Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Agreement of PEF for beverage and food packaging

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Avantium and Plastipak sign offtake agreement for the use of PEF for beverage and food packaging

Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials, has signed a conditional offtake agreement with Plastipak, a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-quality, rigid plastic containers for the food, beverage, and consumer products industries. Plastipak supplies containers and packaging products to many of the world’s largest consumer products companies. Plastipak will purchase the 100% plant-based, recyclable polymer PEF from Avantium’s FDCA Flagship Plant for the use in beverage and food packages, for consumers to use and enjoy in the United States.

Plastipak is driven to develop circular solutions that protect the environment and meet its customers’ exacting standards for sustainability and performance. Over the past year, the company has been actively involved in evaluating the application of Avantium’s PEF (polyethylene furanoate), a 100% plant-based, high-performance polymer that can be recycled in existing PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recycling streams. PEF is for instance included in the Critical Guidance Protocol from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), one of the most universally accepted measures for assessing recyclability in plastic packaging design. 

Plastipak has successfully demonstrated the enhanced performance of PEF in monolayer and multilayer bottle applications. PEF is distinguished by its superior barrier properties, which extend the shelf life of food and beverages, its higher mechanical strength that allows for less material, and its lower processing temperature that reduces energy consumption compared to traditional plastics derived from fossil resources. PEF’s unique characteristics make it an ideal monolayer packaging material and also provide benefits when used in conjunction with PET (polyethylene terephthalate). In multilayer PET packages, PEF serves as an effective barrier layer to ensure product shelf life when a single PET layer is insufficient.

Plastipak, in collaboration with Avantium, is now set to further validate the use of PEF in Plastipak’s food and beverage packages on a commercial scale in the United States market. “As a leading producer of plastic packaging, we are keenly focused on reducing the carbon footprint of our products and at the same time maximize our resource efficiency. PEF helps enable our strategy to introduce sustainable and innovative materials and products to the market”, states Matthew Franz, Chief Operating Officer at Plastipak Packaging.  

Tom van Aken, CEO at Avantium, comments: “We are delighted with the success of the cooperation with Plastipak, making PEF available for monolayer and multilayer packaging for beverages and food in the United States. Plastipak represents an important part of the market for containers for food and beverages, personal care products and household products. With this conditional offtake agreement with Plastipak, Avantium can further scale and build the PEF value chain.”

source:Avantium

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share :Rheological Characteristics

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Enhance your understanding of polymer behavior and their impact on end-use performance with this comparison of two polymers exhibiting distinct rheological characteristics.

Due to differences in molecular structure, these polymers diverge in their non-Newtonian behaviors, particularly in terms of viscosity.

The polymer associated with the red curve shows a significantly wider molecular weight distribution, leading to the absence of a Newtonian plateau in typical measurement windows.

This plateau is shifted out of view and could be observed at very low shear rates.

Interestingly, these polymers have identical viscosities at molding rates but display drastically different Melt Index values, which is a low shear-rate single-point viscosity measure.

In injection molding, the weld-line strength is critical.

The polymer represented by the red curve exhibits longer re-entanglement times, resulting in inherently weaker weld-lines.

In contrast, the blue curve's Newtonian plateau signifies fewer components with long relaxation times, enabling rapid inter-diffusion of polymer chains at weld interfaces.

To effectively identify weld-line weaknesses, conduct creep or fatigue tests, as they are more revealing than classical tensile tests.

Research shows that moderate re-entanglement can recover adequate stress at break in standard tensile testing.

Credit:Vito leo

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Plastic-eating enzyme identified in wastewater microbes

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Plastic-eating enzyme identified in wastewater microbes:

Plastic pollution is everywhere, and a good amount of it is composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This polymer is used to make bottles, containers and even clothing. Now, researchers report in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology that they have discovered an enzyme that breaks apart PET in a rather unusual place: microbes living in sewage sludge. The enzyme could be used by wastewater treatment plants to break apart microplastic particles and upcycle plastic waste.

Microplastics are becoming increasingly prevalent in places ranging from remote oceans to inside bodies, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that they appear in wastewater as well. However, the particles are so tiny that they can slip through water treatment purification processes and end up in the effluent that is reintroduced to the environment. But effluent also contains microorganisms that like to eat those plastic particles, including Comamonas testosteroni — so named because it degrades sterols like testosterone. Other bacterial species, including the common E. coli, have previously been engineered to turn plastic into other useful molecules. However, C. testosteroni naturally chews up polymers, such as those in laundry detergents, and terephthalate, a monomer building block of PET. So, Ludmilla Aristilde and colleagues wanted to see if C. testosteroni could also produce enzymes that degrade the PET polymer.

The team incubated a strain of C. testosteroni with PET films and pellets. Although the microbes colonized both shapes, microscopy revealed that the microbes preferred the rougher surface of the pellets, breaking them down to a greater degree than the smooth films. To better simulate conditions in wastewater environments, the researchers also added acetate, an ion commonly found in wastewater. When acetate was present, the number of bacterial colonies increased considerably. Though C. testosteroni produced some nano-sized PET particles, it also completely degraded the polymer to its monomers — compounds that C. testosteroni and other environmental microbes can use as a source of carbon to grow and develop, or even convert into other useful molecules, according to the team.

