Teijin Sets 2012 as the Target to Launch its Bio-derived PET Fiber

Teijin Fibers Limited, the core company of the Teijin Group's polyester fibers business, announced that it will begin the full-fledged production and marketing of new plant-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber as the world's first commercially produced bio-derived PET fiber, in April 2012.

Named ECO CIRCLE PlantFiber, the new product, also available as a textile, will become Teijin Fibers' core biomaterial for applications ranging from apparel, car seats and interiors to personal hygiene products. Teijin Fibers expects to sell 30,000 tons of ECO CIRCLE PlantFiber products in the initial fiscal year ending in March 2013, and 70,000 tons by the third year of business.

ECO CIRCLE PlantFiber is made roughly 30% from biofuels derived from biomass such as sugarcane. Conventional PET typically is made by polymerizing ethylene glycol (EG) and dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) or telephthalic acid (PTA), with EG accounting for roughly 30%. The EG contained in ECO CIRCLE PlantFiber is bio-derived rather than oil-derived, so it helps to conserve fossil resources and lower greenhouse gas emissions. What's more, ECO CIRCLE PlantFiber has the same characteristics and quality of oil-derived PET, so it is suitable for use in many polyester products.

ECO CIRCLE PlantFiber also can be recycled using Teijin Fibers' ECO CIRCLE closed-loop polyester recycling system. Polyester is chemically decomposed at the molecular level by the system and then recycled as new DMT that offers purity and quality comparable to material derived directly from petroleum.

Teijin Fibers develops unique polyester technologies through "hybrid strategies" that variously combine the company's special expertise in biomaterials, recycling, functional materials and manufacturing processes to reduce environmental loads.

Warwick University's New Technique Could Ease Recycling of Most Challenging Christmas Plastic Wrapping

On average we each consume 120 grams of plastic wrapping on Christmas gifts most of which is of a type which almost impossible to recycle. Now researchers at the University of Warwick have devised a new technique which could process 100% of Christmas and other household plastic instead of the tiny fraction that currently actually gets processed - typically only 12% of such waste is truly recycled often and the rest is often put into land fill or simply burnt as fuel.

Some plastic still goes straight to land fill but householders currently spend a great deal of effort separating out the rest of their plastic waste believing it will be recycled yet typically only 12% of "Municipal Plastic Solid Waste" is truly recycled.. It is often simply too time consuming to separate out and clean the various types of plastic of their persistent labels or other problems, as that requires significant laborious human intervention. An additional problem is that often objects are made of more than one plastic that would require different treatments.

However University of Warwick engineers have come up with a simple process that can cope with every piece of plastic waste and can even break some polymers such as polystyrene - back down to its original monomers (styrene in the case of polysterene).

The Warwick researchers have used support from AWM's Science City funding devised a unit which uses pyrolysis (using heat in the absence of oxygen to decompose of materials) in a "fluidized bed" reactor. Tests completed in the last week have shown that the researchers have been able to literally shovel in to such a reactor a wide range of mixed plastics which can then be reduced down to useful products many of which can then be retrieved by simple distillation.

The products the Warwick team have been able to reclaim from the plastic mix include: wax that that can be then used a lubricant; original monomers such as styrene that can be used to make new polystyrene; terephthalic acid which can be reused in PET plastic products, methylmetacrylate that can be used to make acrylic sheets, carbon which can be used as Carbon Black in paint pigments and tires, and even the char left at the end of some of the reactions can be sold to use as activated carbon at a value of at least £400 a ton.

This research could have a significant impact on the budgets of local authorities and produce considerable environmental benefits. The lab scale tests concluded this week have successfully produced distilled liquids and solids that can be taken away by the bucket load for processing into new products. The University of Warwick engineers are now working with the University's technology transfer arm, Warwick Ventures, who expect that their work will be of great interest to local authorities and waste disposal companies who could use the technology to create large scale reactor units at municipal tips which would produce tanker loads of reusable material.

