New Technique to Create Biodegradable Cellulose-based Plastic: Tuskegee Univ.

Currently, most bioplastics are produced using renewable biomass resources, such as vegetable fats, oils, and sweet potatoes, which readily decompose once they are buried in the ground. However, these materials lack the necessary strength and flexibility required to extend the life of plastics in the packaging and electronic industry.

New Discovery in Plastics:

To date, there have been limited successes in inventing new solvents to dissolve cellulose for commercialization usage. Also, the increase in toxicity associated with current dissolution techniques has made cellulose less attractive for use in the plastic industry. But, Tuskegee University researchers have discovered a new method that can be used to suspend tiny particles of cellulose in an organic solvent that is commonly used in the plastic industry. This technique could remove the current limitations and allow for the creation of a new kind of biodegradable cellulose-based plastic. This product can be used in the production of items ranging from packaging materials to plastic covers. 

Dr. Michael L. Curry, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, along with his second-year graduate student, Donald H. White, both work as members of and in collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology (Phase II), a multi-institutional partnership devoted to investigating the fundamental molecular mechanisms by which nanoparticles interact with biological systems. 

Process:

Taking full advantage of the new dispersion of cellulose technique, Curry and White experimented with the development of cellulose-based plastics using both biodegradable and non-biodegradable polymer matrices. Unlike earlier bio-based plastics, their cellulose-based plastics are flexible and show significant improvements in the storage modulus which demonstrates an increase in the rigidity and strength of the composite material. 

Curry stated that given that the global production of plastics will exceed 300 million tons annually in the near future and greater than 98 percent of it is made with crude oil and other fossil fuels, this new invention will not only help us to meet our Center’s goal of “using fundamental chemistry to enable the development of nanotechnology in a sustainable manner, for societal benefits,” but will also limit the amount of non-biodegradable plastics ending up in our land fields and oceans, and the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by plastics that contribute to global climate change.

Source: Tuskegee University

Breathing Facade Skin Made of Covestro’s Transparent Solid Polycarbonate Sheets

The idea behind the seminal Breathing Skins showroom is to use the outer envelope of buildings to variably adapt the indoor climate to the needs of the occupants. The project centers around a breathing facade skin using transparent solid sheets of the polycarbonate Makrolon®. This is modeled on a natural, organic skin. 
Covestro recently won the innovation award of the European Polycarbonate Sheet Extruders Organization (EPSE) for this development. It was the eighth time the organization had held the Best Polycarbonate Projects Competition to recognize outstanding applications with polycarbonate sheets. 

Controllable Permeability:
Tobias Becker’s proprietary development makes it possible to infinitely vary the permeability of facades and thus adapt the indoor climate to the user’s specific requirements. Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment Barbara Hendricks and Maria Krautzberger, president of the German Federal Environment Agency, have now presented Tobias Becker with the Federal Ecodesign Award in the Young Talent category. 
The inspiration for developing a breathing facade skin comes from the idea of ventilating an interior via pore-like air ducts without creating a draft.
These ducts can be sealed pneumatically so as to be airtight by applying a small overpressure to the facade element. 
A low-energy compressor controls around 140 pneumatic “muscles” per square meter without any visible technology. 
Applying a small under pressure widens the reversible air ducts fitted between two perforated, transparent polycarbonate (PC) solid sheets of Makrolon® GP clear 099 polycarbonate from Covestro. 
The sandwich design weighs less than eleven kilograms per square meter. 
The showroom is a prototype for testing breathing skins facade technology and experiencing it at an emotional level. The organic-like facade skin and the soft, meandering form of the Breathing Skins showroom complement each other perfectly. Geometrically speaking, the facade is made up of six arcs with different radii. The solid sheets’ good thermoforming properties produced excellent results.
The facade is over ten meters long, has an area of 25 square meters and is split into several elements.
To reinforce the image of a continuous facade, the load-bearing parts of the sandwich facade elements are all made of solid polycarbonate sheets. 
The interior has an area of eight square meters and a clear height of 2.4 meters.
A wooden structure with edges 4.5 by 4.5 meters long marks the vertical limit of the interior. 
The ceiling panel rests on four round, recessed larch supports mounted outside the interior. 
The modular components are so small and light that each of them can be carried by two people. 

