Orion Launches High-jetness Carbon Black for Engineering Plastics

 Orion launches PRINTEX® chroma 500 BEADS, a high-jetness carbon black designed for the engineered plastics market that demands the highest aesthetic quality.

The new product is part of Orion’s continued investment in developing higher-value grades of carbon black.

Ideal for Applications with Shiny and Glossy Finish:

The beaded furnace black is also the start of a series of new specialty grades for the polymers market.

“PRINTEX® chroma 500 BEADS is a big breakthrough for Orion, offering an excellent balance between high jetness and dispersibility,” said Tilo Lindner, vice president of Global Marketing for Specialty at Orion.

“This is a product our customers have been demanding for a long time. It’s ideal for injection-molded automative parts, household appliances, electronics and other applications with a shiny, glossy finish.”

Orion can offer PRINTEX® chroma 500 BEADS with International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS), highlighting the company’s commitment toward a circular economy. Orion leads its industry with the number of carbon black production sites with the ISCC PLUS certification.

Source: Orion/polymer-additives.specialchem.com

SIMALFA China Wins Interzum Award for Debondable Mattress Adhesive

 SIMALFA® debonding adhesive from SIMALFA China has won the Interzum Award 2024 in the "ESG & Sustainability" category. This award highlights the company’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.

Boosts Recyclability:

Peelable SIMALFA® debonding adhesive provides a solution that helps in the recyclability of mattresses, making production sustainable and efficient without the need for additional investments. It enables easy separation of mattress layers for upcycling and actively supports the circular economy by lowering material consumption and helping to reduce product carbon footprint.

A key advantage of SIMALFA® debonding adhesive is its seamless integration into existing production processes without the need for additional investments or complex adjustments. Production lines can therefore be switched to more eco-friendly alternatives quickly and without interruption.

The adhesive formulation enables the foam layers to be separated without leaving any residues. This is essential for the recycling of mattress materials to increase the service life of their valuable materials.

The low application quantity of the product ensures that material consumption can be significantly reduced. This not only leads to a reduction in production costs but also to a significant conservation of resources.

Features and Specifications of SIMALFA® Debonding Adhesive:

One-component water-based adhesive

Water-based polymer dispersion

Non-yellowing

Low adhesive application quantity

Ideal roller running properties

Short drying time

Fast processing

Single-sided adhesive application

High initial tack and final adhesion

Residue-free separation when dry

Inline production with heat tunnel

“Our goal at SIMALFA® is to stand out as a pioneer of sustainable bonding solutions, especially in view of the challenges of the European Green Deal and the stringent requirements made of the major market players. In SIMALFA®'s debonding adhesive, we offer our partners throughout their supply chains not only the opportunity to achieve their sustainability goals but also the means of strengthening their own market position by using our eco-conscious products,” said Thomas Simmler, CEO of SIMALFA China.

Source: SIMALFA China/adhesives.specialchem.com

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Recyclable resin to motorhome interiors

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share 

Swancor applies its recyclable resin to motorhome interiors 

Motorhomes, also known as ‘homes on wheels,’ combine the functionalities of both a house and a vehicle. They are widely used for comfortable and convenient long-distance road trips and camping adventures.

Cabo Advanced Composite Materials Co., Ltd., based in Changshu, in China’s Jiangsu province, serves both domestic and international markets, dedicated to providing high-quality and advanced motorhome products and services. The motorhome interiors replace traditional metal materials with resin fibre composite materials, resulting in lightweight, durable, shock-absorbing, noise-reducing, and aesthetically versatile features.

In this collaboration, Swancor New Materials utilises the EzCiclo recyclable thermosetting epoxy infusion resin RB511-A/BS, combined with glass fibre, PVC core material, and lightweight wood, using an integrated moulding infusion process. This solution not only enhances product performance but also provides a pathway for customers to achieve a low-carbon economy, aligning with the increasing environmental demands and carbon reduction policies in both domestic and European markets.

The EzCiclo recyclable thermosetting epoxy resin addresses the historical challenge of non-degradable recycling in thermoset composite materials. Notably, it requires no alteration to existing production processes or equipment, ensures recyclability, minimises secondary pollution, and significantly reduces the carbon footprint.

When motorhome components made from Swancor’s EzCiclo recyclable thermosetting epoxy resin reach the end of their service life, they can be recycled and degraded using CleaVER dissolution technology. This process converts waste into regenerated fibres and oligomers. The regenerated fibres can be reprocessed and reused, ultimately forming glass fibre or carbon fibre composite materials. The entire degradation and recycling process is straightforward and low carbon, reducing raw material consumption and promoting a circular economy.

Currently, the EzCiclo product series holds ISO 14021 and ISO 14064 certifications. Composite materials produced using the EzCiclo series achieve a recycling rate of ≥95%. These materials find broad applications across industries such as wind turbine blades, sports and leisure, rail transportation, marine and automotive sectors.

Cover photo: Motorhome with Swancor recyclable resin

source:jeccomposites

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:Banana Fibre for Wound Care

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Indian scientists have made a breakthrough in wound care and sustainability by turning discarded banana plant stems into eco-friendly wound dressings.