The lead researcher on the project, University of Warwick Engineering Professor Jan Baeyens, said: "We envisage a typical large scale plant having an average capacity of 10,000 tons of plastic waste per year. In a year tankers would take away from each plant over £5 million worth of recycled chemicals and each plant would save £500,000 a year in land fill taxes alone. As the expected energy costs for each large plant would only be in the region of £50,000 a year the system will be commercially very attractive and give a rapid payback on capital and running costs."

FISIPE Gets Harper's State-of-the-Art Carbon Fiber Processing Line Installed

Harper International has installed a full pilot scale carbon fiber (CF) process line for FISIPE, S.A., one of the leaders in specialty acrylic fibers for technical applications. Additionally, Harper and FISIPE, S.A. have developed a collaborative agreement in which the pilot process line in Lavradio, Portugal is available as an open reference and capabilities demonstration to other select Harper clients.

Harper was chosen as the primary partner for engineering, process equipment, installation supervision and startup for a complete pilot scale CF line rated for production of carbon fibers from 24k to 320k from PAN based precursor. Harper's process equipment solution incorporates their proprietary multi-flow oxidation oven, advanced LT and HT slot furnaces rated for 800°C and 1800°C respectively, surface treatment and waste gas abatement systems, and winders.

"FISIPE partnered with Harper due to their background in carbon fiber process equipment," stated José Miguel Contreiras, Commercial Manager / Board Member, FISIPE, S.A. "Harper offered to us the most credible proposition and we are extremely confident that our collaborative agreement will be mutually beneficial."

During the installation phase, Harper deployed a field team consisting of a supervisor as well as ancillary engineering and manufacturing resources to support erection and start-up activities on site. Harper worked directly with the client's contractors and internal staff for field installation of electrical and mechanical interconnect.

"At Harper, we seek to partner collaboratively with clients as they develop, refine and scale up their process technologies," commented Charles Miller, Jr., President, Harper International. "Our depth of expertise and unique ability to create solutions enables firms like FISIPE to optimize their R&D investments and achieve their goals more swiftly and successfully."

Braskem GP Recycling Campaign Makes São Paulo Greener by Collecting Over 13.5 Tons of Plastic Waste

Proving that small gestures can be transformed into great acts, the Braskem GP Recycling Campaign succeeded in its goal of encouraging São Paulo citizens to dispose of their plastic waste at special collection points.

Conducted last month in five parks in different regions of the city during the three-day-long Brazilian leg of the Formula 1 championship, the campaign collected a total of 13.5 tons of plastic waste.

In return for this positive gesture of citizenship and respect for the environment, the city of São Paulo will receive 500 items of urban furniture, including benches, flower beds and garbage cans. Plásticos Suzuki will be responsible for manufacturing the recycled plastic benches that will be donated by Braskem to the São Paulo Municipal Government on the city's anniversary, on January 25.

A partnership between Braskem, the São Paulo Municipal Government and Plastivida, the campaign also involved five cooperatives, which sorted the material collected and weighed the plastic waste: Cooperativa da Capela do Socorro, Corpore Centro, União de Itaquera, Central do Tietê and Coperviva Bem, each of which responsible for the garbage collected in their respective region. Coopercaps, another cooperative, was responsible for collecting the waste disposed of at the Interlagos Formula 1 track.

Formula 1 GP - The Braskem GP Recycling campaign, featuring Emerson Fittipaldi as spokesperson, received widespread publicity during the Brazilian leg of the Formula 1 championship, during which Braskem and Plásticos Suzuki demonstrated a mini recycling plant. According to João Gomes, Braskem's Marketing Officer, "It was a fun way of showing how items of furniture can be made from recycled plastic."

Twelve tons of plastic waste was collected at the track alone. "The combined results of the Interlagos and the park operations exceeded our expectations. In addition to collecting 43% more plastic waste than we had anticipated, the campaign had an impact on a significant number of people, which pleased us enormously," Gomes concluded.

New Modular Polyethylene Tank Stand from Assmann Corporation Offers 100% Chemical Resistance

Assmann Corporation has introduced new modular polyethylene tank stands for use with the FDO (full drain outlet) assembly. These new stands can be installed on any suitable, flat surface and elevate polyethylene tanks 12" from grade for a full drain tank without the need to pour concrete. The stands are 100% chemical resistant and are suitable for all corrosive environments.

