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CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, a subsidiary of State-owned trainmaker CRRC, announced that it has developed subway train made of carbon fiber. The company said the new subway car is 35 % lighter than traditional metal ones, which can effectively improve its carrying capacity, save energy and operational cost, and reduce the wear and tear on the subway line. As carbon fiber can better resist fatigue, corrosion, and UV radiation, subway cars made of such material are expected to have an operational life of at least 30 years, said experts with CRRC Changchun. In addition, the thermal and sound insulation performance of carbon fiber is also better than traditional metal, which makes the new car more energy-saving and less noisy during operation. CRRC Changchun has more than 18,000 employees and annually manufactures more than 8,000 trains. Its products have been exported to more than 20 countries and regions, including the United States, Australia and Brazil. Th

In the presence of visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Airbus has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC) on the further development of industrial cooperation in Tianjin. The agreement was signed by He Lifeng, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China and Fabrice Brégier, Airbus COO and President Commercial Aircraft in Beijing today. Both sides agree to further enhance their industrial partnership in Tianjin and strengthen the cooperation with regards to technical innovation, engineering capabilities and supply chain expansion. On the same day, Airbus and its Chinese partners have also signed a framework agreement on ramping-up its A320 production rate at its final assembly line in Tianjin to six aircraft per month.  This industrial ramp-up targets five aircraft by early 2019 and six per month by early 2020. Since its inaugura

 His idea is to use bacteria to make plastics, specifically employing cyanobacteria, a photosynthesis-happy bug, as one of the starting materials. Weiss recently published a paper in Metabolic Engineering that outlines a new production method that would be powered by cyanobacteria and the naturally occurring Halomonas boliviensis. Weiss recently joined ASU’s Polytechnic campus, where he will work on scaling up the process at the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI). Here, Weiss describes his idea for making environmentally friendly bioplastics. Present Issues with Today’s Plastics Plastics fall into two very distinct categories: Those that can be melted down and reused Those that cannot be reused Recycling some plastics can save energy, but all plastics don’t ultimately degrade like biological materials down to “nothingness” or become metabolized by a living creature. Most plastics degrade like rocks: They just break down into smaller a

Two leaders in supersonic technology, Aerion and Lockheed Martin announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to define a formal and gated process to explore the feasibility of a joint development of the world's first supersonic business jet, the Aerion AS2. Over the next 12 months, the companies will work together to develop a framework on all phases of the program, including engineering, certification and production. Aerion Chairman Robert M. Bass stated, "This relationship is absolutely key to creating a supersonic renaissance. When it comes to supersonic know-how, Lockheed Martin's capabilities are well known, and, in fact, legendary. We share with Lockheed Martin a commitment to the long-term development of efficient civil supersonic aircraft." Lockheed Martin, known for developing the world's leading supersonic combat aircraft, the F-16, the F-35, and F-22, as well as the Mach 3+ SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft, is committed to foster

Teijin Limited has recently announced that it will integrate its subsidiary Toho Tenax Co., Ltd., the core company of Teijin’s carbon fibers business, on April 1, 2018. Maximizing Corporate Value Integrating Toho Tenax within Teijin Limited will help maximize corporate value, specifically by expanding comprehensive capabilities through greater sharing of information, technologies and the optimized deployment of human resources throughout the Teijin Group. Teijin expects to strengthen its upstream-to-downstream global business by better leveraging its group synergies in high-performance materials and technology development and know-how. Growth & Transformation Strategies Teijin’s current growth and transformation strategies are focusing on core strengths in materials and healthcare business fields as the pillars of its operations, as expressed in its medium-term management plan for 2017-2019 “ALWAYS EVOLVING”. The company is increasingly emphasizing its dev

Researchers at the University of Nottingham have pioneered a breakthrough method to rapidly 3D print fully functional electronic circuits.  Single Step Printing Process The circuits, which contain electrically-conductive metallic inks and insulating polymeric inks, can now be produced in a single inkjet printing process where a UV light rapidly solidifies the inks. The breakthrough technique paves the way for the electronics manufacturing industry to produce fully functional components such as 3D antennae and fully printed sensors from multiple materials including metals and plastics. Combining 2D with 3D Printing The new method combines 2D printed electronics with Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing - which is based on layer-by-layer deposition of materials to create 3D products. This expands the impact of Multifunctional Additive Manufacturing (MFAM), which involves printing multiple materials in a single additive manufacturing system to create comp

Join us to witness how the field of Polymers & Chemicals is being rejuvenated via Non-Fossil “WASTE” Raw-Materials that are (1) Biobased-Sustainable or (2) Air-Land-Ocean Pollutants”; thereby leading to preservation of petroleum resources, reduction of air-land-ocean pollution, and utilization of free/undesirable raw materials. June 25-27: BioPlastics: Biobased Re-Invention of Plastics: New York City area June 28: Plastics Waste: Value-Creation/Healthier Planet: New York City area Register for the Conference before DECEMBER 31 and get free admission to Bioplastics-2018 course; further details @ http://innoplastsolutions.com/bio.html ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Upcoming Events: 2018 Polyolefins Workshop, Atlanta, GA, March 13-14 Polymers/Bioplastics Failure & Defects, Amsterdam, April 25-26