Argentina will have natural gas for 509 years

The Department of Energy has confirmed that the South American country holds more natural gas trapped in shale rock than all of Europe does, a 774-trillion-cubic-feet (tcf) bounty that could transform the outlook for Western Hemisphere supply and that could be the third largest in the world. The production of this gas involves horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, unconventional techniques that revolutionized gas markets, opening up 100 years of new supplies.

While shale exploration in Argentina is still in its infancy and it is early to determine exactly how much gas can be tapped economically, the country's technically recoverable shale reserves would be worth over USD 3 trillion at today's U.S. futures markets prices, reported Reuters news agency.

"In the richest area of Argentina’s Neuquén Basin of, at least one third or half of the reserves could be economically viable based on current prices," explained the energy consulting firm Advanced Resources International, which prepared the DoE report.

It is worth adding that these reserves may encourage the momentum for further investments in the sector and also increase the volume of natural gas in Argentina. In this sense, it may guarantee the supply of fuel for different uses, including transportation.

Eden Encourages Commercial Application of Carbon Nanotubes & Nanofibers in Automotives & Electronics

Eden Energy Ltd has announced the wide applications of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers in various industries like electronics, automotives where they are mixed with rubber and plastics and used in manufacturing of vehicle tyres etc. Initially they encourage nano tubes and fibers utilisation in batteries followed by plastic and rubber industries where they improve the tensile strength and shelf life of rubber. Eden has also developed new pyrolysis technology along with university of Queensland which produces carbon nanotubes and nanofibers from natural gas and significant advantage of not producing carbon dioxide as an unwanted by-product.

First Sale of Eden's Nano-Carbon Fibers to a Battery Manufacturer for Commercial Application:

Eden Energy Ltd ("Eden") has made its first commercial sale of its carbon nanotubes (CNT) and carbon nanofibers (CNF) to an industrial battery manufacturer. The sale followed the testing by the battery manufacturer of the suitability of Eden's nano-carbon fibers in its batteries, which include a wide range of rechargeable industrial batteries including re-chargeable vehicle batteries. They advertise that a very small quantity of carbon nanotubes added to material in the battery, dramatically increases the storage capacity of the battery and significantly reduces the time taken to recharge the battery. Whilst the first sale was of only a relatively small quantity of carbon, it is nevertheless understood to be sufficient for possibly up to 1000 batteries, but most importantly is confirmation from the market of the commercial acceptability of Eden's carbon nano-products for electrical applications.

Initial Testing of Eden's Nano-Carbon Fibers in Rubber and Plastics to Begin:

Eden will commence testing at the Hythane Company's laboratory in Colorado, USA, the effects of mixing carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers with rubber and plastic. Published test results of trials by other research groups indicate that in the case of rubber, which is normally made with a base mixture of rubber (67wt%) and carbon black (33wt%), substitution of 5wt % of carbon nanotubes for the 33wt% carbon black, can increase the tensile strength of the rubber by up to 35% and the strain energy density by up to 37%, potentially resulting in lighter, longer life tyres. In the case of plastics, published test results of other researchers have shown that the addition of carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers to the plastic produces a significant increases in strength, and both electrical and thermal conductivity. 1wt% of multiwalled nanotubes, added to polyethylene increased its strain energy density by approximately 150% and its ductility by approximately 140%. In the case of carbon fibre strengthened epoxy composites, addition of 0.5wt% of multiwalled carbon nanotubes increased stiffness and strength by 10-15% and sheer strength by 25-30%.

Eden's New Pyrolysis Technology:

Eden's new Pyrolysis technology, developed by Eden and the University of Queensland, produces hydrogen and carbon nano-fibers or carbon nanotubes from natural gas (methane) and has the very significant advantage of not producing carbon dioxide as an unwanted by-product. In India, where Eden is planning to demonstrate its hydrogen enriched Hythane™ fuel in two bus trials later this year, establishing a market for a significant quantity of the nano-carbon products will not only enable production of large quantities of hydrogen but also a significant amount of valuable carbon nano-products.

Eden's pyrolysis process and catalyst production capability, is currently being scaled up at Hythane Company to a small scale commercial production level of up to 100 tonnes of carbon per year, and is planned to be completed by the end of 2011, which, if successful, will open the way to a commercial rollout in 2012, with initial deployment being planned for India.

Ensinger’s Thermoplastic Carbon Fiber Composites Made Using Victrex’s PEEK Offers High Mechanical Strength

Ensinger recently launched a series of highly loaded thermoplastic carbon fiber composites. Components made of this composite material offer high mechanical strength alongside excellent heat distortion properties.

Stock shapes made using the new TECATEC product series comprise a thermoplastic matrix and a woven fabric of carbon fiber bundles. This combination ensures the achievement of significantly higher tensile and flexural strength compared to fiber reinforced extrudates. The lightweight materials also offer good chemical resistance and are radiolucent, making them ideally suited for external fixation devices and surgical instruments. 