Features of this modular tank stand include corrugated sidewalls for maximum support, interlocking dovetail joints for securing modular sections together and optional wind load anchoring points. The lightweight modular sections are easily disassembled and relocated to a different site. A wide range of color choices are also available.

Assmann has tested this stand to over 300,000 lbs. of crush force.

EPRO Awards TEFAL this Year's "Best Recycled Product" for Enjoy Kitchen Tools

EPRO (European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations) has awarded Enjoy Kitchen Tools, manufactured by TEFAL - SAS, France as this year's winner of "Best Recycled Product".

Following the success of the first Best Recycled Product Competition in 2009, earlier this year, EPRO invited the plastics industry across Europe to provide examples of products containing recycled plastics.

The competition aims to promote the cycle of plastics, as well as increase the request for recycled materials. Once again the competition has been a great success, over the two years the competition has lasted, we have seen over 60 entries from 13 countries. The entries were judged by a panel from across Europe, including representatives from EPRO, Plastics Europe and EuPR. The awards were presented at a key plastics industry event - Identiplast 2010, in London.

The top three places were awarded as below:

1. Enjoy Kitchen Tools, TEFAL SAS - France
2. eko84®, Retail Shopping Trolley, Keo S.r.l - Italy
3. FORMaBLOCK, Innovation in low cost construction, FORMaBLOCK - UK

Worth the effort

Hundreds of thousands of tonnes recycled plastics are used as material for new products. Sometimes the material is cheaper and sometimes the recycled material is just superior to an alternative. The competition therefore focused on several criterias: The entries had to contain at least 50 per cent recycled plastics. They also had to be made out of recycled used plastics packaging, entered the market and made sales in since 2008 and of course, it had to be manufactured in Europe.

The results of the this year competition show that global operating and well- known companies such as TEFAL recognize that recycled plastics is a valuable raw material for their products.

"The competition brings home the reality of what can be achieved when we all work together. For the consumer who makes the effort to collect their used packaging for recycling this competition provides some great examples of what can be achieved. For the industry we hope that it creates interests and confidence in the versatility and value of considering used plastics packaging as a material option for products. For all, we hope that more and more, used plastic packaging is seen as a valuable resource and not waste. We thank everyone for supporting the competition and look forward to seeing what's new in 2011" commented Eirik Oland, Head of EPRO Communication.

India: CNG supply to be extended

The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Jitin Prasada, recently assured that Indian government is committed to providing all the support to the utilization of natural gas in transportation and that it has already sanctioned 6,335 km of pipeline, while the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is in the process of authorizing another 5,000 km to connect various parts of the country.
The government plans to cover several cities where pipelines and CNG facilities would be rolled out in the coming years. The gaseous fuel is expected to be available in 86 cities in the next three years, 200 in the next five years, while the goal is to reach 330 cities by 2020. “India will see explosive growth in the use of natural gas driven vehicles in the next years. We are going to more than double the existing pipeline network from 11,000 km,” said PNGRB’s chairman Lalit Mansingh.

Regarding the automotive industry, manufactures are optimistic about growth thanks to the growing network of fuelling stations and pipelines. “We have launched five CNG models in limited markets of Delhi, Mumbai and Gujarat. If the volumes of natural gas supplies improve, we would like to reduce the imports of our CNG components and manufacture them here, which would reduce the cost for vehicles,” said Maruti Suzuki’s managing director and CEO, Shinzo Nakanishi, to the local newspaper The Hindu.

During the opening of NGV India 2010, at Bombay Exhibiton Centre, Jitin Prasada also said that CNG-driven two wheelers would soon see the light of day. “This along with CNG driven taxis and three wheelers would create a revolution on our roads to provide affordable, comfortable travel to the middle class, the office workers and factory employees,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that Pune has also committed to clean-burning fuels as its district administration is planning to make it “a pollution-free city,” according to the district supply officer, Pradeep Patil. In turn, Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL) will install three more CNG stations in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) area, while they want to set up 20 facilities by March.