Polyonics Presents Flexible Woven Nylon Label Material for Wire & Cable Bundles & Lab Applications

Nylon label materials can offer significant advantages over polyester or polypropylene based films in terms of conformability. This is very important when labeling rounded surfaces such as vials or test tubes used in medical and laboratory applications or identifying wire and cable bundles for the electrical industry. The label needs to survive the life of the part identified and stiffness of a polyester or polypropylene material, over time, may cause failures such as flagging or delamination. The flexibility of the nylon label would all the material to conform to a rounded surface and be less likely to see this type of failure.

Why is nylon better? When compared to continuous film, the woven nylon absorbs the stresses that result from dimensional changes that occur from bending or at extreme temperatures. The aggressive 1 mil pressure sensitive adhesive allows for a strong bond in extreme low temperature when adhered to rounded plastic or glass surfaces.

The XF-302 is a 5 mil woven nylon cloth with a 1 mil aggressive adhesive that will not flag or otherwise detach from a rounded or curved surface. The flexible design has been tested in an outside laboratory for cryogenic storage applications where the temperature can be as low as −196°C.

These products are used in many applications across multiple industries including:

• Slides and glass plate identification
• Test tube and vial tracking
• Wire marking
• Bundle wraps
• Cryogenic storage

Source: Polyonics

Braskem to Supply Bio-based LDPE to Tetra Pak for Carton Packages Produced in Brazil

In a first for the carton packaging industry, Tetra Pak® announces that it plans to sign an agreement with Braskem, the largest thermoplastic resins producer in the Americas, for the supply of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) made from sugar cane to its packaging material factories in Brazil.

This breakthrough initiative, which will be limited in scope to Brazil only for the duration of the trial, is scheduled to start during the first quarter of 2014. According to the plan, Tetra Pak will use bio-based LDPE as a component of its packages produced in Brazil. The planned move to bio-based LDPE means that 100% of Tetra Pak packages produced in Brazil, about 13 billion, will have up to 82% packaging material from renewable sources.

"The new agreement to be signed with Braskem demonstrates our commitment to bring environmental innovations to our customers and is a further step in our journey to develop fully renewable packages," said Tetra Pak President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Jönsson.

Braskem will use ethanol derived from sugar cane to produce ethylene, which will then be converted into LDPE. The LDPE made from renewable sugar cane has the same technical properties as LDPE made from fossil sources, and the environmental benefits of being from a renewable source. Braskem biopolymers are known under the trademark I'm green™.

"The new bio-based I'm green™ LDPE is as inert, resistant and recyclable as the polyethylene made from fossil sources but, contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the sugar cane growth process," said Braskem President Carlos Fadigas. "The expansion of the green products line reinforces our commitment to adding value through sustainable development for the value chain."

Since 2008, Tetra Pak's paperboard supplies in Brazil are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™), which means that all the paper used in the production of Tetra Pak packages in Brazil comes from forests managed in accordance with responsible forestry management principles and other controlled sources.

Tetra Pak was the first liquid food packaging supplier to use bio-based plastic in its packaging, launching Tetra Brik® Aseptic packages with StreamCap™ 1000 produced with bio-based high density polyethylene (HDPE) supplied by Braskem in 2011. Earlier the company announced global availability of a bio-based version of LightCap™ 30, which uses HDPE made from sugar cane.

Source: Tetra Pak

Hexagon Composites receives a Titan order

Hexagon Composites' subsidiary, Hexagon Lincoln has received an order from a new North American client to supply Titan natural gas transport modules. The value of the order is approximately USD 9 million.

A North American gas supplier, will use the lightweight Titan modules for transportation of compressed natural gas from pipeline-connected mother stations to stranded industrial users traditionally powered by conventional liquid fuels.

Compared to conventional steel offerings, Titan modules are lighter and transport more payload per trip. With its significantly lighter weight and substantial transport capacity, the type 4 composite tank Titan modules can be used where road weight restrictions might otherwise hamper deliveries or where maximum capacity is critical to reduce miles traveled. Operations using Titan units have proven to reduce fuel consumption in operation by more than 40% compared with conventional steel trailer technology.

