Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:Bio-circular Torayca carbon Fibre

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Toray Carbon Fibers Europe to supply bio-circular Torayca carbon fibre for HEAD’s prototype racquets

Toray Carbon Fibers Europe and HEAD are leaders in producing premium high-performance products and are committed to reducing the carbon footprint of their activities. The decision to build a partnership to develop new racquets was also based on Toray’s ability to provide bio-circular carbon fibre (mass balance approach) for this project. Toray Carbon Fibers Europe recently obtained ISCC PLUS certification in September 2023 and is able to supply bio-circular carbon fibre using the mass balance approach. Therefore, products manufactured with bio-circular carbon fibre will emit less CO2.

As an environmentally responsibly oriented sporting goods manufacturer, HEAD recognizes there is much more to be done to reduce harmful emissions and protect biodiversity. For HEAD, the goal is to achieve maximum sustainability in all its processes, from manufacturing to shipping. HEAD has initiated the development of prototype racquets using Toray’s bio-circular carbon fibre (mass balance approach) as part of the HEAD ReThink programme to create performance products designed to reduce their impact on the environment.

Part of the Toray Group’s Sustainability Vision for 2050 is to create a world where resources are sustainably managed. The Toray Group aims to build a new materials eco-system that harnesses bio-circular raw materials to make products that at the end of their lifecycle are able to be repurposed or recycled. In providing innovative materials, Toray is actively contributing to addressing global issues and is implementing its corporate philosophy to ‘contribute to society through the creation of new value with innovative ideas, technologies and products’.

‘Toray Carbon Fibers Europe is the European leader in premium carbon fibre and has a strong commitment to carbon neutrality. We are committed to consistently supplying our customers with the most advanced technology in a socially responsible way, thus providing value to society.

Pickleball is an indoor or outdoor game that is played on a level court with short-handled #paddles and a perforated #plasticball.

A mass balance approach is one in which raw materials with certain characteristics (an example being biomass-derived) are mixed with other raw materials (such as petroleum-derived ones) in the processing and distribution process, from raw materials through to finished products. Characteristics are assigned to part of a product in line with the input proportions of raw materials with those characteristics.

ISCC PLUS certification allows us to declare that Toray products are made from biomass or recycled raw materials in a mass balance approach.

‘Bio-circular’ means that the raw materials used to manufacture #carbonfiber are sourced from recycled and/or natural materials such as #sugarbeet waste.

source:www.toray-cfe.com/jeccomposites.com

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:Max Shear Rate

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Sorry to disappoint some of you, but there is NO such a thing as Maximum admissible Shear Rate for a material in Injection Molding.

30+ years back, Colin Austin (Moldflow founder) wanted to put a recommendation in the code documentation and, having no clear answers from suppliers (including me at Solvay) he decided to list some values that were loosely based on a wild guess exercise. Actually an estimated typical shear rate (at some standard T) for a critical Shear Stress equal to an arbitrary fraction (abt 10%) of a Stress at break in the solid state. How wild is that ??

Shear rate does not destroy a polymer.

If chains break, that is due to Shear Stress, not shear rate. If they degrade thermally, it is the result of accumulated shear-heating along the flow. In both cases, shear rates alone CANNOT resolve the risk of damaging the material.

At low temperature (high viscosity hence higher stress) a lower shear rate can be more dangerous than a higher rate at a higher temperature (lower viscosity so potentially much lower stress).

So if you want to say something about the injection rate being too fast, check the stresses or the melt temperature increase. A high shear rate will be a warning signal, at best.

Source:Vito leo

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: Composite Rebar for Construction Sector

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Arkema and Sireg Geotech Develop Bendable Composite Rebar for Construction Sector 

Arkema and Sireg Geotech have developed the world's first bendable composite rebar. It provides an innovative alternative to traditional steel reinforcement. It is based on Arkema's Elium® resin. Sireg's Glasspree® TP bars represent a breakthrough for the construction sector.

Double the Tensile Strength of Steel:

Sireg's fiberglass bars using the Elium® thermoplastic resin have double the tensile strength of steel. They stand out by their remarkable light weight (75% lighter than steel), their corrosion-proof property and their chemical resistance. They show dimensional stability in the event of extreme thermal changes and are also fully recyclable. They contribute to the energy efficiency of structures. Also, they significantly reduce the carbon footprint of maintenance activities.

The Elium® thermoplastic resin ensures a major gain in productivity as well as greater flexibility for the supply of composite reinforcement, thus improving the overall profitability of construction projects. The range of applications of Sireg's Glasspree® TP bars is huge. It can be used for construction, maintenance, repair of buildings, bridges, tunnels, as well as marine and coastal structures, which demonstrates their adaptability.

“Glasspree® TP bars were developed through cooperation between Sireg and Arkema. They represent an innovation in the reinforcement of concrete structures as well as a new benchmark in terms of safety, reliability, and sustainability,” says Sonja Blanc, CEO Sireg.

For bridges these materials ensure an estimated service life of twice that of steel (i.e. 100 years), lighter weight, and superior corrosion resistance in a saline environment, lower lifecycle costs, and a lower impact on the environment.

Source: Arkema/omnexus.specialchem

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Bio-based acrylonitrile

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Bio-based acrylonitrile for carbon fiber manufacture!

"As part of its research with bio-based ACN, Southern Research conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA), comparing biomass-to-ACN manufacture to petroleum-to-ACN manufacture. Results said bio-based ACN manufacture offers a carbon footprint of -1.57 pounds equivalent CO2 per pound of finished product, compared to 3.5 pounds equivalent CO2 per pound of finished product for petroleum-based ACN manufacture. In short, the bio-based feedstock allows for a process that conserves carbon emissions.

