Luxfer Acquires Dynetek to Expand CNG Presence

Luxfer Holdings PLC (Luxfer Group), the global materials technology company serving the environmental, healthcare and protection markets, has entered into an arrangement agreement with Dynetek Industries Ltd. (Dynetek) to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Dynetek. The Dynetek board of directors, led by Executive Chairman Douglas Pigot, has unanimously recommended that Dynetek shareholders approve the transaction.

Luxfer Group is a manufacturer of high-pressure gas cylinders through its Luxfer Gas Cylinders division. Six manufacturing plants in the US, UK, France, China and a joint venture in India produce cylinders for a diverse range of applications, including containment of compressed natural gas (CNG).

Dynetek produces CNG cylinders and alternative fuel (AF) systems for buses and heavy-goods vehicles and is a global authority on portable hydrogen containment. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Canada and Germany. Dynetek’s 2011 sales revenue was just under USD 26 million.

Brian Purves, CEO of Luxfer Group, said: “The area of alternative fuel systems and transportation modules is one of the strongest growing sectors of the gas containment industry, and the acquisition of Dynetek’s intellectual property, strong brand in this area and manufacturing capacity, coupled with Luxfer’s expertise in large-scale production techniques and global distribution, will help Luxfer Group to maximise its presence in, and improve the economics of, this growing market.”

igus Presents Metal Detectable igubal® Plastic Bearings to Prevent Food Contamination

One way to effectively protect food from metal-particle contamination is to install an electric metal detector. Any goods affected are then rejected.

Plastic bearing expert igus®, located in East Providence, Rhode Island, has developed its range of available self-aligning bearing materials to meet this requirement. At this year's Hannover Industrial Fair in Hanover, Germany, igus presented a new extension to its igubal® product line; a polymer material that can be recognized by metal detectors. The complete igubal® range includes lubrication and maintenance-free rod end bearings and clevis joints, flanged units, press-fit and pedestal bearings. Both the housing and spherical balls are made from detectable plastic. Standard metal-detection systems can detect all potential plastic residues, even down to the tiniest particle, and then select these for rejection.

The self-adjusting bearings are manufactured completely from tribo-optimized polymers. They are easy to install, adjust to all angular misalignments and can replace metallic components in many applications. igubal bearings from igus are up to 80 percent lighter than traditional metal bearings, allowing machines and systems to work more efficiently and the number of duty cycles to be significantly increased.

The detectable bearings are dry running, unaffected by dirt and dust contamination, can operate in liquids and a variety of chemicals, and are corrosion resistant. Application temperatures can range from -40° to 176° Fahrenheit. In addition, the components can absorb very high forces. This is due to the fact that the plastic material of the two-part combined bearings can absorb vibrations, in contrast to their steel counterparts.

igubal spherical bearings from igus are a unique solution for a wide array of industries such as packaging, sports equipment, food processing, and automotive manufacturing. Frequently, other alternatives such as roller bearings fail prematurely and may require readjustment, reaming or retrofitting to compensate for alignment errors. igubal spherical bearings eradicate the need for exact placement of shafts and housing, making them an ideal solution for simple to even the most complex designs.

igus, igubal, Energy Chain, Chainflex, iglide, and DryLin are registered trademarks of igus Inc. All other company names and products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companie

LANXESS Offers High-tech Rubber & PA Products for Athletes Participating in Olympic Games 2012

Faster, higher, stronger! In 2012, the UK capital of London will, for the third time, embrace the Olympic motto. When some 15,000 athletes from all over the world congregate in London to battle it out for medals in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LANXESS products generally will not be very far away. Specialty chemicals are found in balls, mats, running tracks, gym floors, shoes and much more. They make sure that the athletes can trust their equipment. Without LANXESS products, top performances and world records would often simply not be possible.