TECATEC PEEK CW50 makes use of the matrix polymer VICTREX® PEEK™, which is compressed with laminated woven carbon fabric mats. A special coating on the fabric helps to reduce the number of faults. A carbon fiber fabric component of 50 per cent ensures extremely good torsional stiffness and minimal tendency to warp even after multiple sterilization cycles. These attributes make for a long service life of components.

This new material is an example of close co-operation between the Ensinger Group and Victrex Polymer Solutions. The two companies have agreed to work closely together on the development and marketing of new application fields for PEEK™ products.

The other composite material offered within the Ensinger portfolio is TECATEC PEKK CW60. This comprises a polyetherketoneketone matrix (PEKK), laminated with a 60 per cent carbon fiber fabric. The proprietary manufacturing process used achieves excellent fiber and matrix integration. Because of its high glass transition point (165 °C), PEKK is resistant to repeated steam sterilization cycles, while its enhanced carbon fiber component ensures even higher dimensional stability and stiffness. Medical technology is the single most important field of application for TECATEC products. Both materials are physiologically harmless (biocompatibility in accordance with ISO 10993-5) and corrosion resistant. In orthopaedic applications, radiolucent, low-warpage targeting fixtures made of carbon fiber composites are used for positioning fixing pins. The extreme strength of these composite materials also offers benefits when used in the manufacture of spreaders or in components for the external fixture of bone fractures.

TECATEC is available in plate thicknesses of 3 to 40 mm, with larger dimensions available on request.

PA6 ‘Fuel’-filling the Wish to Make Gasoline Engine Tanks Permeation-free

LANXESS is in process of developing a new blow-moldable, gasoline fuel-resistant polyamide 6 (PA6) grade for high-performance tanks. Used as a replacement to high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and other metal-based tanks (such as aluminum, steel or multi-layer plastic composites), PA6 is compliant with EPA regulations and suppresses fuel permeation in blow-molded tanks effectively. Tanks made of multi-layer plastic composites contain a polar layer of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) as a permeation barrier. Making these layers by means of co-extrusion blow molding process is a complex and costly task too. Steel and aluminum tanks do not give design freedom.
LANXESS experts are also looking for a possibility to make the new polyamide tank material which is resistant to E85 fuels too. PA6-based fuel tanks can find their application in motorcycles, cars, boats, combustion machines, mobile power generators, and more.

Carbon fibre suppliers are looking forward to recovery in the market.

Carbon fibre supplier SGL Group of Germany announced in its latest financial report in November that, despite a recent recovery in demand, the market for carbon fibre continues to face temporary overcapacities due to the numerous delays in new aircraft projects, delayed investments in wind energy, as well as declining demand in sports and consumer applications.
“This has resulted in an increased competitive environment with temporary negative impact on prices and volumes,” relates SGL. “The recent increase in demand, however, has led to prices stabilising, albeit at still unsatisfactory levels. Further price increases are necessary in 2011,” the report notes. The company also says that in recent months it has improved the structure of its precursor supply with the addition of two independent production sites.
Long delays in Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner programme have contributed to the supply and demand imbalance. Boeing announced in January that it expects delivery of the first Dreamliner in the third quarter of this year. The 787 programme has been gradually returning individual aircraft to the flight test programme. Four have been subjected to extensive ground testing and a thorough review to ensure their readiness to return to flight, says Boeing.

Demand on upswing

Leading US carbon fibre supplier Zoltek, while reporting a loss in the first quarter, reports that sales for the quarter were up 14%, reflecting business with new customers, which offset soft demand from large wind energy customers.
“Worldwide, we are seeing the beginning of a strong resurgence in demand for carbon fibres from wind energy, our primary application area,” noted Zoltek Chairman and CEO Zsolt Rumy.
He reports that over the past two years, there has been a great deal of progress in wind energy in China, India and other countries as high-tech companies have moved in the direction of larger and more efficient wind turbines.
“Wind energy is continuing to go global and entering a new phase of rapid growth,” adds Rumy, noting that Zoltek produces the majority of commercial carbon fibres used in the super-long blades that power advanced wind turbines.
Toray Industries recently announced that it has decided to resume construction of a carbon fibre production facility in Japan in anticipation of a recovery in demand. The new plant is expected to go online in September 2012. Toray and its Korean subsidiary are also building a carbon fibre production plant in Korea to ensure a stable domestic supply there. It is expected to go online in 2013.
In January, Toray and Daimler AG announced a joint venture to manufacture and market carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) automotive parts. Toray has been working on design and moulding processes, while Daimler is taking responsibility for designing parts and developing technologies for joining of the parts, the companies announced. The result is said to be an innovative technology for mass production of CFRP parts with a significantly shorter moulding cycle. Toray is also heavily invested in aerospace, having signed a 16-year contract in 2006 worth at least US$6 billion to supply CFRP materials to Boeing’s Dreamliner programme.
Mitsubishi Rayon Company’s Carbon Fibres and Composite Materials business suffered a loss in 2010, but the company has decided to resume work on an additional carbon fibre plant, which will add annual capacity of 2700 tons. Construction had been suspended pending a recovery in demand. Last year the company formed a business alliance with SGL Group to produce precursors for the manufacture of carbon fibres and fabrics for the BMW Megacity vehicle.
US carbon fibre supplier Hexcel reported improved sales in its 4th quarter report, noting that a significant number of orders received in 2010 by its commercial aerospace and wind customers, provided a “much improved environment for our markets.” Chairman and CEO David Berges notes: “We are pleased with our 2010 results, especially since we started the year with a great deal of uncertainty about the direction of our core markets.” Hexcel expects sales to continue rising in 2011.
In Turkey, carbon fibre producer AKSA Akrilik Kimya has decided to increase the annual capacity of its existing line by 300 tons and to build a second line to add 1700 tons of capacity. In India, Kemrock Industries and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd recently announced plans to form a joint venture to develop and manufacture CFRP prepregs for aerospace and defence applications.