Delivery of the Titan modules will begin in the third quarter of 2013.

Source:Hexagon Lincoln

NASA tests game changing composite cryogenic fuel tank

Cryogenic propellants are gasses chilled to subfreezing temperatures and condensed to form highly combustible liquids, providing high-energy propulsion solutions critical to future, long-term human exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. Cryogenic propellants, such as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, have been traditionally used to provide the enormous thrust needed for large rockets and NASA's space shuttle.

In the past, propellant tanks have been fabricated out of metals. The almost 8 foot (2.4 meter) diameter composite tank tested at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is considered game changing because composite tanks may significantly reduce the cost and weight for launch vehicles and other space missions.

Switching from metallic to composite construction holds the potential to dramatically increase the performance capabilities of future space systems through a dramatic reduction in weight. A potential initial target application for the composite technology is an upgrade to the upper stage of Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket.

Built by Boeing at their Tukwila, Washington facility, the tank arrived at NASA in late 2012. Engineers insulated and inspected the tank, then put it through a series of pressurized tests to measure its ability to contain liquid hydrogen at extremely cold temperatures. The tank was cooled down to -423 degrees Fahrenheit and underwent 20 pressure cycles as engineers changed the pressure up to 135 psi.

The NASA and Boeing team are in the process of manufacturing the 18 foot (5.5 meter)-diameter composite tank that also will be tested at Marshall next year.

"The tank manufacturing process represents a number of industry breakthroughs, including automated fiber placement of oven-cured materials, fiber placement of an all-composite tank wall design that is leak-tight and a tooling approach that eliminates heavy-joints," said Dan Rivera, the Boeing cryogenic tank program manager at Marshall.

Composite tank joints, especially bolted joints, have been a particularly troubling area prone to leaks in the past. Boeing and its partner, Janicki Industries of Sedro-Woolley, Washington, developed novel tooling to eliminate the need for heavy joints.

More information: www.nasa.gov

Evonik's Biobased VESTAMID® Terra PA Used in Multi-layer Tube Systems of Racing Car

RED Motorsport's Lotus Exige completed the third race of the new season on June 14th and 15th, took place in the Touring Car Championships (TCC) of the Deutscher Motorsport Verband (DMV) at the Hockenheimring. The racing car, which Evonik uses to test new applications, boasts a number of novel features this year including a multi-layer line for charge-air cooling. The green section of the line has an outer layer of a biobased polyamide, VESTAMID® Terra. This is the first time Evonik Industries is testing the multi-layer tube system with the biobased plastic on the race track. 

Since 2007, Evonik has been testing coolant line systems consisting of multi-layer tubes of petroleum-based VESTAMID® under tough racing conditions. These multi-layer tubes serve as lightweight replacements for rubber hoses and reinforced lines. The MLT 8000 multi-layer tubing system has since proven its performance in vehicles worldwide. The racing car of the current season uses MLT 8000.3 with an orange outer layer. This system is around 870 g lighter than cooling line systems with steelflex tubes, which means a weight reduction of more than 70 percent. 

The coolant lines of the 8000 series have three layers: The inner layer consists of a polypropylene specially adapted for this application. On top of this is an adhesion promoter layer, followed by the outer layer consisting of the high-grade specialty polyamide VESTAMID® or the biobased VESTAMID® Terra. 

Evonik's biobased polyamides have also been successful in other applications. They have been used commercially since 2010 as mono-layer tubes in, for example, air brake lines of utility vehicles, in semitrailers and trailers, and for pneumatic lines. The use of the biobased material in multi-layer tubing systems for coolant lines is new, however. 

Under the VESTAMID® Terra brand name Evonik offers various biobased polyamides (PA610, PA1010, and PA1012) covering a wide application spectrum that is used in hydraulic lines, for example. In road vehicles these lines are connected by means of quick connectors made from a petroleum-based, glass-fiber-reinforced polyamide 12 such as VESTAMID® L-GF30 or biobased VESTAMID® Terra HS1850. In racing vehicles, on the other hand, connection is by metal plug-in couplings. 