High-tech shoes

The most important equipment for a runner is the shoes. Today's shoes use a technology similar to that used in modern, fuel-saving tires: "Silica technology that gives the tires good grip and makes them economical also ensures that the soles of the running shoes have good grip on a wet track," says Martin Mezger, a rubber expert at LANXESS. The LANXESS material is called Krynac: It is particularly durable, flexible — and popular. Long-distance runners, in particular, also need special damping properties. "With each step, the loads can amount to around three times the body weight," says Mezger. "Over a long period, that puts enormous pressure on the joints." To serve as a cushion between the foot and the ground, the midsoles are made of state-of-the-art, high-performance rubber. Levapren from LANXESS is one such material. This ethylene vinyl acetate rubber (EVM) has a springy, stabilizing effect. "Depending on the running style, softer material is often used for damping in the heel region, while more elastic material is used on the ball of the foot to ensure that as little kinetic energy as possible is lost," explains Mezger. Every shoe manufacturer has its own recipe for success, and all the big names use LANXESS components.

Hot tires

Anyone bidding for a place on the podium in disciplines performed with two, three or four wheels is particularly dependent on LANXESS technology. This includes track cyclists, mountain bikers, triathletes and BMX riders as well as the wheelchair athletes in the Paralympic Games, whether in fencing, basketball, rugby, tennis or track & field. As with the running shoes, a lot is inspired by modern-day car tires. The high-tech casing of the wheelchair wheels, for example, does not leave black streaks and smears on the gym floors thanks to the use of silica rather than carbon black in the material compound. They are also exceptionally abrasion-resistant, offer optimal grip even in wet conditions, and reduce rolling resistance.

Always on the ball

Of the 60 or so Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, around one third of them use a ball of some kind: from beach volleyball to tennis, from wheelchair rugby to water polo; even rhythmic gymnastics do not get by without a ball. Butyl rubber (BTR) is a LANXESS specialty and the material of choice for the bladder in all types of balls. The synthetic rubber is particularly impermeable to moisture and air, which is why it is used, for example, in car tires, bicycle inner tubes and balls when it is important to keep moisture out and air in.

Color in the stands

Spectators in the stadiums frequently find themselves sitting on LANXESS products, as Durethan polyamide is used to for the production of stadium seats. A seat of this kind has to be able to withstand a weight of up to 600 kg just in case a jubilant fan decides to jump up and down on it. It also needs to be immune to the effects of hail, ice, rain, snow and long periods of sunshine. The shells, which are produced in one piece by injection molding, have no dangerous edges or seams. And through combination with other LANXESS products such as Macrolex, Levagard and Disflamoll, they are not only colorful and attractive; they also have outstanding flame retardance.

On your mark...

Whether tennis, soccer or hockey, top-quality sports are simply impossible on a poor pitch. With the arrival of artificial turf and modern hard court coverings, the athletes no longer have to worry about unpleasant surprises. Since the end of the 1980s, for example, professional field hockey has been played exclusively on artificial turf. The perfectly even playing field allows a faster game and better ball control. Polymers such as polypropylene have proved ideal for the artificial blades of grass, and, to ensure they stay green despite the rain and sunshine, many manufacturers opt for the inorganic pigments Bayferrox or Colortherm from LANXESS. Furthermore, Keltan granules are incorporated into some artificial turf surfaces. The ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM) makes the substrate softer and reduces the risk of injury.

Soft landing

In some track & field disciplines, gymnastics and the martial arts, the contestants are also protected by mats made of an EPDM rubber or Levapren ethylene vinyl acetate rubber. The mats protect the athletes from hitting the ground too hard. While EPDM rubber is used in conjunction with other plastics — for example in running tracks — Levapren is also used in gym floors, where it provides both double protection in the form of slip resistance and flame retardance.

Scientists at KU & TUHH Jointly Fabricate World's Lightest Carbon Material 'Aerographite'

A network of porous carbon tubes that is three-dimensionally interwoven at nano and micro level — this is the lightest material in the world. It weighs only 0.2 milligrams per cubic centimeter, and is therefore 75 times lighter than Styrofoam, but it is very strong nevertheless. Scientists of Kiel University (KU) and Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) have named their joint creation "Aerographite". The scientific results were published as the title story in the scientific journal "Advanced Materials".

