Breakthrough Technology to Mass Produce Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

Japan-based Teijin Limited has established a mass production technology for carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), by means of which significant reduction in cycle time can be achieved when it comes to molding automobile cabin frame. Carbon fiber can be mass produced for automobiles and other products using this breakthrough technology. Using the concept, the company has developed a significantly light-weight electric vehicle that features cabin frame made of thermoplastic CFRP.
The difference between this latest technology and the conventional one is that the former include intermediate materials made of thermoplastic resin instead of thermosetting resin for molding-use CFRP. The three new intermediate materials used are: Unidirectional intermediate, Isotropic intermediate, and Long-fiber thermoplastic pellet. Technologies for welding thermoplastic CFRP parts and bonding CFRP with materials such as steel, is also been developed by the company.

Teijin establishes mass production technologies for carbon fibre composite

Teijin Ltd has announced that it has established the world’s first mass production technologies for carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). The company claims it can mould a vehicle cabin frame in under 60 seconds.

Teijin’s new technologies are based on thermoplastic resin instead of conventional thermosetting resin. The company has also developed technologies for welding thermoplastic CFRP parts together and for bonding CFRP with materials such as steel.
Going forward, Teijin, a leading producer of carbon fibre, intends to develop mass production applications for CFRP in cars and other items that require certain levels of structural strength, such as machine tools and industrial robots.

Carbon fibre thermoplastics

By impregnating carbon fibre with thermoplastic resin, Teijin has developed three intermediate materials for the production of CFRP suited for use in mass-production vehicles. The materials can be used selectively depending on the required strength and cost of the part, and they can be made with various thermoplastic resins, including polypropylene ( PP ) and polyamide ( PA ). The materials:

• unidirectional (UD) intermediate – offering ultra-high strength in a certain direction;
• isotropic intermediate – offering optimum balance of shape flexibility and multidirectional strength; and
• long fibre thermoplastic pellets – high-strength pellets incorporating carbon fibre suitable for injection moulding of complex parts.

Faster moulding

Using these new materials, Teijin developed its technology for the press moulding of CFRP within just 60 seconds. The technology also is simpler than conventional methods, the company says.
Teijin reports that conventional CFRP using thermosetting resin requires at least 5 minutes for moulding. Although suitable for manufacture of high-performance vehicles, this technology is not suited for mass production of general-purpose cars, which require moulding times within about 1 minute.
Teijin has also developed technologies for welding thermoplastic CFRP parts together, and for bonding CFRP with materials such as steel.

Concept car

To demonstrate its new technologies, Teijin has developed an electric vehicle (EV) concept car that features a cabin frame made entirely from carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic and weighing only 47 kg (roughly one fifth the weight of a conventional car’s cabin frame).
The Teijin four-seat EV concept car is capable of speeds up to 60 km/hour and has a cruising range of 100 km.
Teijin will use the concept car to introduce its technologies to car makers and parts suppliers, and also to promote joint initiatives to develop lighter vehicles.
Teijin also aims to establish new midstream and downstream business models for its carbon fibre composites business by supplying CFRP parts to the market.

Nextlife™ to Supply FDA Approved Recycled Polypropylene Resin to Preserve® for Consumer Goods

Nextlife™, one of the leading providers of sustainable solutions for the consumer packaged goods industry, and Preserve®, one of the leading sustainable products companies, announce that Nextlife will begin supplying its FDA approved 100% post - consumer recycled (PCR) polypropylene (PP) resin to Preserve for use in select products in the company's line of stylish, eco - friendly personal care, tableware, kitchen and food storage products.

Nextlife produces PCR PP resins from plastic waste supplied by U.S. retailers through a proprietary process of sorting, washing, drying and extruding. The recycled resins can be mixed with virgin food grade resins or used as is to create thermoformed or injection molded products such as cups, plates, cutlery, storage and organization containers and housewares accessories. Nextlife's PCR polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) are FDA approved for food contact applications. The carbon footprint of Nextlife resin is 70 percent less than that of virgin resin.

