Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Key features of PPE and modified PPE resins

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Key features of PPE and modified PPE resins

Heat resistance:

Pure PPE resin has a glass transition point of approximately 210°C. Modified PPE resins exhibit a range of behavior depending on the partner material used to form the alloy: from high-fluidity grades with heat deflection temperatures below 100°C to highly heat-resistant grades with heat deflection temperatures above 200°C.

• Flame retardance:

The oxygen index (a measure of the quantity of oxygen needed for combustion) for pure PPE resin is 28, a high value indicating that it is relatively easy to make this material flame-retardant. Asahi Kasei's lineup of modified PPE resins includes several grades with excellent flame retardance at the UL94 V-0 level.

• Low specific gravity:

PPE resin is a lightweight material whose specific gravity just 1.06—is the lowest of all engineering plastics.

• Electrical insulation:

PPE resins have high volumetric resistivity, making these materials excellent electrical insulators. The outstanding tracking resistance and other favorable electrical properties of PPE resins make these materials a common choice for a wide variety of products.

• Low water absorption:

Pure PPE resin is a low-water-absorption material. Modified PPE resins retain this advantage, exhibiting minimal change in physical properties and minimal dimensional variation upon water absorption.

• Hydrolysis resistance:

Modified PPE resins boast excellent heat resistance, and the absence of esters or amides from their chemical structures also ensures excellent resistance to warm water and to hydrolysis.

• Resistance to acids and alkalis:

A characteristic feature of modified PPE resins is their strong resistance to acids and alkalis.

• Low dielectric permittivity and low dielectric loss tangent:

PPE resin exhibits low dielectric permittivity and low dielectric loss tangent over a wide range of frequencies and these properties remain largely unchanged across variations in operating temperature and humidity. The low transmission losses achievable with modified PPE resins make these materials a common choice for components of information and communication systems.

• Low linear-expansion coefficient:

PPE resin exhibits the lowest linear-expansion coefficient of all engineering plastics, minimizing shrinkage during molding and ensuring excellent dimensional stability and dimensional precision.

source:Asahi Kasei

TotalEnergies Corbion and Sansu to Develop PLA Water Bottle with Embossed Label

Together with TotalEnergires Corbion, Korean water producer Sansu is developing an embossed label water bottle made of Luminy® PLA bioplastics to speed adoption of recycled PLA as feedstock. This innovation is set to revolutionize recycled PLA production processes, marking a significant leap towards a more sustainable future.

To Significantly Accelerate Processing of PCR PLA Bottles:

Since 2019, Sansu and TotalEnergies Corbion have been engaging in post-consumer recycling of PLA. Traditionally, recycling post-consumer recycled (PCR) PLA has been a cumbersome process involving the removal of labels and caps. It is followed by crushing, cleaning, and shipping in flake form back to TotalEnergies Corbion’s Thailand plant for de-polymerization into lactic acid monomers and subsequent re-polymerization into recycled PLA. Recognizing the inefficiencies of this process, Sansu and TotalEnergies Corbion have reached an agreement to produce a 100% PLA bottle with an embossed label. This will significantly expedite the processing of PCR PLA bottles.

Recent advancements in recycling technology have enabled the seamless transformation of used PLA into new recycled PLA (RPLA). It has certifications equivalent to virgin Luminy® PLA, including food contact approval.

TotalEnergies Corbion specializes in producing PLA with 20% and 30% recycled content, supplying global customers like Sansu. Sansu's commitment to adopting this "bottle-to-bottle" closed-loop cycle underscores its dedication to sustainability by incorporating advanced recycled content into its water bottles.

The partnership between Sansu and TotalEnergies Corbion represents a joint effort to advance the adoption of Luminy® PLA bioplastics and reduce carbon emissions from plastic usage. Thomas Philipon, CEO of TotalEnergies Corbion, emphasizes the importance of such partnerships in driving sustainability initiatives, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 17 on Partnerships for the Goals. He stated, “This partnership is another example of how TotalEnergies engages with partners in the value chain to advance the adoption of Luminy® PLA bioplastics and contribute to lowering carbon emissions from plastic usage.”

The agreement signed by the CEOs of Sansu and TotalEnergies Corbion marks a significant milestone in the pursuit of a more sustainable future. Together, they are pioneering innovative solutions that prioritize environmental responsibility and contribute to the establishment of a circular economy.

Source: TotalEnergies Corbion/omnexus.specialchem

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:modified PPE

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

What are modified polyphenylene ethers?