The properties

It is jet-black, remains stable, is electrically conductive, ductile and non-transparent. With these unique properties and it's very low density the carbon-made material "Aerographite" clearly outperforms all similar materials. "Our work is causing great discussions in the scientific community. Aerographite weights four times less than world-record-holder up to now", says Matthias Mecklenburg, co-author and Ph.D. student at the TUHH. The hitherto lightest material of the world, a nickel material that was presented to the public about six months ago, is also constructed of tiny tubes. Only, nickel has a higher atomic mass than carbon. "Also, we are able to produce tubes with porous walls. That makes them extremely light", adds Arnim Schuchard, co-author and Ph.D. student at Kiel University. Professor Lorenz Kienle and Dr. Andriy Lotnyk were able to decode the material's atomic structure with the aid of a transmission electron microscope (TEM).

Despite of its low weight Aerographite is highly resilient. While lightweight materials normally withstand compression but not tension, Aerographite features both: an excellent compression and tension load. It is able to be compressed up to 95 percent and be pulled back to its original form without any damage, says professor Rainer Adelung of Kiel University. "Up to a certain point the Aerographite will become even more solid and therefore stronger than before", he points out. Other materials become weaker and less stable when exposed to such stress. "Also, the newly constructed material absorbs light rays almost completely. One could say it creates the blackest black", acknowledges Hamburg's Professor Karl Schulte.

The construction

"Think of the Aerographite as an ivy-web, which winds itself around a tree. And then take away the tree", Adelung describes the construction process. The "tree" is a so-called sacrificial template, a means to an end. The Kiel-team, consisting of Arnim Schuchardt, Rainer Adelung, Yogendra Mishra and Sören Kaps, used a zinc oxide in powder form. By heating this up to 900 degrees Celsius, it was transformed into a crystalline form.

From this material, the scientists from Kiel made a kind of pill. In it, the zinc-oxide formed micro and nano structures, so called tetrapods. These interweave and construct a stable entity of particles that form the porous pill. In that way, the tetrapods produce the network that is the basis for Aerographite.

In a next step, the pill is positioned into the reactor for chemical vapor deposition at TUHH and heated up to 760 degrees Celsius. "In a streaming gas atmosphere that is enriched with carbon, the zinc oxide is being equipped with a graphite coating of only a few atomic layers. This forms the tanged-web structures of the Aerographite. Simultaneously, hydrogen is introduced. It reacts with the oxygen in the zinc oxide and results in the emission of steam and zinc gas", continues Schulte. The remains are the characteristic interwoven, tube-like carbon structure. TUHH-scientist Mecklenburg: "The faster we get the zinc out, the more porous the tube's wall gets and the lighter is the material. There is considerable scope." Schuchard adds: "The great thing is that we are able to affect the characteristics of the Aerographite; the template form and the separation process are constantly being adjusted in Kiel and Hamburg."

The application

Due to its unique material characteristics, Aerographite could fit onto the electrodes of Li-ion batteries. In that case, only a minimal amount of battery electrolyte would be necessary, which then would lead to an important reduction in the battery's weight. This purpose was sketched by the authors in a recently published article. Areas of application for these small batteries might be electronic cars or e-bikes. Thus, the material contributes to the development of green means of transportation.

According to the scientists, further areas of application could be the electrical conductivity of synthetic materials. Non-conductive plastic could be transformed, without causing it to gain weight. Statics, which occur to most people daily, could hence be avoided.

The number of further possible areas of application for the lightest material in the world is limitless. After officially acknowledging Aerographite, scientists of various research areas were bursting with ideas. One possibility might be the use in electronics for aviation and satellites because they have to endure high amounts of vibration. Also, the material might be a promising aid in water purification. It might act as an adsorbent for persistent water pollutants for it could oxidize or decompose and remove these. Here, scientists would benefit from Aerographite's advantages namely mechanical stability, electronic conductivity and a large surface. Another possibility might be the purification of ambient air for incubators or ventilation.

