such as radiator tanks, cylinder head covers, and oil pans. Tighter recycling regulations for automotive and other plastics in Japan have made it mandatory to collect used nylon 66-based airbags, making it a promising material for chemical recycling. Chemical-recycled nylon 6 (note 2) for which demonstration efforts are underway, entails recovering a monomer called caprolact...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Liquid Crystal Polymers LIQUID CRYSTALS: DISCOVERY  The origin of liquid crystal study is typically traced back to Austrian chemist and botanist Friedrich Reinitzer. In 1888, he observed and later wrote about the strange behavior of a solid after exposing it to changing temperatures. Using solid cholesteryl benzoate,Reinitzer noticed that at one temperature the solid became a hazy liquid,yet at a higher temperature, the hazy liquid became clear. When cooling the clear liquid, again Reinitzer saw the liquid pass through two different color forms before returning to the original white solid with which he began . Reinitzer had observed two different melting points for the same material – a phenomenon which should not exist. Perplexed by his discovery, Reinitzer forwarded the solid white material along with his findings to Otto Lehmann, a physicist working out of Aachen in what is now present day Germany.  Lehmann was better equipped to study the material t...

In November 2024, the Mitsubishi Chemical Group (the MCG Group) acquired certification of ISCC PLUS an international certification system for sustainable products for its prepreg products using plant-derived resin manufactured at Mitsubishi Chemical Tokai Plant (Aichi). In February 2025, the MCG Group commenced sample work for the BiOpreg #500 series, including carbon fibre prepreg and glass fibre prepreg that are manufactured utilizing the mass balance approach* based on this certification. Prepreg is an intermediate material in the form of a sheet of carbon fibre or glass fibre impregnated with matrix resin. The MCG Group has been selling prepreg products in which part of the epoxy resin used for impregnation has been replaced with a plant-derived product based on our unique material design technology. However, the new BiOpreg #500 series is manufactured using a plant-derived epoxy resin based on the mass balance approach at Mitsubishi Chemical Tokai Pl...

Valeo is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and to develop solutions for more sustainable mobility. For the mobility industry, optimising resource consumption is a crucial issue at a time when environmental awareness is on the increase and when access to natural resources can be challenged. In all our businesses, composite materials can help offer alternatives to traditional material. For example, Organosheet composite material is a game changer for sustainability in all Valeo’s businesses. We started to implement this material in front structural parts and battery supports as the material enables us to meet the strenuous safety regulations of the automotive industry in terms of shock resistance for example, while limiting the impact on natural resources and the environment. We are also investigating other parts to contribute to lowering the overall product weight and the carbon footprint of a vehicle. Electrification of the automotive industry as an opportunity for composi...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Milestone! China's first 50,000-ton highly selective polymerization unit for α-olefins is successfully put into operation! On February 26, China's first 50,000-ton/year industrial unit for ethylene highly selective polymerization for α-olefins, developed and constructed by Guangdong Zhongjie Jingchuang Chemical Co., Ltd. and the National Key Laboratory of Polyolefin Catalytic Technology and High-Performance Materials of Shanghai Institute of Chemical Industry , successfully started up with one catalyst feed, ran through the entire process under industrial load, and successfully produced ultra-high purity 1-octene and 1-hexene products. This milestone achievement means that China's core basic raw materials in cutting-edge application fields such as photovoltaic energy have been further guaranteed by independent localization, and is expected to play a significant role in improving the quality and efficiency of downstream high-end polyolefin materi...

  This 15% capacity expansion of Arkema’s PVDF production site in Calvert City, Kentucky, represents an investment of around 20 million US dollars and is aligned with the strategy of the Group to increase its global #PVDF footprint at a pace and with capabilities that match market development. This will support the increasing demand for locally manufactured high-performance resins for lithium-ion batteries as well as the growing semiconductor and cable markets. #Arkema’s Calvert City plant has a long history in PVDF manufacturing. The 15% capacity expansion will focus on innovative PVDF grades designed to support the manufacture of #electricvehicles (EV) and  #energystorage systems with improved sustainability profiles, as well as growth in local manufacturing by customers in other strategic markets.  Startup is planned for mid-2026, in line with the ramp-up of production at North American gigafactories and significant expansion of local #semiconductor ...

BRB International introduces BRB Silanil® 505, a silane with bifunctional properties. Silanes are becoming increasingly complex and versatile in their applications due to their bifunctionality. BRB Silanil® 505 is an example of this. With two amino groups in its structure, it could serve as an adhesion promoter, and the three ethoxy groups give it coupling agent properties. Due to the ethoxy groups, BRB Silanil® 505 will release ethanol when it autocatalytically hydrolyzes in the presence of moisture. Enhancing Adhesion to Metal and Glass: BRB Silanil® 505 can be used in mineral-filled composites to improve mechanical properties and has also proven to be an additive for foundry resins. As an adhesion promoter, due to the presence of two amino groups, it is an additive for improving adhesion to inorganic substrates such as metal or glass. The bifunctionality is what makes it possible to bind both inorganic and organic polymers by forming a molecular bridge between the two subst...

  India is taking a giant leap towards green mobility with hydrogen-powered buses set to hit the roads! The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has sanctioned five pilot projects featuring 37 hydrogen-powered vehicles—a mix of fuel cell and internal combustion engine buses—along with nine hydrogen refuelling stations. These zero-emission buses will operate across 10 key routes, including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, and Bhubaneswar, covering 300 km on a single refill while emitting only water vapour! By testing performance under real-world conditions, this project could pave the way for a future where public transport is cleaner, greener, and powered by renewable energy. Expected to be commissioned in the next 18-24 months, these trials could mark the beginning of hydrogen-based transport in India, reducing fossil fuel dependency and cutting pollution. source:The Better India

Kaneka Belgium NV is proud to announce that its Kaneka Biodegradable Polymer Green Planet™ Expanded Beads - type L40N - has been officially excluded from the definition of synthetic polymer microparticles under EU Commission Regulation 2023/2055. Kaneka Green Planet™ is a 100% biomass-derived biodegradable biopolymer developed by Kaneka, as part of the company’s commitment to providing environmentally friendly solutions that do not rely on petroleum resources. It has shown excellent biodegradability in various environments and decomposes easily in soil and seawater, where it converts into CO2 and water. Green Planet™ Expanded Beads are the result of integrating Kaneka's long-established Eperan™ particle foam technology with the development of Biodegradable Polymer Green Planet™. This innovative material is used in a wide range of lightweight, shock-absorbing applications, such as cushioning materials for home electric appliances, transportation containers for fresh food, and materi...