FREE WEBINAR REGISTRATION for MASTERS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING IN QATAR

Title: Connect to your Chemical Engineering Future today!

Is chemical engineering your passion, your career and your future? Or you are specialising in another engineering area and you are ready to take the next step? 

Texas A&M University in Qatar presents a uniquely designed webinar about its two Master´s programs in Chemical Engineering and you are invited! https://goo.gl/bSBPkc

Join the online session on March 16 to find out everything you need about the programs´s structure, the scholarship opportunities and the available assistantships from Dr. Ahmed Abdel - Wahab, the chairman of the Graduate Committee and its team.

So, on one hand, the US higher education system: Cutting edge technology, groundbreaking research, pragmatic teaching methods and a unique campus life experience. On the other hand Qatar: The lowest unemployment rates, the wealthiest local residents, the biggest large-scale infrastructure projects and the 2020 FIFA World Cup. 

Do you want to become part of this highly respected combination? Then save your place for the webinar today!: https://goo.gl/bSBPkc!

Biobased Re-Revolution of Plastics/Chemicals; New York, May 23-25

Why Revolution: It’s Raw-Materials; WASTE(s) that are Bio-Based/Sustainable or Climate Harming GASES; not PetroBased

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2-Compelling Reasons Why You Must Attend

1. Traditional & New Polymers: Biobased building blocks are enabling the manufacture of traditional polymers (Polyolefins/Polyesters/Nylons) as well as newer polymers such as PEF (vs PET for packaging) and Nylon 410 to name a few.

2. Environment Re-Engineering: Bill Gates funds $14M for Plantro-Chemicals and heads-up a $1 Billion fund to fight climate change.
 a. LAND Pollution: Building blocks for polymers are being made via forest and municipal WASTES as opposed to petro-based chemicals

b. CLIMATE Pollution: In further support to worldwide Paris-2015 agreement on climate control, Bill Gates will be heading a $1 Billion fund to fight climate change. Use of biobased-renewable raw materials to make polymers, especially the greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4), is a step towards that goal.

c. WATER Pollution: About 50Blbs / year of plastic leaks into ocean with potentially adverse effects on humans via seafood. Commercialization of PHA can address that issue as it biodegrades in river and ocean waters

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Registration & Details via the link, http://innoplastsolutions.com/bio.html

Hair's Strength Inspires New Polymer for Body Armor

Researchers have studied why human hair is so strong to inform the design of new synthetic materials, including polymers for body armor.

Observations researchers have made about why human hair is so strong and resistant to breaking could form the basis for the development of new synthetic materials , including polymers that could be well-suited for body armor.

Human hair has a strength-to-weight ratio comparable to steel and can be stretched up to one and a half times its original length before breaking. Understanding why this is so was the aim of a cross-disciplinary team of mechanical engineers and nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego.

Researchers observed at the nanoscale level how a strand of human hair behaves when it is deformed, or stretched. What they found was that hair behaves differently depending on how fast or slow it is stretched; the faster hair is stretched, the stronger it is, they said.

Marc Meyers, a professor of mechanical engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, said one of the interests the team had in studying the strength of human hair dates back to Roman times, when horse and human hair was used to propel powerful war machines called the ballistae, he said. Ballistae were ancient missile weapons that could hurl projectiles at a distant target.

“We discovered that the keratin in hair, because of an alpha-to-beta transformation occurring on stretching, can store a large amount of energy,” he told Design News in an interview. “We therefore confirm the soundness of the use of hair for the ballistae.”

The reason hair can be stretched so far and even gain strength lies in how its structure changes, according to the researchers. Hair consists of two main parts--the cortex, which is made up of parallel fibrils, and the matrix, which has an amorphous structure. The matrix is sensitive to the speed at which hair is deformed, while the cortex is not.

The combination of these two components gives hair the ability to withstand high stress and strain, Meyers said, a phenomenon that researchers observed at the nanoscale.

At this level, it could be observed how the cortex fibrils in hair are each comprised of thousands of coiled spiral-shaped chains of molecules called alpha helix chains. As hair is deformed, the alpha helix chains uncoil and become pleated sheet structures called beta sheets. It’s this structural change that allows hair to handle a large amount deformation without breaking, according to researchers.

“Nature creates a variety of interesting materials and architectures in very ingenious ways,” Meyers said of the findings. “We’re interested in understanding the correlation between the structure and the properties of biological materials to develop synthetic materials and designs--based on nature--that have better performance than existing ones.”

Another interesting observation researchers made is that the structural transformation hair undergoes when stretched is partially reversible, they said. When hair is stretched under a small amount of strain, it can recover its original shape, but if stretched

Connect to your Chemical Engineering Future today!

Is chemical engineering your passion, your career and your future? Or you are specialising in another engineering area and you are ready to take the next step? 

Texas A&M University in Qatar presents a uniquely designed webinar about its two Master´s programs in Chemical Engineering and you are invited! https://goo.gl/bSBPkc

Join the online session on March 16 to find out everything you need about the programs´s structure, the scholarship opportunities and the available assistantships from Dr. Ahmed Abdel - Wahab, the chairman of the Graduate Committee and its team.

So, on one hand, the US higher education system: Cutting edge technology, groundbreaking research, pragmatic teaching methods and a unique campus life experience. On the other hand Qatar: The lowest unemployment rates, the wealthiest local residents, the biggest large-scale infrastructure projects and the 2020 FIFA World Cup. 

