polymerguru

The German company Dettmer Verpackunger, i.e. DeLo, which is specialized in flexible packaging systems, has designed an innovative deep-freeze packaging for frozen potato products that is entirely made from a copolyester material stemming from renewable resources. The company has in fact chosen the Bio-Flex™ F2110 grade from the German material producer FKuR to produce the new packaging. This material is a blend based on poly(acid lactic) and does not contain any starch or starch derivatives. It provides the high mechanical properties required for deep-frozen applications such as high impact resistance and dart drop strength at low temperature. Furthermore it complies with the EN 13432 standard. This new deep-freeze bio-based packaging has been chosen by the American company Mc Cain for its “Bio Harvest” products line.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has completed a two year study which examined the scale of U.S. natural gas reserves and the potential of this fuel to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. Undertaken by the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), the study concluded that natural gas will play a leading role in reducing GHG emissions over the next several decades. The findings, summarized in an 83-page report , were presented to lawmakers and senior administration officials in Washington. “Much has been said about natural gas as a bridge to a low-carbon future, with little underlying analysis to back up this contention. The analysis in this study provides the confirmation — natural gas truly is a bridge to a low-carbon future,” said MITEI Director Ernest J. Moniz in introducing the report. The study found that there are significant global supplies of conventional gas. How much of this gas gets produced and used, and the extent of its impact on greenhouse gas reductions...

The German ceramics materials specialist OxiMaTec GmbH has been the winner of the 2009 EuroMold Gold Award fort its innovative ceramic/plastic composite-based components that have been designed for automotive light-emitting diode (LED) headlamp housing. These components, which are produced by Graveurbetrieb Leonhardt, a specialist in ceramics pressing, sintering, machining and injection molding, have a hybrid structure based on a high-heat ceramic functional part overmolded with a thermoplastic material. As a result the new headlamp housing exhibit high temperature resistance and allows eliminating wear problems. The ceramic takes care of heat dissipation while the thermoplastic provides elasticity and impact resistance.

Ford Motor Company's biomaterial researchers have engineered a patent-pending formula to use renewable soy oil to improve rubber car parts and make them more environmentally friendly. By using renewable soy oil as a 25 percent replacement for petroleum oil, Ford researchers more than doubled rubber's stretchability and reduced its environmental impact. Soy-based rubber parts such as radiator deflector shields, air baffles, cupholder inserts and floor mats are under consideration for future Ford vehicle programs. "Ford is focused on finding innovative ways to make our vehicles more eco-friendly," said Cynthia Flanigan, Ford technical leader in elastomeric polymers. "Soy-based rubber has win-win potential as it provides superior stretchability and serves as a renewable resource that helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions from raw materials." Beyond soy oil The scope of Ford's recent rubber research, which was funded in part by grants from...

The total sunk-in capacity for biopolymers in 2009 was around 500 million lbs. These include polylactide acid [PLA] (NatureWorks, Galactic, Hycail BV); polyhydroxyalkanoates such as PHAs, PHB, and PHBH (Biomer, Procter&Gamble); polymers based on bio-based PDO (DuPont); cellulose polymers (Innovia Films) 1 ; epoxy polymers from bio-glycerol; and starch polymers and blends (AkzoNobel [National Starch Chemical] and several other players). NatureWorks (Cargill Dow) is the major commercial player with a PLA capacity of 280 million lbs 2 ; and Novamont is the major producer of starch polymers and blends, with a capacity of 120 million lbs. 3 The total capacity of biopolymers is expected to reach 1.3 billion lbs, if Braskem's 400 million lbs/year of bio-polyethylene production and Braskem's/Nova Zymes's 400 million lbs/year 4 of bio-polypropylene production materializes in Brazil. At these levels, the biopolymer's share of the total global production o...

A tapered vessel mandrel showing a helical winding, the transition and a circumferential winding. Band colors indicate the winding angle. © Seifert and Skinner & Associates, Inc. Seifert and Skinner & Associates, Inc. (SS&A) has introduced ComposicaD™; as announced on the 07th of July 2010. This software generates winding patterns for any filament winding machine. Modules and packages in the ComposicaD lineup allow winding for: • pipes and tubes; • tanks and vessels; • any figure of revolution; • pipe tees and elbows; • spars; • other geometric shapes. The software was designed from the ground up to be completely user friendly, making it quick for the part programmer to make parts. The software is uniquely focused at the part level, not at the individual layer level, where much of today’s existing software is focused. Many filament winders make a range of products – pipes or tanks that vary only in the overall length or diameter. Using ComposicaD, the p...

The Taiwanese company Asus has developed two models of notebooks that feature an innovative design. These new laptops which are commercialized under the trade name Asus Bamboo Series have been designed by the Pegutron design studio in Taïwan and have already won a 2009 iF-design award. In fact they include an innovative housing made from Moso bamboo i.e. phyllostachys pubescent by using an In-Mold Decoration (IMD) technology. This plant has been chosen because it is sustainable and very strong, easy and quick to grow, and because it requires very little water, helps reduce CO2 and is fairly pest resistant. Furthermore bamboo can withstand the high pressures (i.e. more than 3,600 kg/cm2) during processing. The bamboo-based surfaces cover not only the chassis but also the wristrests and even touch pads.