The more the pneumatic muscles dilate, the more the facade’s appearance changes. Permeability for light and air as well as see-through visibility can be modified locally and gradually. The concept is based on biomimetics, the basic idea of which is to observe nature closely and turn the findings into technical applications.

Breathing Skins Showroom:

The laminated birch surfaces make you want to touch them, and create a warm effect that provides an excellent contrast to the plastic facade.

More Than Just Transparent Glazing:

The showroom demonstrates that polycarbonate sheets can be used for more than just transparent glazing in architectural applications. Their mechanical properties and the fact that they are milled during the machining process enable easy integration of controllable elements such as the pneumatic muscles. Transparent facades of all building typologies thus become a tool for controlling energy management and interior climate.

Source: Covestro

RESINEX Adds Trinseo’s Biocompatible PS for Medical Devices to its Portfolio

RESINEX has recently added STYRON™ 2678 MED, a biocompatible polystyrene from Trinseo, to its portfolio of polymers. 

ISO Compliant Biocompatible PS:
This general purpose injection molding grade has undergone testing based on ISO 10993 standards and is suitable for use in approved medical applications. It combines the versatility of polystyrenes with the specifically high reliability of supply needed in this industry, and it meets extended demands in terms formulation lock, notification of change and lot traceability. 

Typical applications include clear rigid packaging, diagnostic components, petri dishes and housings for test kits.


Special Characteristics:
Beyond the general advantages of polystyrene, such as outstanding transparency, high stiffness, rigidity and heat resistance, STYRON™ 2678 MED also provides further special characteristics required for medical devices including chemical resistance to fight infection. The material can be sterilized by ethylene oxide (EtO) and shows very good radiation stability when subjected to gamma- or e-beam sterilization, even at high doses. STYRON™ 2678 MED may also be processed further with secondary operations such as solvent bonding, welding and laser marking, typical for medical devices.

Hence, STYRON™ 2678 MED opens new applications for polystyrenes, going beyond those of general purpose food grades.


Source: RESINEX

PEEK-replacing Nano-reinforced Nylon Alloy by Foster for Medical Device

Foster Corporation has introduced Nanomed MAX® compounds for medical device components that require high strength, yet cannot use metals or traditional reinforced plastics. 
These compounds, based on an alloy of meta-xylene diamine polyamide (MX nylon), are United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Class VI tested and suitable for reusable instruments or components that must withstand gamma, e-beam and ethylene oxide sterilization.

Need of Nano Reinforced Nylon Alloys:

Minimally invasive procedures are increasingly used throughout the healthcare industry. New procedures require instruments, fixtures and components that do not interfere with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized axial tomography (CAT), fluoroscopy, and x-ray imaging. Metals are not suitable and plastics often require reinforcing additives, such as glass fiber, to provide sufficient strength for structural components. 

However, these traditional additives are too large for molding or extruding intricate device components with thin wall sections. Unreinforced, high strength plastic options, such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK), are often cost prohibitive.

Nanomed MAX Compounds:

Nanomed MAX compounds incorporate nanoclay particles into a high strength nylon alloy. 
These platelet-shaped particles, less than a nanometer thick and up to 1000 times greater in surface diameter, provide reinforcement at the molecular level. 
This enhances strength and rigidity of the polymer without hindering flow into thin sections.
Nanomed MAX compounds include less than 10% by weight nanoparticles resulting in 15% more tensile strength than unmodified PEEK, for approximately half the price.

Source: Foster Corporation


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When: December 14th at 16:00 GMT

Registration: http://bit.ly/PolymerWebinarRegistration

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Metal-replacing High Heat-resistant PA

At the 21st Plastic Materials Congress, entitled “Chiedilo alla Plastica” [Turn to Plastics], held on 17 November in Varese, Italy, RadiciGroup Performance Plastics introduced its latest innovation, a new blow-molding-grade polyamide capable of standing up to continuous exposure to hot air at temperatures of up to 230°C. 

The material was developed for, and in collaboration with, Röchling Automotive. Such a high level of heat resistance opens up new opportunities in the metal replacement field, where parts are subjected to severe environmental conditions.

Polyamide Engineering Thermoplastics

The new material belongs to RadiciGroup’s RADILON® range of polyamide engineering thermoplastics, products that have a wide variety of uses in the automotive, electrical/electronics, industrial goods and consumer goods sectors.