Ben Anderson, COO of Preserve, "We have chosen to partner with Nextlife and to incorporate their resins into some of our products because it will help us serve those retailers and consumers who are looking for products that are both stylish and lighter on the earth. With Nextlife's FDA approved recycled plastic resins, we can continue to ensure that our products, including cutting boards and colanders, live up to both of those promises."

Ronald Whaley, president and CEO of Nextlife, "Preserve is a great partner for Nextlife to showcase our unique offering of FDA approved PCR PP resin that is comparable to virgin resin in quality, consistency and price. We look forward to an ongoing relationship with Preserve that helps to bring recycled plastics to the forefront of consumer product manufacturing."

Nextlife and Preserve were presenedt at the International Housewares Show held recently in Chicago, IL, at McCormick Place. As the official sustainability partner of the International Housewares Association (IHA), Nextlife executives were available at the IHA Going Green display to answer questions related to sustainability solutions and Nextlife sustainable resins. The Going Green display showcased the year's best in class sustainable products and packaging, including Preserve's Everyday Tableware and Preserve Toothbrush (featuring an innovative package called a Mail Back Pack).

JRC Scrutinizes Baby Bottles Made other than Polycarbonate Plastics

Recently, a ban has entered into force prohibiting the manufacture in the European Union of baby bottles containing Bisphenol A (BPA), an organic molecule used to produce polycarbonate plastics. From June 1st, the ban will also cover the placing on the market and import into the EU of baby bottles containing BPA. Meanwhile, the industry is voluntarily withdrawing from the market baby bottles containing BPA and replacing them with safer products.

As part of its activities to support the Commission in the discussion that lead to this ban, the JRC-IHCP launched a large screening study on baby bottles made of materials other than polycarbonate. The scope was to assess the nature of materials, chemicals, and potential release of substances.

Close to 300 baby bottles from most EU countries were analysed. The work included testing for chemical migration and the development of methods for the determination of chemical migrants. The results of this study, which are going to be available later this year, will provide risk managers with trends of evolution of the market and information based on sound experimental data.

About Joint Research Centre

The Joint Research Centre is the scientific and technical arm of the European Commission. It is providing the scientific advice and technical know-how to support a wide range of EU policies. Its status as a Commission service, which guarantees independence from private or national interests, is crucial for pursuing its mission. The JRC has seven scientific institutes, located at five different sites in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, with a wide range of laboratories and unique research facilities. Through numerous collaborations, access to many facilities is granted to scientists from partner organisations.

Recyclable Plastic Fishing Nets Clean up Marine Litter

To address the issue of rising marine pollution, the European Plastics Converters Association (EuPC) has initiated a pilot project entitled ‘European Waste Free Oceans’ (EWFO). The aim of this project is to collect floating plastics marine debris and further to recycle this waste. For this purpose, the association has signed an agreement with Thomsea according to which they would use Thomsea’s trawling net for carrying out the clean up. In return, EuPC will help promote its use by EU’s fishermen.
The new trawling net, originally designed for use in controlling oil spills, is made of plastics and is 100% recyclable. A live display on the technique for gathering marine debris using the trawling nets will be presented by EuPC at their annual meeting on 20th May 2011. The project will be launched later this year post collection of required funds from the industry and will last for a maximum of 3 years.

Polyurethane composite used in timber trailer

As part of its Transformative Technology programme – which aims to transform Canada’s forest operations industry – forest research insitute FPInnovations wanted to conserve fuel and reduce the weight of traditional timber trailers.
FPInnovations identified the potential to reduce the weight of traditional timber trailers by replacing steel stakes (the part that holds the timber inside the trailer) and bunks (the transversal part of the trailer’s main frame that joins the stakes) with a composite material. It contacted Serge Pagé of Mat-Comp, Canada, an expert in composite structural analysis, to help design the parts.
"Originally, a filament winding process with glass fibre and epoxy resin was chosen, but the product couldn’t be produced within the target cost using that process," explains Pagé. "The focus then shifted to pultrusion, since its continuous process makes it a more cost-efficient option."

