UPM to Premiere Biofore Concept Car Based on Renewable Biomaterials at Geneva Motor Show

The Biofore Concept Car, a unique, futuristic street-legal vehicle demonstrating the use of renewable biomaterials in the automotive industry, will premiere at the 84th Geneva International Motor Show, March 6-16, 2014. The car is designed and built by next generation of talent from Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and showcases the versatile use of UPM's innovative biomaterials.

Various parts and components traditionally made from plastic are made from UPM Formi biocomposite and UPM Grada thermoformable wood material. These materials will significantly improve the overall environmental performance of the car, without compromising quality or safety. The concept car will also be fuelled by UPM BioVerno wood-based renewable diesel. UPM Raflatac label materials will be used to mark spare parts as well as in the interior and exterior design of the car.

Dating back to March 2010, initial idea of the Biofore Concept Car originated from UPM's will to demonstrate the diversity of end-uses for the company's biobased renewable materials. Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, with their history of building concept cars, was a natural choice as partner. "We are proud that the four year-long journey, during which altogether 50 young talents have been part of this process, is now reaching its peak on such an important venue for the automotive industry," says Pekka Hautala, Project Director from Metropolia.

"The Biofore Concept Car is a fine manifestation of UPM's Biofore thinking. It highlights our commitment to sustainable innovations, renewing with courage and cooperation with future talents," states Elisa Nilsson, Vice President of brand and communications from UPM.

Source: UPM

Celanese Develops New XT Grades for Superior Toughness by Expanding its Hostaform® POM S Series

Celanese Corporation, the global technology and specialty materials company, celebrated 50 years of the Celcon®/ Hostaform® acetal copolymer (POM) product line by expanding its S series of impact modified POM to include two new extreme toughened XT grades for applications that require exceptional impact strength and flexibility in demanding environments.

Hostaform XT 20 and XT 90, which complement and expand the existing Hostaform S series, are designed to compete in application areas previously reserved for highly modified impact modified acetal copolymers and homopolymers, thermoplastic polyurethanes and impact modified polyamide (PA) resins.

"Hostaform S and XT grades can outperform all impact modified POMs available today," said Mervyn Cox, global Hostaform POM product marketing manager - Celanese. "They can help designers push the boundaries in a broad range of fastener, buckle, dampening gear and housing applications that are used in a variety of industries, including automotive, consumer and industrial."

This is achieved with proprietary Celanese POM hybrid technology that allows lower levels of impact modifiers to be used while enabling significant improvements in mechanical properties and weld-line strength retention vs. competitive impact-modified POM.

Hostaform S and XT grades offer inherent benefits - resilience, humidity independence and an expansive operating temperature – clear advantages vs. impact modified PAs.

"In addition, lower modifier levels enhance tribology - slip and wear and chemical resistance characteristics," added Cox.

The Celanese hybrid technology enhances the attributes of Hostaform XT POM to include:

• Improved toughness to strength ratio - potential weight saving
• Enhancement mechanical Properties - broader design freedom
• Superior weld line strength - simplifies design
• Humidity independent - low moisture absorption
• Superior creep characteristics - improves long-term part performance
• Enhanced thermal stability - improves productivity robustness

Source: Celanese

Arkema Unveils Bio-based Pebax® RNew 80R53 Grade for Ski Boots at ISPO Munich

At ISPO 2014, Arkema presented its latest Pebax® Rnew grade : Pebax® RNew 80R53, a grade that goes beyond the limits of thermoplastic elastomers. This new rigid bio-based Pebax® opens up the scope of ski boot design combining light weight, astonishing responsiveness to skiers’ movements, and creativity in decoration. ISPO Munich held from January 26 to 29, is the European trade fair for winter and outdoor sports that offers a showcase for the latest trends in ski equipment.

Pebax® Rnew 80R53 is 50% more rigid than existing Pebax® grades, already well-known for several years as reference materials for bothalpine touring and cross-country ski boots.

It retains the key Pebax® characteristics and environmental qualities that appeal to sportsmen and women: produced from renewable raw materials with more than 90% bio-based content, lightweight, renowned long-term UV resistance and offering great creativity for novel designs, it maintains perfect quality and performance under extreme cold conditions.

In addition, thanks to its rigidity and outstanding processability, Pebax® Rnew 80R53 allows unequalled design freedom for thinner and even more lightweight and dynamic shoes.

It stands out as the material of choice to achieve a perfect balance between light weight and the downhill performance required by more and more sportsmen and women experiencing free-ride skiing.

Source: Arkema

ANSI & SPI Announce New Standards ANSI/SPI B151.20, ANSI/SPI B151.27 for Plastic Machinery Safety

The Plastics Industry Trade Association and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) announced the publication of two recently revised and approved American National Standards on plastics machinery safety. ANSI/SPI B151.20 - 2013 Safety Requirements for Plastics Sheet Production Machinery, and ANSI/SPI B151.27 - 2013 Safety Requirements for the Integration of Robots with Injection Molding Machines, both of which address detailed safety requirements for the specific machine or group of machines.

Both standards represent significant and substantive changes from the previous editions and both are considered Type-C standards according to the ISO Type A-B-C standard level structure. ISO Type A standards (basis standards) provide basic concepts, principles for design, and general aspects that can be applied to machinery. ISO Type B (generic safety standards) addresses one or more safety aspects or one or more types of safeguards that can be used across a range of machinery.

B151.20 specifies the requirements for the manufacture, care, and use of plastics sheet production machinery to minimize hazards to personnel associated with machine activity. The newly revised standard includes updates to reflect changes in technology and provides additional explanatory materials, illustrations, and definitions.