"Regarding cost, Southern Research’s process is sensitive to the purity of the sugars feedstock, and the higher the feedstock quality, the more expensive it is. When last spoke to Southern Research, it was getting ready to commission a small-scale production plant and looking for carbon fiber manufacturers willing to assess the quality of its ACN.

source:managingcomposites

Spontaneous curvature the key to shape-shifting nanomaterials

Inspired by nature, nanotechnology researchers have identified ‘spontaneous curvature’ as the key factor determining how ultra-thin, artificial materials can transform into useful tubes, twists and helices.

Greater understanding of this process - which mimics how some seed pods open in nature - could unlock an array of new chiral materials that are 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, with the potential to improve the design of optical, electronic and mechanical devices.

Chiral shapes are structures that cannot be superimposed on their mirror image, much like how your left hand is a mirror image of your right hand but cannot fit perfectly on top of it.Spontaneous curvature induced by tiny molecules can be used to change the shape of thin nanocrystals, influenced by the crystal width, thickness, and symmetry.

Shapeshifting at the nanoscale:

Imagine a piece of paper that, when dipped into a solution, twists or curls into a spiral without any external force. This is akin to what happens at the nanoscale with certain thin materials.Researchers have discovered that when certain types of semiconducting nanoplatelets - extremely thin, flat crystals - are coated with a layer of organic molecules called ligands, they curl into complex shapes, including tubes, twists and helices. This transformation is driven by the different forces the ligands apply to the top and bottom surfaces of the nanoplatelets.

From nature’s design to nanoscale innovation:

The inspiration for this research stems from observing natural phenomena where helical structures are prevalent, from the DNA in our cells to the spontaneous twisting of seed pods. These structures possess unique properties that are highly desirable in materials science for their potential applications in mechanics, electronics, and optics.

Nanoplatelets, with their ability to form helical structures, and exceptional optical properties due to quantum confinement, stand out as a prime candidate for creating new materials with specific characteristics. These could include materials that selectively reflect light, conduct electricity in novel ways, or have unique mechanical properties.

A framework for future technologies:

The implications of this research are considerable. By providing a framework to understand and control the shape of nanoplatelets, scientists have a new tool to design materials with precisely-tuned properties for use in technologies ranging from advanced electronics to responsive, smart materials.

For instance, nanoplatelets could be engineered to change shape in response to environmental conditions, such as temperature or light, paving the way for materials that adapt and respond to their surroundings. This could lead to breakthroughs in creating more efficient sensors.

Moreover, the study hints at the possibility of creating materials that can switch between different shapes with minimal energy input, a feature that could be exploited in developing new forms of actuators or switches at the nanoscale.

source:https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2316299121/nanotechnolgyworld

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:South Korea solved the food waste problem.

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

South Korea solved the food waste problem.

Zero percent of their food waste ends up in landfills.

In 2005, the country actually banned dumping food waste in landfills.

And as many know, landfills are the worst place for food waste to end up.It not only releases methane when it ends up in landfills.But it also becomes a lost resource for another parts of the economy.

South Korea residents separate food scraps from their recycling and other waste.The food waste then gets turned into animal feed, composted or used to heat homes.And residents are billed according to weight of food waste discarded, around $3-6/month.

The program, albeit successful, still costs the government $600 million per year.

A small price to pay to redirect wasted resources elsewhere, be responsible for the true costs of food, and being accountable for the environmental impacts of food waste.

We don't need to produce more food.We need to fix our resource streams.

Some of the solutions we are looking for exist in the food waste streams.South Korea proves our point.

source:Mitch Hinrichs

#circulareconomy

Study Finds Microplastics in Every Tested Human Placenta

University of New Mexico Health Sciences researchers have used a new analytical tool to measure the microplastics present in human placentas.

A team led by Matthew Campen, PhD, Regents’ professor in the UNM Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, reported finding microplastics in all 62 of the placenta samples tested, with concentrations ranging from 6.5 to 790 micrograms per gram of tissue. The study was published in the journal Toxicological Sciences.

Although those numbers may seem small (a microgram is a millionth of a gram), Campen is worried about the health effects of a steadily rising volume of microplastics in the environment.

Used Pyrolysis to Catch Gas Emissions of Different Plastics

“If we’re seeing effects on placentas, then all mammalian life on this planet could be impacted. That’s not good,” says Matthew Campen, PhD, Regents’ professor in the UNM Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

For toxicologists, “dose makes the poison,” he said. “If the dose keeps going up, we start to worry. If we’re seeing effects on placentas, then all mammalian life on this planet could be impacted. That’s not good.”

In the study, Campen and his team, partnering with colleagues at the Baylor College of Medicine and Oklahoma State University, analyzed donated placenta tissue. In a process called saponification, they chemically treated the samples to “digest” the fat and proteins into a kind of soap.

They then spun each sample in an ultracentrifuge, leaving a small plastic clump at the bottom of a tube. Next, using a technique called pyrolysis, they placed the plastic pellet in a metal cup and heated it to 600 degrees Celsius. Then they captured gas emissions as different types of plastic combusted at specific temperatures.

“The gas emission goes into a mass spectrometer and gives you a specific fingerprint,” Campen said. “It’s really cool.”

Polyethylene was the Most Abundant Polymer Found:

The researchers found the most abundant polymer in placental tissue was polyethylene, which is used to make plastic bags and bottles. It accounted for 54% of the total plastics. Polyvinyl chloride and nylon each represented about 10% of the total, with the remainder consisting of nine other polymers.

Marcus Garcia, PharmD, a postdoctoral fellow in Campen’s lab, said that until now, it has been difficult to quantify how much microplastic is present in human tissue. Typically, researchers would simply count the number of particles visible under a microscope, even though some particles are too small to be seen.

Source: University of New Mexico Health Sciences/specialchem