Putrusion process

The decision to use pultrusion led to Bayer MaterialScience LLC joining the project and the choice of its Baydur® PUL 2500 polyurethane pultrusion resin for the parts.
Baydur PUL 2500 resin is a two-component, liquid polyurethane system specifically designed for pultrusion applications.
To pultrude the trailer components, the group turned to Canadian pultrusion specialist Pultrall Inc.
Two pultruded profiles were created: one for the stake  and one for the bunk. The stakes are 4 x 4.5 inches, while the bunks are 4 x 8 inches. They are assembled together with steel adaptors to form a set (two stakes and one bunk). For example, a log trailer could have up to 20 stakes and 10 bunks. The overall dimensions are 102 inches (width) by approximately 120 inches (height).
Both the stakes and bunks are pultruded using more than 70% unidirectional and triaxial glass fibre in the Baydur PUL 2500 resin system. A dark grey colour was chosen to minimise the ultraviolet (UV) degradation of the parts. Overall weight for a set (two stakes and one bunk with steel adaptors) is approximately 200 lbs, a reduction of 40% compared with the steel equivalent.

Benefits of composite over steel

The use of pultruded polyurethane composites makes it possible to dramatically reduce trailer weight.
“By reducing the weight of the timber trailer, more material can be carried," reports Frederic Boutin, a researcher at FPInnovations. "A lighter timber trailer also requires less fuel to run, reducing operations costs."
The new design saves approximately one half ton of weight on the trailer.
The new timber trailer also has better impact resistance than an equivalent steel product. Where a steel picket deforms permanently, the composite equivalent retains its shape very well. If the composite parts crack when being abused, they can still safely hold the load.
Extensive testing, both static and dynamic, was performed on the new design in order to assure its safety.

Trailer prototype

The project is now in its final phase.
Deloupe, a Canadian manufacturer of road transport equipment, has made a prototype of the trailer, which hit the road in January It will be in operation for six months and will then be evaluated for potential commercial production.

Borealis to Present LDPE-based Transparent Ampoules at Pharmapack 2011

Borealis will present a polyethylene solution for self-administered easy-to-use ampoules to converters and brand owners at Pharmapack 2011 from February 23-24, 2011.

Bormed™ LE6601-PH is the latest addition to Borealis' range of healthcare application-dedicated Bormed polyolefins combining end-user and manufacturing benefits, set to take the spotlight during the annual pharmaceutical industry event.

LDPE Bormed LE6601-PH enables the development of transparent, simple to squeeze ampoules that allow users of all ages to dispense their eye, ear and nose drop treatments without professional assistance. The LDPE grade is intended for flexible, disposable ampoules that do not require post-steam sterilization.

For packaging converters, Bormed LE6601-PH allows trouble-free conversion on standard blow molding machines as well as blow, fill and seal (BFS) machines. Wall thickness and ampoule weight are easy to control thanks to its optimised molecular weight distribution that produces material with low swell. This allows difficult shapes to be formed and ensures straightforward dosing of material quantity to altogether simplify production of consistent, high quality ampoules.

From an environmental and production efficiency perspective, the easy processing creates less waste and a low energy requirement during extrusion.

The balanced properties of Bormed LE6601-PH make it suitable for use in dip-tubes in pharmaceutical sprays in addition to flexible ampoules. Packaging based on Bormed LE6601-PH can be sterilized using ethylene oxide (EtO) or gamma radiation up to 50 kGy.

Bormed products are manufactured under strict quality conditions on dedicated production lines with change control processes installed. Bormed LE6601-PH complies with European Pharmacopeia (EP) and United States Pharmacopeia (USP) standards and is Drug Master File registered.

"In response to strong market demand, we have introduced a new version of Bormed LE6601-PH which supports Borealis' commitment to broaden its Bormed line with a special focus on BFS applications," comments Thierry Chevrier, Borealis Vice President for the Business Unit Moulding. "Bormed LE6601-PH supports the growing interest in solutions for the self-administered medication market. We are pleased to present our product which delivers both end-user and manufacturing benefits to the Pharmapack 2011 audience."