Modified polyphenylene ether (modified PPE or m-PPE) is the common name for a family of polymer alloys formed by blending modified polyphenylene ether (PPE) resin a type of non-crystalline engineering plastic with various other resins. PPE resin is a non-crystalline resin with a glass transition temperature around Tg=210°C; the primary molecular chains in this resin consist of benzene rings linked by ether bonds, making the resin highly resistant to hydrolysis.

PPE resin exhibits low water absorption and boasts a low specific gravity of just 1.06, the smallest of all general-purpose engineering plastics. PPE resin also has the smallest linear-expansion coefficient of all general-purpose engineering plastics, ensuring excellent dimensional stability. Other advantages of PPE resin include its superior electrical properties, including excellent dielectric permittivity and loss tangent over a wide frequency range. PPE resin is further distinguished by its outstanding resistance to acids and alkalis.

On the other hand, drawbacks of pure PPE resin include high molten-state viscosity making it difficult to mold into desired shapes and susceptibility to degradation in the presence of aromatic hydrocarbon-based solvents such as oils.

Modified polyphenylene ether is also called modified polyphenylene oxide (modified PPO or m-PPO). However, PPO is a registered trademark, and the generic name is PPE.

PPE resin is rarely used in its pure form, but is frequently blended with polystyrene (PS) or other resins to yield a wide variety of alloy materials. Alloys of PPE and PS can achieve complete solubility for arbitrary values of the PPE/PS constituent ratio, and this fact can be exploited to improve fluidity and cover a wide range of heat-resistant behavior, making PPE/PS among the most important of all polymer-alloy systems. PPE resins are also easily blended with non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame retardants to yield flame-retardant materials.

Additionally, PPE may be alloyed with materials such as polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), or elastomers such as SEBS to yield new materials combining the above-noted advantages of PPE resins with the features of the various partner resins.

The process of alloying PPE resin with other resins to improve material properties is known as modification, and the resulting materials are known as modified PPE (m-PPE) resins.

source:Asahi kasei

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:Translucent composite tiles

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Translucent composite tiles for natural lighting and energy savings! 

More than reducing the electricity bill, companies can improve their work environment by including these GFRP tiles, which have high thermal resistance, on their buildings!

In addition to opaque composite roof tiles, Planefibra is adding translucent versions to its product offerings, highlighting their advantage in providing natural lighting to reduce electricity use, while blocking direct solar radiation to prevent overheating in buildings. According to the company’s website, the translucent tiles are made from glass fiber-reinforced polyester and have UV protection film on both sides.

“Natural lighting strengthens the sustainable profile of companies because consuming less, under any circumstances, preserves the environment. It is also an important ally in improving workplace conditions,” Cyrus Muchalski, general manager of Planefibra, says. 

Depending on the dimensions of the building, the season of the year and the incidence of sunlight, Muchalski calculates that companies are able to reduce their energy bill by up to 95% with lighting during business hours when using its composite tiles. “To obtain this result, the ideal is to cover 10% of the shed area with translucent tiles,” he notes.

With a minimum useful life of ten years, composite tiles have high thermal resistance. That is, even in places where the incidence of sunlight is high, there is said to be no risk of the roof deforming. Another advantage is the production of custom-made tiles, which adapt to the various existing roofing models. “Add to that the price, on average, 30% lower than polycarbonate tiles, the main competitor of those made of composites,” Muchalski compares.

Source: CompositesWorld/ #managingcomposites

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:Loss of molecular weight

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

It is correct that the degradation of plastic parts can lead to a decrease in their mechanical performance due to a loss of molecular weight.

However, the explanations provided in some posts I see on this platform may not always be entirely accurate.

The resistance to cavitation, which is the initiation of brittle failure, is controlled by the molecular weight between entanglements (Me) rather than the overall molecular weight (Mw). This means that cavitation will not be greatly affected by a loss of Mw as long as it remains well above Me (which is true in most commercial plastic grades except the very high flow grades).

However, many other mechanical properties, starting already from tensile strength, will sharply decrease as Mw decreases due to progressive disentanglement of the shorter polymer chains. This is especially confirmed by testing polymers at cryogenic temperatures where reputation and plasticity are suppressed.

The above explains why molecular weight does not influence the stress-strain response (measured in compression to avoid failure) while most tensile data will start collapsing with a decrease in Mw.

source:Vito leo

#plastics #molecularweight #entanglement

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share :Marie Curie, née Skłodowska-The Nobel prize in 1911

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Marie Curie, née Skłodowska-The Nobel prize in 1911

Marie Curie was a physicist and chemist who became the first woman to win a Nobel prize. Along with her husband Pierre, she discovered two elements: polonium and radium. She also carried out pioneering research into radioactivity.