For many years, Evonik Industries has been making components specifically for the Lotus Exige to test them under the high demands imposed by motor racing. The findings flow into commercial-scale production — and not only in the automotive industry. 

Source:Evonik 

Metabolix to Explore Versatility of Biobased PHA Modifiers for Enhanced PVC Plasticization

New materials have long been sought that help to tackle increasing concerns about the future sustainability of petroleum feedstocks and the increasing generation of waste (and litter) driven by our growing population. Reducing generation by using less, for example in packaging, and recycling and reusing materials that often end up as waste, are both great places to look to creatively apply these new materials.

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is one of the best known, versatile plastics in the world and one of the least recycled. PVC has qualities that make it usable in everything from piping and construction to signs and packaging.

However, PVC always requires additives before it can be made into a finished product and most of these additives, along with the PVC itself, are not made with renewable resources. Furthermore, while these additives provide important enhancements to the basic PVC polymer — from making the PVC more flexible to increasing its UV stability for outdoor use — they can hinder recycling and reuse. Many additives, like phthalates, unfortunately also migrate to the surface, out of the PVC, over time reducing the desired performance.

At Metabolix, we are researching the benefits of using our biopolymers as PVC modifiers to solve some of these problems, while improving performance and lowering overall formulation costs. Recent work led by Dr. Yelena Kann and presented at ANTEC 2013 entitled "Versatile Vinyl Plastic: Formulating for the future", highlighted how PHA modifiers offer PVC formulators with effective biobased impact modification. Data presented demonstrate that incorporation of these modifiers also does not compromise transparency nor UV stability of the PVC.

In December 2012, we introduced I6001, the industry's first biobased polymeric impact modifier for PVC to improve toughness and simultaneously impart some plasticization. The additional plasticization allows for elimination of some secondary plasticizers and for a reduction in the use of primary phthalates and other additives.

Unlike phthalates and some biobased plasticizers, our PHA modifiers bring plasticization without unwanted migration to the surface over time and resultant loss of toughness.

PHA polymeric modifiers are competitive on price and performance with the leading petroleum based core-shell impact modifiers, and offers the potential to reformulate the total additive package to achieve overall cost savings. These new biobased PHA modifiers allow PVC compounders and converters to create innovative new solutions and product offerings in a mature industry. In fact, Karen Laird of Plastics Today identified additives and modifiers as an area of bioplastics that will "strongly develop" in a recent article, "Bioplastics in 2013: 5 Trends to Watch."

At Metabolix, we've been exploring the versatility and range of our patented PHA backbone technology as we develop these impact modifiers for PVC. The development of biobased additives and modifiers represents a new part of the green tech story where materials valued for competitive performance also offer sustainability benefits. Metabolix is pleased to be taking part in this evolution and we look forward to bringing new biobased performance additives to market in 2013 and beyond.

Source: Metabolix

Purac to Commercialize PURALACT® Lactides to Produce PLA Homopolymers in Asian Biopolymer Mkt

Purac, a subsidiary of CSM, has signed a long term supply contract for the delivery of up to 10,000 tons annually of PURALACT® lactides to a customer in Asia. PURALACT® lactides will be polymerized into high heat polylactic acid (PLA), a bioplastic made from annually renewable resources.

Commercial production of the partner's production facility is expected to start in the second half of 2014, but material for sampling and testing will be available shortly. The supply agreement for high optical purity lactides will enable Purac's partner to produce a range of high performance PLA homopolymers.

The target market for the partner's PLA is Asia, with a focus on high heat PLA for durable and demanding applications, such as automotive and electronics parts.

Further to the supply agreement, Purac and its partner have signed a joint development agreement where Purac's know-how in the area of high performance PLA will be combined with the partner's market access and application knowledge to further accelerate the commercialization of PLA compounds for injection molding and extrusion purposes.

Source: Purac