FDA Bans Use of BPA in Baby Bottles & Sippy Cups on ACC's Appeal

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced in the Federal Register that it has revised the regulation of bisphenol-A (BPA) in baby bottles and sippy cups, bringing certainty to the marketplace that BPA is no longer in these products. The request to revise the rule was made by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in October of 2011, in an effort to clarify for consumers that BPA is no longer used to manufacture these products and will not be used in these products in the future.

"Although governments around the world continue to support the safety of BPA in food contact materials, confusion about whether BPA is used in baby bottles and sippy cups had become an unnecessary distraction to consumers, legislators and state regulators," said Steven G. Hentges, Ph.D., of the Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group of ACC. "FDA action on this request now provides certainty that BPA is not used to make the baby bottles and sippy cups on store shelves, either today or in the future."

BPA is one of the most thoroughly tested chemicals in commerce today. The consensus of government agencies across the world is that BPA is safe for use in food-contact materials, including those intended for infants and toddlers.

State legislative and regulatory actions across the country had contributed to confusion about whether baby bottles and sippy cups sold in the United States contain BPA. In fact, manufacturers of baby bottles and sippy cups announced several years ago that due to consumer preference they had stopped using BPA in these products.

White Rot Fungus Boosts Ethanol Production from Cellulosic Plants, Find Researchers

Scientists are reporting new evidence that a white rot fungus shows promise in the search for a way to use waste corn stalks, cobs and leaves — rather than corn itself — to produce ethanol to extend supplies of gasoline. Their study on using the fungus to break down the tough cellulose and related material in this so-called "corn stover" to free up sugars for ethanol fermentation appears in the ACS' journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.

Yebo Li and colleagues explain that corn ethanol supplies are facing a crunch because corn is critical for animal feed and food. They note that the need for new sources of ethanol has shifted attention to using stover, which is the most abundant agricultural residue in the U.S., estimated at 170-256 million tons per year. The challenge is to find a way to break down tough cellulose material in cobs, stalks and leaves — so that sugars inside can be fermented to ethanol. Previous studies indicated that the microbe Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, known as a white rot fungus, showed promise for breaking down the tough plant material prior to treatment with enzymes to release the sugars. To advance that knowledge, they evaluated how well the fungus broke down the different parts of corn stover and improved the sugar yield.

Treating stover with the white rot fungus for one month enabled them to extract up to 30 percent more sugar from the leaves and 50 percent more from the stalks and cobs. Because corn leaves are useful for controlling soil erosion when left in the field, harvesting only the cobs and stalks for ethanol production may make the most sense in terms of sustainable agriculture, the report suggests.

CO2 Polymers - Novel Options for Plastic Industry - A Challenge to Sustainable Chemistry

The world's largest conference on "CO₂ as Feedstock for Chemistry and Polymers" (Haus der Technik Essen, 10-11 October 2012) covers an incredibly wide range of uses for CO₂, developing a vision for a sustainable carbon dioxide economy.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, the end product of burning fossil fuels or biomass, are largely responsible for the greenhouse effect and thus for climate change. A reduction in CO₂ emissions are therefore at the very top of the international political agenda. Trials are running in parallel to explore underground sequestration of CO₂ from power stations, thereby removing it from the atmosphere.

It would at first sight seem paradoxical to wish to use energy-poor, inert CO₂ molecules. Considerable research and development efforts in recent years have led to new and innovative CO₂-recycling technologies and a vision of a CO₂ economy. CO₂ recycling has quickly become a hot topic for the future for every large company in the chemicals and plastics sector. Wirtschaftswoche reports that even Novel prize winners George Olah and Joseph Stiglitz have recognized the gas as a future fuel and raw material of the chemical industry.

In the last three years, the US Department of Energy and the German Ministry for Research (BMBF) have each provided some €100 million for research into new uses for CO₂. These investments are already bearing fruit. Evonik, BASF and Bayer Material Science are working hard on CO₂ polymers. Siemens and BASF demonstrated the first applications in household appliances such as fridge compartments and vacuum cleaner casings at the ACHEMA fair in Frankfurt in June 2012. The automobile and aircraft industries are working on fuels that depend on neither from oil nor biomass, but are instead derived from solar and wind power — and CO₂. These are also early days for a new chemical sector: recycling — the cascade use of CO₂ as a raw material for the chemical industry. Now new chemical and electrochemical reactions must be discovered and further technologies developed (e.g. the efficient separation and purification of CO₂ from the emission flow) to turn the climate killer into a renewable resource.