Born Maria Skłodowska in Warsaw on 7 November 1867, Marie moved to Paris in 1891 to study physics, chemistry and maths at the University of Paris, where she earned two degrees, supporting herself through her studies by tutoring in the evenings. There she met Pierre Curie, who worked at the university, and they married in 1895. The couple set up a joint laboratory in a basement, building their own equipment for their experiments. At the time no one knew about the effects of radioactivity on the body, so they handled the elements they used in their research without any of the precautions or protective clothing we would use today. Marie even kept vials of what she was working on in her pockets or her desk drawers. More than 100 years after their discoveries, the couple’s notebooks are still so radioactive they have to be kept in lead-lined boxes and handled only while wearing protective clothing.

1898 was a busy year for the couple. Marie had been investigating the unusual properties of pitchblende, a black mineral that is rich in uranium. Two years earlier Henri Becquerel had discovered that uranium salts gave off rays that could penetrate objects in a similar way to the newly discovered X rays, but Marie had noticed that pitchblende gave off much more of what she later called radioactivity than would be expected if uranium alone was to blame.

Excited by Marie’s work, Pierre stopped his own research into crystals to help her grind down tonnes of the mineral in search of an answer. That July, the couple announced the discovery of the element polonium, which they named after Marie’s native Poland. But it still didn’t explain all of the radiation seen in pitchblende. Then, on 26 December, they announced the discovery of a second new element: radium. It took Marie another 12 years before she could isolate pure metal radium from pitchblende and definitively prove its existence.

The couple’s work on radioactivity won them a share of the Nobel prize in physics in 1903, alongside Becquerel, making Marie the first woman to win a Nobel prize. It almost didn’t happen – the Nobel committee wanted to honour only Pierre and Becquerel, but Pierre, alerted in advance, complained and Marie’s name was added. She also won the Nobel prize in chemistry, in 1911, for the discovery of radium and polonium, and the isolation of radium. With this she became the first person to win two Nobel prizes. She is still the only person to have won two Nobels in two different scientific fields.

source:New Scientist/Nobel Prize Organization

Stratasys to test 3D-printed material performance on moon

Stratasys Ltd., a leader in polymer 3D printing solutions, announced that it will provide 3D-printed materials for an upcoming lunar mission to test their performance on the surface of the moon. The experiments are part of Aegis Aerospace, Inc.’s first Space Science & Technology Evaluation Facility mission (SSTEF-1). SSTEF is a commercial space testing service, developed by Aegis Aerospace in Houston, Texas under NASA’s Tipping Point program, to provide R&D services on the lunar surface. The SSTEF-1 project focuses on technology development for space infrastructure and capabilities for the moon and near-earth space. The Stratasys experiments are sponsored by Northrop Grumman Corporation.

In this moon mission, Stratasys will provide 3D-printed samples that will be brought to the lunar surface by an unmanned lander in a carrier structure 3D-printed by Stratasys. Three materials will be the focus of two different experiments led by Northrop Grumman.

The first experiment assesses the performance of a sample coupon part made with Stratasys’ Antero® 800NA FDM® filament filled with tungsten. Antero 800NA is a high-performance PEKK-based thermoplastic with excellent mechanical properties, chemical resistance, and low outgassing characteristics. Adding tungsten is intended to provide shielding against harmful radiation such as gamma rays or x-rays.

The second passive experiment is designed to see how 3D-printed materials perform in space. It will include Antero 840CN03 FDM filament, which features ESD properties for use with electronics and was used on the Orion spacecraft. The experiment will also include a new ESD photopolymer manufactured by Stratasys partner Henkel for use with Stratasys’ Origin® One 3D printers and designed for high-heat environments. This experiment will subject coupon samples of the 3D-printed materials to moon dust, low pressure that can lead to outgassing, and the rapid temperature swings that result from virtually no atmosphere on the moon.

“Additive manufacturing is an important technology for space missions where every ounce of weight matters and high performance is essential,” said Chief Industrial Business Officer Rich Garrity. “This set of experiments will help us understand how to fully leverage 3D printing to keep people and equipment safe as we travel to the moon and beyond.”

Parts will be brought to the lunar surface by an unmanned lander in a Stratasys 3D printed carrier structure made from ULTEM™ 9085 thermoplastic, which is a material also commonly used in commercial aircraft interiors.

source:stratasys.com/jeccomposites.com