Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:The history of fiberglass!

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

The history of fiberglass! 

The use of fiberglass dates back to 1836 when Ignace Dubus-Bonnel received the world’s first patent on a method of making them. At the time, fiberglass was hard to make thin enough to be completely flexible, and no reliable method of mass production existed. 

These problems would only be solved in 1932 by Dale Kleist, a graduate student who was working part-time at Owens-Illinois as a researcher. The company wanted to make glass blocks for architectural use, and its researchers were looking for a way to seal the two halves of a block together so that moisture couldn’t get inside. 

He decided to try a metal-spraying gun with molten glass instead of bronze and discovered that it created a shower of ultrafine, thread-like glass fibers. Owens-Illinois immediately recognized that this was an excellent way to make glass wool for insulation and that it might be adaptable for other applications. 

Four years and the researchers were turning out individual strands long and flexible enough to be woven into cloth. The cloth was remarkably strong, and it could be cut and folded just like ordinary fabrics. 

Bibliographical Reference:

The Fiberglass Story, written by Michael Lamm

source:managingcomposites

Nokian Tyres Signs Agreement with Tire Recycling JV for Recovered Carbon Black

Nokian Tyres has made a long-term purchase agreement with a tire recycling joint venture. The agreement will help Nokian Tyres reach one of its key sustainability targets.

It will help to increase the share of recycled and renewable raw materials in tires to 50 percent by 2030. Nokian Tyres started to use recovered carbon black in a commercial product line in 2022. The long-term purchase agreement enables its increased utilization in tires accelerating circularity and sustainability in the tire industry.

Reducing the Use of Virgin Raw Materials:

The joint venture, formed by e.g. Antin Infrastructure Partners and Scandinavian Enviro Systems, plans to establish end-of-life tires recycling plants across Europe.

It will have a total capacity to recycle up to one million tons of end-of-life tires annually by 2030. The first plant, located in Sweden, is expected to be fully operational by 2025. The deliveries for Nokian Tyres will begin in 2026.

Carbon black is used as a reinforcing filler in tires to enhance their physical properties, such as strength. As virgin carbon blacks are fossil-based, replacing them partly with recovered carbon black decreases the environmental burden of tires’ raw materials. It also accelerates the circular economy of the tire industry, as the recovered carbon black is made with pyrolysis from end-of-life tires.

“The use of recovered carbon black has several sustainability-related benefits. It reduces the use of virgin raw materials and increases the share of recycled ones. The emissions from manufacturing recovered carbon black are over 90 percent lower than those from virgin carbon blacks. On a larger scale, use of recovered carbon black also increases circularity and sustainability in the tire industry,” says Juha Hietalahti, VP, Procurement at Nokian Tyres.

“When introducing new raw materials in tires, one of the most demanding tasks is to find the right balance between raw material selection and tire properties. The use of recycled or renewable materials must not impair a tire’s safety characteristics. The recovered carbon black that we will receive with this agreement is an important step in creating even more sustainable premium tires that provide safety in all driving conditions,” Hietalahti says.

Source: Nokian Tyres/specialchem news

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:PVC in Healthcare

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

PVC Safe and Effective in Medical Devices and Packaging, Study Claims

A new report by the European Chemicals Agency confirms the safe production of PVC in Europe and recognizes its importance in medical device and packaging applications.

A new report claiming that the use of PVC in medical devices and packaging does not pose a significant healthcare risk to those who manufacture the products or to the global environment is garnering industry recognition.

Conducted by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the report confirms the safe production of PVC in Europe and concludes there is no data supporting better alternatives to PVC from a life-cycle perspective. The report also acknowledges the significance of utilizing PVC in medical devices and packaging.

The findings are being touted by the European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers’ (ECVM) PVCMed Alliance, a platform that seeks to raise awareness about the use of PVC in healthcare. In a statement released this week, the PVCMed Alliance shared support of the investigative analysis, which covers the use of PVC and PVC additives as well as a comprehensive analysis of PVC's role in medical devices and packaging, among other topics. The report also confirms that the production of PVC in Europe adheres to the highest safety standards and highlights significant advances in the European PVC industry.

"It is heartening to see ECHA's findings align with our understanding of how PVC is produced today," said Ole Grøndahl Hansen, project leader at PVCMed Alliance. "We are also happy about the nuanced approach to PVC’s role in healthcare from a high-level European authority. We hope the report will contribute to more evidence-based procurement decisions among European hospitals and [boost] consideration of PVC’s potential carbon savings through recycling."

