The story of the first trucks made with SMC technology! 👀

The story of the first trucks made with SMC technology!

In the 1950s @Kenworth Truck Co. started using composites to build parts with shapes difficult or impossible to form in metal. By the 1980s the majority of their hoods and roofs were made of composites. By 2003, the exterior surface of the truck was about 20 to 40 percent composite, depending on the truck model.

The improved part properties of advanced composites include smoother appearance, and the ability to optimize weight and strength resulting in more durable, cost-effective parts. Since their customers typically run their trucks 120,000 miles each year and well over 1 million miles in a lifetime, any composite used in the trucks must be very strong. 

One of their best-selling trucks at the time, the T2000, made extensive use of composites. For example, sheet molding compound technology was used to manufacture parts such as doors, door openings, and the firewall which separates the cab from the engine compartment. The T2000 roof, at the time, was the largest SMC part ever molded for use in a production application. The tool for this part weighed 13.5 tonnes and would fill a 2-car garage. The T2000 floor material was also very unique. It used a vinyl ester skin and balsa wood core for maximum strength with minimum weight. 

Source:managingcomposites

As Air Travel Rebounds, Boeing Forecasts Demand for More than 41,000 New Airplanes by 2041

 Boeing just released our 2022 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO) forecast showing a $10.8 trillion, 20-year market for more than 41,000 commercial airplanes (all manufacturers) and related aviation services segments. The CMO team has a history of accuracy over many decades and also looks at market trends and breakouts for regions of the world.

News release below, and download the CMO app (app store) or go to our website to geek out on the numbers: https://lnkd.in/gNPu_3G7

Source: Boeing

Biopolymer Market

 Biopolymer Market:

I have completed an assignment on the Asia Pacific Bioplastics market for a well-reputed Fortune 500 company and shared my insights on Biopolymers mainly PLA, PHA, PEF demand and investment opportunities, and existing trends in the biopolymer market in Thailand, China, India, South Korea, etc.

I have covered an overview landscape of the market, Joint venture possibilities, Chinese market existing capacities, government regulations, certification, latest technological advancements, assessing investment structure, etc stated in detail in the assignment.

Metal-lifespan analysis shows the scale of waste

 Mining metals have a rising environmental cost. But high losses and low recycling rates mean that many last only a short time.

Metals might be the foundation of the modern economy, but that doesn’t mean they stick around.

A study looking at the economic lifetimes of 61 commercially used metals finds that more than half have a lifespan of fewer than 10 years. The research, published on 19 May in Nature Sustainability1, also shows that most of these metals end up being disposed of or lost in large quantities, rather than being recycled or reused.

Billions of tonnes of metal are mined each year, and metal production accounts for around 8% of all global greenhouse-gas emissions. So, recycling more metal could help to lower its environmental impacts.

“The longer we use metals, the less we need to mine,” says Helbig. “But before we can identify how to close those loops, we need to know where they are.”

The fact that the economy haemorrhages metals is well documented, says Thomas Graedel, an industrial ecologist at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Losses can occur at any stage of a metal’s lifespan. Some metals are dug up as by-products during mining but are never made into products. Others are lost during use when components or machinery break apart or are converted into other substances, such as fertilizers, that are ultimately dispersed into the environment. But the study found that waste and recycling — when metals end their lives in landfills or at recycling plants — accounted for 84% of cumulative metal loss globally.

Most previous studies that attempted to quantify these losses looked at individual metals without examining the wider context, says Graedel. Helbig and his colleagues amassed and compared data from several industries to see how long different metals stayed useful, how they were lost, and whether they were likely to be recycled.

They found that for many metals, only a small proportion is recycled. Exceptions include gold, which stays in use for centuries and can be repurposed many times, as well as iron and lead. Several metals that have been designated ‘critically important in the European Union and the United States have high rates of loss and low rates of recycling. These include cobalt, a key component of aircraft engines and lithium-ion batteries, and gallium, which has a crucial role in semiconductors used in mobile phones and other devices.

One way to boost recycling would be to mandate that new products are made with reused metal, says Helbig. For example, the European Union is considering introducing a requirement that some types of batteries be made using recycled lithium, nickel, cobalt, and lead.