Scientists Develop New Nano-cellulose Fibers from Pineapples and Bananas for Automobiles

Scientists in Brazil have developed a more effective way to use fibers from these and other plants in a new generation of automotive plastics that are stronger, lighter, and more eco-friendly than plastics now in use. They described the work, which could lead to stronger, lighter, and more sustainable materials for cars and other products, here today at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Study Leader Alcides Leão, Ph.D., said the fibers used to reinforce the new plastics may come from delicate fruits like bananas and pineapples, but they are super strong. Some of these so-called nano-cellulose fibers are almost as stiff as Kevlar, the renowned super-strong material used in armor and bulletproof vests. Unlike Kevlar and other traditional plastics, which are made from petroleum or natural gas, nano-cellulose fibers are completely renewable.

"The properties of these plastics are incredible," Leão said, "They are light, but very strong about 30 per cent lighter and 3 to 4 times stronger. We believe that a lot of car parts, including dashboards, bumpers, side panels, will be made of nano-sized fruit fibers in the future. For one thing, they will help reduce the weight of cars and that will improve fuel economy."

Besides weight reduction, nano-cellulose reinforced plastics have mechanical advantages over conventional automotive plastics, Leão added. These include greater resistance to damage from heat, spilled gasoline, water, and oxygen. With automobile manufacturers already testing nano-cellulose-reinforced plastics, with promising results, he predicted they would be used within two years.

Cellulose is the main material that makes up the wood in trees and other parts of plants. Its ordinary-size fibers have been used for centuries to make paper, extracted from wood that is ground up and processed. In more recent years, scientists have discovered that intensive processing of wood releases ultra-small, or "nano" cellulose fibers, so tiny that 50,000 could fit inside across the width of a single strand of human hair. Like fibers made from glass, carbon, and other materials, nano-cellulose fibers can be added to raw material used to make plastics, producing reinforced plastics that are stronger and more durable.

Leão said that pineapple leaves and stems, rather than wood, may be the most promising source for nano-cellulose. He is with Sao Paulo State University in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Another is curaua, a plant related to pineapple that is cultivated in South America. Other good sources include bananas; coir fibers found in coconut shells; typha, or "cattails"; sisal fibers produced from the agave plant; and fique, another plant related to pineapples.

To prepare the nano-fibers, the scientists insert the leaves and stems of pineapples or other plants into a device similar to a pressure cooker. They then add certain chemicals to the plants and heat the mixture over several cycles, producing a fine material that resembles talcum powder. The process is costly, but it takes just one pound of nano-cellulose to produce 100 pounds of super-strong, lightweight plastic, the scientists said.

"So far, we're focusing on replacing automotive plastics," said Leão. "But in the future, we may be able to replace steel and aluminum automotive parts using these plant-based nanocellulose materials." Similar plastics also show promise for future use in medical applications, such as replacement materials for artificial heart valves, artificial ligaments, and hip joints, Leão and colleagues said.

The scientists acknowledge funding from the government of Brazil, Pematec, Toro Industria and Comercio Ltd., and other private companies.

Medical Microtubes & Profiles Withstand Prolonged Sterilization with PEEK Resin

Thermoplastic tubing and profiles custom extruder International Polymer Engineering (IPE) is now offering small-diameter (0.25-inch) microtubes and profiles made of medical grade KetaSpire® polyetheretherketone (PEEK) resin from Solvay Advanced Polymers, LLC. Microtubes are manufactured on 1-inch extruder that can tolerate high melting temperature (upto 370°C), a PEEK material characteristic, for a prolonged period of time and can withstand more than 1,000 cycles of steam sterilization. IPE found materials made of KetaSpire PEEK better that nylon, polytetrafluorothylene (PTFE), polyurethane and polycarbonate in terms of strength and rigidity. Unfilled KetaSpire KT-820 NT PEEK microtubes (size: 0.029-inch outer dimension by 0.016-inch inner dimension) are used in medical instruments, laproscopic devices, catheters; open and hollow PEEK profiles are also produced. KetaSpire® PEEK Grade KT-851 NT is also used in wire and cable insulation, monofilaments, ultra-thin tubing and films.