Other points of emphasis within the ECHA report include:

No single alternative material has been identified as a replacement for PVC in all its medical applications, which underscores the polymer’s irreplaceable role in healthcare, according to the PVCMed Alliance. 

There is no life-cycle assessment (LCA) data to substantiate the claim that alternatives are environmentally preferable to PVC.

Advances made in developing new plasticizers address health concerns related to low-molecular-weight phthalates, such as di(2- ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP).

PVC's versatility and cost/performance ratio in medical packaging, particularly in blister packs, are unrivalled.

The formation of dioxins is not directly linked to the amount of chlorine present in waste. Instead, dioxin production is mainly influenced by the management of the incineration process. Current European waste incineration capacity is adequate to safely process waste containing up to 2% PVC.

Significant advances in the European PVC industry have been made through the VinylPlus Commitment to sustainable development.

source:www.plasticstoday.com

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:Molding at Constant pressure

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Historically, early injection molding machines would essentially be pressure controlled.Many good parts have been made under such process control. So, it is not all bad !

However, note that when molding an end-gated fairly long part, a constant pressure fill translates into an ever decreasing melt front velocity, as the pressure drop builds up.

This in turns corresponds to a decreasing average temperature of the melt front along the flow.

Such a decreasing T will create an increasingly strong degree of molecular orientation when moving away from the gate. The part, especially when using semi-crystalline grades, will have a strong gradient of mechanical properties along the flow which could be as serious as showing good ductility near the gate and severe brittleness far from the gate.

source:Vito leo

Flax fibre revolution: sustainable composites enter automotive production with the Volvo EX30

Legislation, competition and electrification are driving significant inno­vation in the transport sector. The automotive industry’s emphasis on zero-emission vehicles aligns with broader efforts to reduce carbon emissions, with a growing focus on sustainable materials beyond batteries and electric motors.

“This is a transformative time for many industries, with com­panies assessing and evolving in line with government demands and consumer expectations, said Per Mårtensson. Responses can range from mitigating the envi­ronmental toll of raw materials and production to improved waste management, as well as developing new technologies that deliver efficiency gains. In the au­tomotive industry, this translates into an increased emphasis on circular, recycled and sustainable materials to support the goal of zero emission vehicles.”

Weight reduction on the scope

One of the current methods used to enhance vehicle effi­ciency is lightweighting, regard­less of the propulsion system. Consequently, manufacturers are actively seeking solutions to diminish the overall mass of ve­hicles while upholding environ­mental considerations. This en­deavour is particularly notable in the sector of electric vehicles (EVs), where battery weight impacts both efficiency and driving range. “The rapid rise of EVs has been a huge shift for the automotive industry, bringing forth new challenges, continued Per Mårtensson.

The weight reduction trend was already present, but now it has intensified as more OEMs recog­nise the significance of sustainable lightweighting, dematerialisation, as well as the need for viable and circular end-of-life options for the materials used.”

The viable, circular options Per Mårtensson refers to just happens to include ampliTex™, Bcomp’s flax fibre-based com­posite technology. It has been featured in a wide variety of ap­plications from tennis rackets and skis to motorsport wings, satellite panels, where its use and that of Bcomp power­Ribs™ have been a resounding success. Now, the company has achieved the long-term goal of integrating its technology into a production vehicle, the new Volvo EX30 small fully electric SUV. With the lowest carbon footprint of any model in Volvo Cars’ history (the lowest carbon footprint of any Volvo car to date statement relates to available products over 200,000 km of driving), the EX30 is launching with the op­tion for innovative natural fibre composites in its dashboard and door trim.

“Bcomp’s work with Volvo Cars to integrate the Bcomp ampli­Tex™ into a global production ve­hicle has been ambitious, reward­ing, and significant”, according to Per Mårtensson. Bcomp tech­nologies have already been used in some of the most extreme scenarios imaginable, but one of the company’s main goals was to efficiently scale and achieve meaningful impact within the transport sector. The inclusion of ampliTex™ panels in a large-scale automotive application is a very exciting advance that highlights the opportunities for forward-thinking vehicle manu­facturers.

A fruitful collaboration

The collaboration between Volvo Cars and Bcomp began in 2018, during the Volvo Ocean Race recycled plastics demonstrator vehicle project, which focused on using recycled and circular materials. This prototype vehicle incorporated powerRibs™ into several semi-structural interior elements, garnering attention from Volvo’s engineering team. In turn, this lead to inclusion of Bcomp technologies in the Volvo Concept Recharge a few years later.