References

Charpentier Poncelet, A. et al. Nature Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00895-8 (2022)

GACL signs an agreement with NTPC REL for green methanol and green ammonia production in India

 India’s Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Limited (GACL) has entered into an agreement with NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC REL) to produce 75 tonnes/day of green methanol and 35 tonnes/day of green ammonia.

The two plants, which will use renewable energy produced by NTPC REL, will be India’s first commercial-scale green ammonia and green methanol projects, the Ministry of Power said.

“NTPC REL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GACL to realize green energy and green hydrogen objectives and the government’s efforts towards a carbon-neutral environment,” it said.

NTPC will ensure a constant supply of 100MG (megawatts) of renewable energy to the plants.

The methanol and ammonia output will be used by GACL at its Vadodara and Dahej complexes in western Gujarat state to produce various downstream chemicals, the statement said.

The timelines and cost estimates for the project have not been provided.

Source:ICIS

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U.S. Army Wants To Make Sniper Uniforms Out Of Hemp

 Army soldiers aren’t allowed to use hemp-derived CBD even if it's federally legal—but the military branch is now asking for information about using hemp yarn in uniforms to help camouflage snipers.

In a request for information (RFI) posted last week, the Army said that it’s interested in exploring alternative materials to improve uniforms used by snipers to hide from enemy combatants in close proximity. Hemp and jute are among the materials that it thinks could support the “Operational Clothing and Individual for the Improved Ghillie System (IGS).”

“Interest is specifically in a yarn/twine/thread used to break up the Snipers outline made from Jute, Hemp or similar natural fiber,” the notice says.

The Army’s Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment division is “seeking approximately a 48 lb Jute Count, 3 ply, Jute, Hemp or similar natural fiber, yarn/twine in a natural color,” it continues. “The current demand for the Jute/Hemp yarn is 400,000 yards.”

“The IGS is a new and improved Sniper concealment system developed to meet the concealment needs of the Sniper community. The IGS shall have amendable camouflage materials (e.g. jute, hemp, or similar natural fiber) that can be used to change the appearance of the sniper. The IGS Jute, Hemp, or other natural fiber will help conceal the Sniper and Scout during missions allowing them to remain undetected within close proximity of the enemy forces.”

Hemp was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. And while many have come to associate the crop with its derivatives like CBD oil, there’s growing interest in its other industrial applications, especially given its unique durability, versatility, and low environmental impact. Businesses have been marketing everything from hemp fabric in clothing to hemp concrete for buildings.

Now the Army wants to see whether the crop has the potential to better camouflage its snipers. The RFI says that hemp yarn can be spun domestically or imported from other countries, unlike jute which needs to be spun in the U.S. even if the fiber comes from a foreign source.

“The material shall not present a health hazard to the Soldier and must show compatibility with prolonged, direct skin contact,” it says. Also, the material cannot “add a significant amount of weight” to the uniforms. Responses to the RFI are due by July 27.

House Appropriations Committee has also recently identified the potential of the cannabis crop as a cost-effective alternative to plastics, including language in three recent spending bill reports that encourage research into using domestically grown hemp to reduce dependence on plastic imported from China, for example.

Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and member of the Appropriations Committee, is spearheading that initiative.

Source:https://www.marijuanamoment.net/

Templewater is proud to announce the arrival of Hong Kong's first-ever hydrogen double-decker bus

 Bravo Transport Services Limited (“Bravo Transport”), the parent company of Citybus and New World First Bus (“NWFB”) and a portfolio company of Templewater I, L.P., is proud to announce the arrival of Hong Kong’s first-ever hydrogen double-decker bus.

The vehicle is designed and built by a consortium of experts led by Bravo Transport and Wisdom Motor Co Ltd (“Wisdom”), following the success of the electric double-deck bus project. To ensure the vehicle will achieve its maximum potential, we have adopted key components and products from renowned international partners and suppliers. The fuel cell, which is the key component that converts hydrogen into electricity, is provided by the world-leading fuel cell producer Ballard Power Systems and the Type 4 hydrogen storage cylinder system is provided by CIMC-HEXAGON, a joint-venture company of CIMC ENRIC and Hexagon Purus. Both Ballard Power Systems and CIMC-HEXAGON, will work with us to develop the application of existing technology and more hydrogen double-deck buses for ongoing trials in Hong Kong.

For more information -

https://lnkd.in/dM26EbpX