The banana stems, usually considered waste, are abundant in India, the world's largest banana producer.

The IASST team, led by Prof. Devasish Chowdhury and Prof. (Retd) Rajlakshmi Devi, combined banana fibres with natural biopolymers to create a strong, antioxidant-rich dressing.They also added extracts from the Vitex negundo plant to fight bacteria and promote drug delivery.

The best part? This innovation is beneficial for both patients and the planet. It promotes healing, reduces waste, and provides a new use for banana plants.

Published in a renowned scientific journal, this research opens doors for a new era in sustainable and potentially more effective wound care.

source:The Better India

CAI Performance Additives announced the launch of PA/ABS Compatibilizer ST-AN3220™.

It is designed to address the longstanding challenge of poor compatibility between PA (nylon) and ABS in alloyed materials.

Offering Good Matte Effect with Improved Heat Resistance:

Blending PA and ABS offers both toughness of ABS and heat and oil resistance of PA. However, this alloy is difficult to produce due to the poor compatibility between the two materials. Traditional compatibilizers fall short, so the launch of ST-AN3220™ can provide excellent coupling solutions for the PA/ABS.

PA/ABS alloys with ST-AN3220™ offer several advantages over the widely used PC/ABS blends, including their low density, good matte effect, greatly improved heat resistance, wear resistance, chemical resistance, processing performance, and a broad range of applications.

Customers enjoy ST-AN3220™ with:

Automotive components

Electronic devices

Household appliances

And many more ST-AN3220™ is a high-performance additive with key features such as high rigidity, low residue, low odor and improved compatibility and mechanical properties.

Source: CAI Performance Additives/omnexus.specialchem.com

 

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Researchers Develop Cool Paint Using Recycled Plastics

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

An NTU research team has successfully developed new methods to create a type of “cool paint” using recycled plastics – namely acrylic, old PVC pipes and polystyrene foam – and barium sulphate, offering a sustainable and efficient alternative to new plastics.

The NTU methods not only help in cooling temperatures in tropical environments, but also contribute to effective plastic waste management.

Can Reach 3°C Below the Ambient Temperature:

In the first method (sol-gel), the research team used recycled plastics and mixed them with barium sulphate (BaSO4), to create their cool paint.

A 24-hour test on the roof-top of a building in Singapore showed that the newly created coating can reach 1.2°C below the surrounding air temperature when exposed to direct sunlight. At night, the coating could reach 3°C below the ambient temperature. The coating can reflect about 97.7% of sunlight and emits 95% of its heat in the infra-red band.

Made Recycled Plastics Porous to Scatter Sunlight:

In a second method (phase inversion), the team also used recycled plastics and barium sulphate to make the cool paint but focused on making the recycled plastics porous by creating tiny air-filled holes in them during the production process. This is because air pores help to scatter sunlight across its spectrum.

Results showed that the surfaces coated with this version of the paint could almost match the surrounding air temperature at noon and achieve night temperature of 2.5°C below the ambient temperature.

The cool paint developed using both methods outperforms commercially available cool paints which typically are unable to bring surface temperatures below ambient. 

Reduces the Need of Sorting

Further investigations using a mix of unsorted plastic waste (mix of acrylic, PVC pipes and polystyrene foam) also showed that results were comparable to those from cool paints developed using only a single type of plastic waste. This suggests that the NTU team’s approaches reduce the need for sorting different types of plastic.

Source: NTU/omnexus.specialchem.com

Lummus Invests in RWDC Industries to Globally Commercialize PHA

Lummus Technology has taken a lead investor position in RWDC Industries' convertible bond round. This further strengthens the partnership between the two companies to bring polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) to the global market.

This strategic investment marks a significant milestone in commercialization of PHA. PHA is a biodegradable and environmentally safe alternative to petroleum-based plastics. It can help mitigate the accelerating health concerns associated with persistent plastics and microplastics in the environment and support the development of a circular economy.

First Commercial-scale PHA Facility to Open in 2025:

Since signing a binding Joint Development and Commercial Cooperation Agreement in September 2023, Lummus and RWDC have made substantial progress in their shared mission to accelerate worldwide adoption of PHA and prepare the technology for global licensing.

The engineering phase of RWDC’s first commercial-scale PHA facility is nearly complete. The detailed engineering and preconstruction activities are set to be finalized in the coming months. Lummus' lead investment in RWDC's convertible bond round will enable completion of these final stages, targeting groundbreaking of the facility in early 2025.

“Lummus’ investment in RWDC is a testament to our unwavering commitment to commercializing PHA and advancing the circular economy of the polymer industry,” said Leon de Bruyn, president and chief executive officer, Lummus Technology. “By combining our expertise in process technology with RWDC’s innovative PHA production capabilities, we are poised to make a significant impact on the world's transition to sustainable and more carbon neutral materials.”

“Lummus’ support as the lead investor in our convertible bond round is a major step forward for RWDC and the future of PHA,” said Dr. Daniel Carraway, chief executive officer, RWDC. “This investment not only accelerates our journey towards construction of our first commercial-scale PHA production facility but also validates the immense potential of our technology in addressing the global challenge of plastic pollution.”

Source: Lummus Technology/omnexus.specialchem.com