Alessandra Quadrelli from Lyons University sees CO₂ as one of the most important raw materials for the chemical industry in the future. According to her calculations, innovative chemical uses of CO₂ could achieve up to 10% of the global reduction in greenhouse gases that is required.

CO₂ polymers — new options for the plastic industry

The main new CO₂ polymer is polypropylene carbonate (PPC), which were first developed 40 years ago by Inoue, but is only now coming into its own. PPC is 43% CO₂ by mass, biodegradable, shows high temperature stability, high elasticity and transparency, and a memory effect. These characteristics open up a wide range of applications for PPC, including countless uses as packing film and foams, dispersions and softeners for brittle plastics. The North American companies Novomer and Empower Materials, the Norwegian firm Norner and SK Innovation from South Korea is some of those working to develop and produce PPC. Bayer Material Science exhibited polyurethane blocks at ACHEMA, which were made from CO₂ polyols. CO₂ replaces some of the mineral oil use. Industrial manufacturing of foams for mattresses and insulating materials for fridges and buildings are due to start in 2015.

PPC as a softener for bioplastics

Many bio-based plastics, e.g. PLA and PHA, are originally too brittle and can therefore only be used in conjunction with additives for many uses. Now a new option is available. They can cover an extended range of material characteristics through combinations of PPC with PLA or PHA. This keeps the material biodegradable and translucent, and it can be processed without any trouble using normal machinery. The vacuum cleaner casings that Bosch Siemens Household Appliances (BSH) displayed at ACHEMA are predominantly made of BASF's PPC and PHA and are intended as a substitute for the bulk plastic ABS. The first internal lifecycle analysis studies demonstrate the material's clear advantages. PPC/PLA combinations were used in fridge compartments.

Fuel from wind power, solar power and CO₂

An outside energy source is required if CO₂ is to be used as fuel. The major option here is to use surplus wind and solar power, which frequently occurs in Germany. Storage is a central concern with the expansion of renewable energy. If the surplus electricity is used to produce hydrogen (H2) from water, this can then be converted into various fuels in conjunction with CO₂. The first reaction is that of H2 with CO₂ to form methane (CH4), which can then fed into the gas network. Further chemical processes lead to methanol, petrol, diesel and kerosene. The high temperature steam electrolysis that is being optimized in the BMBF project now achieves a 70% efficiency level (electricity to hydrogen).

In 2011 a consortium of businesses in Iceland began building the first commercial plant, which will produce 5 million liters of methanol per year from CO₂. That would cover 2.5% of Iceland's fuel needs.

CO₂ as growth substrate for algae and bacteria

However, the world's largest use of CO₂ takes every day right in front of our eyes. With the help of photosynthesis (and with the action of sunlight), plants convert carbon dioxide into sugar, which they then use to produce all the important bio-molecules. This can also be commercially exploited: in large-scale reactors algae are gassed with carbon dioxide from power stations and then produce biomass.

Some bacteria can also use CO₂. The metabolism of these so-called acetogenic bacteria enables them to use CO₂ along with a carbon monoxide/hydrogen mixture (synthesis gas) as a growth substrate and as a basis for producing various products such as acetone, butanol and ethanol. A joint project between RWE and biotech company Brain was able to isolate numerous strains of bacteria in power station chimneys that could serve this purpose. Changes through molecular engineering to the bacteria can also lead to products other than the normal end products — for example the acrylic acids needed to produce PMMA (a polymer better known as plexiglass) and the biopolymer PHB. Synthetic biology methods should even allow for the production of customized bacteria in future for optimal CO₂ efficiency. Evonik in particular is working on the production of various chemicals, while the New Zealand firm LanzaTech is developing aircraft fuel and specialty chemicals based on butanol derived from CO₂ fermentation.