Do you want to become part of this highly respected combination? Then save your place for the webinar today!: https://goo.gl/bSBPkc!

Repsol Opens Pilot Plant for Sustainable PC Polyol Production

Repsol has developed a new type of polyol, polycarbonate polyol, which will partially replace its raw material, propylene oxide with the abundant and sustainable alternative, CO2. 

Polyol with a 20% of CO2:
This will result in reduction in the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere and, consequently, lessening environmental footprint impact.
Repsol has worked together with selected customers who have manufactured products with this innovative polyol. Additional advantages of this new polycarbonate polyol are that, it enhances certain properties of different CASE applications.

Improved Adherence and Elasticity:
For adhesives and elastomers, the improved features can be: added adherence and elasticity compared with conventional polyols. They also have specific properties that mean they can be applied in other ways in the future.

Repsol has already started production of its polycarbonate polyol in the pilot plant located in Puertollano, Spain. With this plant Repsol aims to produce polyol with a 20% of CO2. This is a step forward for a more ambitious project at industrial scale.

With this product, Repsol reinforces its commitment to innovation, sustainability and contributing to a better environment. Repsol offers a portfolio of polyols with a wide range of alternatives to meet the specific needs of its customers.

Source: Repsol 

BASF Introduces Polyether Polyol for Automotive Applications

The interior air quality of cars can now be improved with BASF's new polyether polyol . The new grade is part of the Lupranol® brand which is used in the production of automotive applications made of highly resilient flexible and semi-rigid polyurethane foams. The low VOC grade polyol has been proven to significantly reduce VOC emissions, particularly aldehyde, making it a sustainable alternative in the production of polyurethane foams for automotive interior applications such as seats, headliners, and steering wheels.

Lupranol® - Low VOC Grade Polyol:
“Automotive OEMs in Asia, especially in China and Korea, are seeking solutions to enhance vehicle interior air quality, and this new grade will help them meet the increasingly stringent regulatory standards for VOC emissions,” “VOCs can be effectively reduced with changes to manufacturing processes. As such, we play a key role in contributing towards environmental sustainability and health.

Reduction in Aldehyde Emissions by 5-10%:

Lupranol’s low VOC grade is the result of improvements made in the manufacturing process of the material. It has one of the lowest levels of aldehyde emissions – specifically formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein – in polyurethane solutions available in the market for automotive applications. In the tests conducted by Center Testing International Group Co Ltd, a leading testing agency in China, the new Lupranol demonstrated a reduction in aldehyde emissions by 5-10% for formaldehyde, 30-40% for acetaldehyde and 30-40% for acrolein.

Lupranol is well-suited for automotive applications as it produces highly resilient polyurethane foams, for example Elastoflex®, with good physical properties. Compared to conventional foams, Elastoflex provides higher comfort, improved elasticity and better load bearing properties.

Source: BASF

Toray & Mitsui Sugar Form JV for Biochemicals Production from Bagasse

Toray Industries has announced that it has decided to establish a joint venture company with Mitsui Sugar for seeking business opportunities for manufacturing system of cellulosic sugar, a raw material used for producing various biochemical products, from the surplus bagasse generated at sugar mills.

Chemical Products Made from Inedible Biomass:

The technological demonstration is part of the research and technological development of bioprocess using membranes that combines Toray's water treatment membrane and bio technologies. Bioprocess using membranes is a technology that would enable the production of a high quality, low cost cellulosic sugar from inedible biomass while saving 50% energy in manufacturing by using water treatment membranes in the saccharificationand refining processes, and contributes to the realization of materials and chemical products made from inedible biomass.

Energy-Saving Cellulosic Sugar Production System:

Further, Toray and Mitsui Sugar will carry out the Demonstration Project for an Energy-Saving Cellulosic Sugar Production System using Bagasse in the Kingdom of Thailand under the International Energy Conservation Technology and System Demonstration Project of New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and the project is aimed at examining the possibilities of commercialization of the cellulosic sugar production system. Thailand is one of the foremost producers of sugarcane in the world and is the largest exporter of sugar in Asia. It has been promoting biomass-based businesses as well as research and technology development and is suitable for pursuing the demonstration project. 

High Quality Cellulosic Sugar:

The demonstration plant of this project will have a capacity to handle 15 tons of bagasse per day (dry weight) and will manufacture about 4.2 tons of cellulosic sugar after going through the processes of pretreatment, enzymatic saccharification, and membrane separation. The pilot plant will employ concentration technology that uses Toray's water treatment membranes to produce high quality cellulosic sugar while conserving energy. Cellulosic sugar can be used as a raw material for producing various biochemical products such as ethanol, lactic acid and succinic acid, and this would enable the creation of a new supply chain from surplus bagasse to biochemical products. 

Further, in addition to cellulosic sugar, the plant will manufacture polyphenol and oligosaccharide, which can be made into livestock feed, using the same raw material and process to raise the economic benefit of using bagasse and the company will pursue commercialization through the demonstration project. 

Toray places environment as the linchpin of its business strategy so as to contribute to the realization of a sustainable low-carbon society, and under this management policy, the company has established itself as a pioneering comprehensive chemical manufacturer in Japan to promote LCM environment management based on the LCA concept. As part of its endeavor, Toray will actively pursue open innovation between different industries related to bioconversion technology using membranes and drive forward the development of supply chain and provisioning of solutions.

Source: Toray