The RADILON® range includes both traditional formulations and, as in the case of the Röchling Automotive partnership project, specialties with high innovative content, such as polyamides for continuous operation at high temperatures, materials specifically designed for metal replacement applications and materials featuring excellent resistance to chemical agents.

New High Heat-resistant Polyamide

The new product is a copolymer with a semi-aromatic component, which, in combination with other additives used to retard the thermal oxidation process, endows the material with very high heat resistance properties. Furthermore, the formulation ensures high melt strength and good blow-moldability.

Tests & Trials

• Trials and validation tests performed in the Röchling Automotive laboratories have allowed for quantifying some of the advantages of the new product:
• Weight reduction: 15%
• Reduced energy consumption in production: 5-7% (lower process and mold temperature)
• Less expensive molds (molds last longer thanks to the lower abrasion of PA compared to PPS)
• Enhanced impact resistance compared to PPS (Charpy un-notched impact strength at 23°C: + 72%; Charpy notched impact strength at 23°C: + 52%).

Polyamide Plastic for Automotive Industry

For the automotive industry – where there is a very clear trend towards smaller but more powerful engines, lower CO₂ emissions, longer vehicle useful life and less under-the-bonnet space –, the new PAs must be designed to provide good heat resistance at high temperatures, good processability and competitive pricing.

The know-how acquired by RadiciGroup Performance Plastics in the field of polyamide engineering plastics and its synergistic collaboration with the RadiciGroup Chemicals Business Area, enables the compounder to take on these challenges and offer concrete solutions to the market demand for innovation, customization, flexibility and performance. 

Commenting on the collaboration with Röchling Automotive to develop turbo air pipes to be used by a major car manufacturer, Erico Spini, Marketing and Application Development Director Europe of RadiciGroup Plastics, stressed that:
“collaboration and continual interaction with our customers give rise to customized products that are unique and able to ensure the best performance and best characteristics for any specific application need”.

Marco Barbolini, intake systems project manager of Röchling Automotive, expressed his satisfaction with the RadiciGroup Performance Plastics partnership: 
“We are very satisfied, because we found RadiciGroup to be an excellent partner in the development of a new material which fills a gap in the market offering and combines high performance characteristics with high heat resistance, while maintaining the good processability that is typical of polyamides.”


Source: RadiciGroup

Total/Corbion Form 50:50 Joint Venture for Bioplastics Development

 Total and Corbion have joined forces to develop bioplastics by creating a 50/50 joint venture to produce and market polylactic (PLA) polymers. The two partners plan to build a world-class PLA polymerization plant with a capacity of 75,000 tons per year at Corbion's site in Thailand that already has a lactide (PLA monomer) production unit that will become part of the joint venture. Corbion will supply the lactic acid necessary for the production of the PLA and the lactide.

Total/Corbion – Bioplastic JV

The new company will be based in the Netherlands and will launch operations in the 1st quarter of 2017, subject to regulatory approvals.

Bernard Pinatel, President of Total Refining & Chemicals, commented:
“I’m very pleased with this joint venture, which aims to become a major player in the growing bioplastics market. This investment is consistent with our One Total ambition of expanding in biofuels and bioplastics, in addition to our more traditional oil- and gas-based products. Corbion’s unique position in the lactic acid and biopolymers value chain makes it a natural choice for Total. The joint venture will allow us to supply an innovative material that is 100% renewable and biodegradable and that responds to sustainability concerns.”

Tjerk de Ruiter, CEO of Corbion, stated: 
“PLA is one of the first renewable, biodegradable polymers able to compete with existing polymers. The joint venture, which will combine Total’s technical and marketing knowledge and leading position in polymers with Corbion’s expertise in lactic acid and biopolymers, will enable us to supply innovative products and will accelerate market acceptance.”

PLA Bioplastic

PLA is a biobased, biodegradable polymer obtained by fermenting renewable resources (sugar or starch) to produce lactic acid. 
PLA is mainly used for food packaging, disposable tableware and textiles, as well as in numerous other industries such as oil and gas, electronics, automotive and 3D printing.
PLA is a fast-growing polymer market segment, with an estimated average annual growth rate of 10 to 15% to 2025.