The EX30 is available with four interior specifications, known as ‘rooms’ which provide a distinct ambiance. Two of these rooms include high-quality parts made from ampliTex™, a technical fab­ric made of a flax textile weave. Derived from renewable Eu­ropean-grown flax, ampliTex™ harnesses the natural aesthetic and mechanical characteristics of flax fibres. This fabric enables the production of lightweight high-performance composites with a distinct aesthetic and excellent vibration damping – perfect for interior.

Source:bcomp/jeccomposites

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share :The main properties of composite materials

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

The main properties of composite materials!

As you may know, the characteristics/properties of composite materials resulting from the combination of reinforcement and matrix depend on: the proportions of reinforcements and matrix, the form of the reinforcement, and the fabrication process. 

But what are the most remarkable properties of these materials? 

- Composite materials generally possess very high specific mechanical properties.

- Composite materials do not yield: their elastic limits correspond to the rupture limit.

- Composite materials have high strength under fatigue loads.

- Composite materials age under the action of moisture and heat.

- Composite materials do not corrode, except in the case of contact aluminum with carbon fibers in which galvanic phenomenon creates rapid corrosion.

- Composite materials are not sensitive to the common chemicals used in engines: grease, oils, hydraulic liquids, paints and solvents, petroleum. However, cleaners for paint attack the epoxy resins.

- Composite materials have medium- to low-level impact resistance (inferior to that of metallic materials).

- Composite materials have excellent fire resistance as compared with the light alloys with identical thicknesses. However, the smoke emitted from the combustion of certain matrices can be toxic.

Bibliographical Reference:

Composite Materials Design and Applications - Page 16

source:managingcomposites

EPA Announces New Measures to Address PFAS Pollution and Other Concerned Chemical

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the latest efforts to protect communities and the environment from the health risks posed by certain PFAS.

PFAS are widely used, long-lasting chemicals that break down slowly over time. They have been used in many different consumer, commercial, and industrial products. Scientific studies show that some PFAS exposure is linked to harmful health effects.

Will Deliver the Agenda to Protect Public Health

EPA is proposing two rules that would add to the agency’s comprehensive approach to tackling PFAS pollution across the country. These proposals will also help deliver on President Biden’s agenda to better protect public health and advance environmental justice.

“From day one, President Biden promised to address harmful forever chemicals and other emerging contaminants to better protect communities from exposure, and today’s actions are just the latest from EPA as we continue to deliver on the president’s commitment,” said EPA administrator Michael S. Regan. “Thanks to strong partnerships with our co-regulators in the states, we will strengthen our ability to clean up contamination from PFAS, hold polluters accountable and advance public health protections.”

“States like New Mexico are on the front lines of protecting communities from forever chemicals, and stronger federal regulations are essential in addressing such contamination,” said New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. “EPA’s proposed rules are a direct result of New Mexico’s leadership in holding polluters accountable by treating PFAS like the toxic waste they are.”

Proposing to Modify Definition of Hazardous Waste

EPA is proposing to modify the definition of hazardous waste. The definition applies to cleanups at permitted hazardous waste facilities. This modification would ensure that EPA’s regulations reflect EPA’s and authorized states’ authority. They may require the cleanup of the full range of substances that the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) intended. This includes PFAS, which may present hazards, at permitted facilities. Currently, the regulations do not clearly and accurately reflect the full authority granted to EPA by Congress.

EPA is also proposing to amend its RCRA regulations to add multiple PFAS compounds as hazardous constituents. These PFAS would be added to the list of substances identified for consideration in facility assessments. Where necessary, they would undergo further investigation and cleanup through the corrective action process at hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities.

These proposed rules would strengthen protections for communities and drinking water supplies located near the 1,740 permitted hazardous waste facilities across the nation. Corrective action under RCRA requires facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste to protect health and the environment by investigating and cleaning up hazardous releases into soil, groundwater, surface water, and air. Hazardous waste cleanups are a crucial part of EPA’s focus on environmental justice and help to protect public health in part by addressing disparities in access to a clean and safe environment.

EPA will be publishing these proposals in the Federal Register in the next few weeks. The “Definition of Hazardous Waste Applicable to Corrective Action from Solid Waste Management Units” proposed rule will be open for public comment for 30 days whereas the “Listing of Specific PFAS as Hazardous Constituents” proposed rule will be open for public comment for 60 days. Upon publication, EPA welcomes comments on each proposal.

source:Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/specialchem