B151.27 addresses the integration, care, and use of robots used with injection molding machines to minimize hazards to personnel associated with robot and machine activity. Complicated by the variety and sizes of machines and robots manufactured, the standard approaches the problem of integration safety from three different areas: to eliminate recognized hazards by design criteria, establish standard approaches to design, and safeguard the point of operation to protect the operator from recognized hazards.

To assist in the interpretation of these requirements in both standards, responsibilities have been assigned to the supplier, the remanufacturer, the modifier, and the user.

Other SPI/ANSI Standards address the safety requirements for injection molding machines, extrusion machines, and blow molding machines.

Source: SPI

CSIR-CSMCRI Receives EU Patent to Produce PHA from Biodiesel Residue of the Jatropha Plant

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable polyesters produced and stored intracellularly by bacteria as energyand carbon storage material. In the last decade globally various organizations including CSIR-CSMCRI are actively engaged in R&D activities on different aspects of PHA. Owing to the diversity in PHA structural properties and amenability to produce in sufficient quantity various applications have been sought e.g. in packaging films, disposable items, biocompatible implants, bone replacements, blood vessel replacements, scaffold material in tissue, engineering of heart valve, etc.

Further, due to biodegradability and biocompatible nature of PHAs they have been recognized by FDA (Chen etal 2009) for the above listed uses. Global bioplastic packaging demand alone has been projected to reach 884,000 tons by 2020. According to a new study by Pira International, a new breed of bioplastics will be major drivers as packaging market demand gradually shifts from biodegradable and compostable polymers towards biopackaging based on renewable and sustainable materials. The basic cost involved in the production of such biopolymers is the raw material being used for fermentation process. To this end the innovative step taken by CSIR-CSMCRI is the use of crude glycerol as raw material, which is obtained as byproduct from the waste stream during biodiesel production.

Through this intervention a waste which is otherwise required to be treated before disposal is converted to a highly valuable and environment friendly product- PHAs. There the main objective of CSIR-CSMCRI on this issue is to examine the use of Jatropha biodiesel byproducts for production of PHA that can replace expensive carbon sources (raw material). (an European patent has been already granted).

"We filed for the patent in 2009, after we successfully made biodegradable plastic from a residue of Jatropha called glycerol. We isolated and used microbes from soil and ocean environments to turn this glycerol into plastic, through a 96-hour-long fermentation process," says Ghosh narrating the work conducted by the scientists at the institute located in neigbhouring Bhavnagar district.

The European patent comes a year after the institute received the CIPET (Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology) National Award from the Ministry of Chemicals and fertilizers for this innovation in 2012. CSIR-CSMCRI have produced bioplastics at gram scale in our laboratories. When this plastic is put in soil, it degrades within six-months. Now the next step is to produce this plastic on kilogram scale and make the entire process commercially viable. The CSMCRI director also said the scientists are also working on "getting the right properties of plastic like tensile strength, etc.".

Source: CSIR-CSMCRI

Goodfellow Offers Mitsui Chemicals' Transparent TPX® Polymethylpentene-based Film, Sheets & more

TPX® polymethylpentene is a lightweight, transparent, semi-crystalline material with outstanding resistance to both steam sterilization and a wide range of chemicals. Unlike some polymeric materials that discolor or embrittle after just a few cycles in an autoclave, TPX® remains transparent and strong. Items made with this exceptional polymer can be reused many times, promoting reuse rather than recycling and contributing to greater sustainability.

Characteristics of TPX® include:

Low density

Resistance to steam and chemicals

Does not absorb water

Visible light transmission ~92-94%

Low refractive index

Nonstick properties

The numerous benefits of TPX® make it ideal for use in food containers, sterilization cases, laboratory equipment, LED molds, etc. TPX® also has excellent UV transmission characteristics, making it useful in UV sterilization equipment.

TPX® is available in film, sheet, rod and granule form from Goodfellow, one among the leading suppliers of polymers, metals, ceramics and composites for research and industry.

TPX® is manufactured solely by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.

Source: Goodfellow

Iranian Researcher Investigates Effect of Non-straight Form of CNTs on Nanocomposite Properties

An Iranian researcher from University of Tehran used multi-scaled modeling and investigated the effect of non-straight form of carbon nanotubes on nanocomposite properties at the final material scale.

The researcher assumed the non-straight form of carbon nanotube as a random parameter in his modeling, and he took into account all possible formations during the process of producing the nanocomposite object. Results of the research can be used in different industries such as aerospace, automobile manufacturing, transportation, and energy because all these industries enjoy the advantages of polymeric composites.

The aim of this research was to estimate the mechanical properties of a nanocomposite containing multi-walled carbon nanotube. In this part of the research, the focus was on the effect of non-straight form of the nanotube in resin bed.

The purpose was to study the amount of effect of non-straight form of carbon nanotube in resin media on the mechanical properties. In most of the previous researchers, either the nanotube was assumed to be completely straight, or the non-straight form was assumed to have a specific known shape. In this research, the nanotube was assumed to have an unknown shape.

It was turned out that the non-straight form of carbon nanotube is the most effective parameter in the drop of mechanical properties in the nanocomposite containing carbon nanotube in comparison with other parameters. Non-straight form of carbon nanotube decreases the nanocomposite properties 25-50% in comparison to ideal condition. The decrease in the properties becomes larger in higher volume ratios. It was also turned out that non-straight form has less effect on resins with higher elastic modules.

Results also showed that the non-straight form of carbon nanotube slightly increased Poisson's ratio in the material environment. The non-linear trend and dependency of the nanocomposite modules on volume ratio of the nanotube, confirmed that there was no simple micromechanical correlations to predict mechanical properties of nanocomposites.

One of the results of the research has been published in Composite Structures, vol. 97, March 2013, pp. 304-309.

Source: INIC