Next, the researchers used protein analysis to identify the key enzyme that gives this microbe its plastic-eating abilities. Though this new enzyme was distinct from previously described PET-busting enzymes based on its overall protein sequence, it did contain a similar binding pocket that was responsible for PET breakdown. When the gene encoding for this key enzyme was placed into a microbe that doesn’t naturally degrade PET, the engineered microbe gained the ability to do so, proving the enzyme’s functionality. The researchers say that this work demonstrates C. testosteroni’s utility for upcycling PET and PET-derived carbons, which could help reduce plastic pollution in wastewater.

The authors acknowledge funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, and the Bioenergy Technologies Office as part of the BOTTLE Consortium.

source:ACS

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : FDA Clearance for First 3D-Printed Porous PEEK Interbody System made with Invibio PEEK-OPTIMA

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Nvision Biomedical Technologies™ Secures FDA Clearance for First 3D-Printed Porous PEEK Interbody System made with Invibio PEEK-OPTIMA™

Nvision Biomedical Technologies™, San Antonio, Texas (USA) and Invibio Biomaterial Solutions™ (Invibio Ltd, part of Victrex plc, Lancashire, UK), today announce that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted clearance of the first 3D-Printed PEEK Interbody System made from PEEK-OPTIMA™, a polymer from Invibio Biomaterial Solutions (‘Invibio’) and using the proprietary Bond3D additive manufacturing technology. 

The 3D-Printed PEEK Interbody System from Nvision Biomedical Technologies, a San Antonio-based medical device and implant manufacturer, was co-developed with Invibio Biomaterial Solutions. The system consists of Cervical and Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF) spine devices, each incorporating extensive porous structures that have the potential to promote multi-directional bone ingrowth and improve device fixation, whilst also maintaining PEEK-OPTIMA’s inherent benefits in modulus and imaging.

The use of PEEK-OPTIMA™ - a material that has already been used in over 15 million implants - offers the benefits of mechanical properties closer to those of bone and also superior imaging capability than titanium implants, the latter allowing surgeons to more accurately monitor fusion progression. Nvision’s 3D-Printed PEEK Interbody System is a standout in the field of spinal devices as it is the first to combine PEEK-OPTIMA with the design freedom enabled by the Bond3D additive manufacturing technology to print solid and porous areas for bone ingrowth. 

Brian Kieser, CEO of Nvision Biomedical Technologies, commented “Our partnership with Invibio on this project showcases our commitment to pushing the boundaries of medical device innovation”. Kieser continued “This latest FDA clearance builds on a history of successful co-development between Nvision and Invibio, particularly in spine and foot-and-ankle devices. We are thrilled to introduce the 3D-Printed PEEK Cervical and ALIF lines, available in various footprints and lordotic angles, and all incorporating the same porous design features aimed at promoting bone ingrowth.”

Tom Zink, Senior Vice President of Product Development at Nvision Biomedical Technologies, added “We’re constantly looking at new ways to equip surgeons with the opportunity to get the best outcomes for their patients. Leveraging this cutting-edge PEEK additive manufacturing platform through Invibio enables us to take a more innovative approach in the design process and address previous limitations.”

Dr. Steven Lee, MD a spine and orthopedic surgeon gave a clinical end-user perspective, stating - “These new interbody devices, conceived from the collaboration of Nvision and Invibio, will allow me to further improve the quality of care and surgical outcomes that I can provide to my patients.

Nvision and Invibio collaborated in the development of the 3D-printed PEEK Interbody System, with Invibio carrying out development of the PEEK-OPTIMA and Bond3D technology platform, performance testing early in the process, and eventually filing a new master file (MAF) with the FDA to support this and future regulatory submissions.

John Devine, MD of Invibio said “The proprietary BOND3D advanced manufacturing process used in this device is available through Invibio to allow device companies to realise their innovative designs. Being able to access this process is a breakthrough for device companies because it allows much greater design freedom that would not otherwise be possible with conventional manufacturing methods”. Devine continued, “The combination of solid and highly intricate porous PEEK-OPTIMA structures within the Nvision system allows for potential bone ingrowth to achieve fixation while maintaining the inherent benefits of PEEK-OPTIMA for imaging and bone-like modulus.”

Nvision and Invibio remain committed to continuous innovation in the medical device field, with future focus aimed at expanding the applications of 3D printed PEEK technology to meet the growing needs of surgeons and patients worldwide.

source:Invibio Biomaterial Solutions

KINECO ACQUIRES 100 % SHAREHOLDING CONTROL OF KINECO KAMAN SUBSIDARY

6th October 2024- Goa-based Kineco Limited (KINECO), a leading manufacturer of advanced composite products for the aerospace, defense, and railway sectors, has announced the acquisition of an additional 49% equity stake in its subsidiary, Kineco Kaman Composites India Private Limited (Kineco Kaman), from the U.S.-based J.V. partner Kaman Aerospace Inc. This transaction makes Kineco Kaman a wholly owned subsidiary of Kineco Limited.

Kineco Kaman was founded in 2012 as a joint venture between Kineco and Kaman Aerospace, with the aim of addressing the growing demand for advanced composite parts and sub-assemblies for the aerospace and defense industries in both India and globally. Over the past 12 years, the company has earned a strong reputation for manufacturing complex composite components and sub-assemblies used in aerospace, defense, and space applications. The company has received multiple Gold Supplier awards for excellence in quality and 100% on-time delivery from global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Kineco Kaman has also been a preferred supplier for major Indian defense and space programs, including ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan missions, as well as defense helicopter and combat aircraft programs.

Shekhar Sardessai, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Kineco Limited, expressed his appreciation for the long-standing partnership with Kaman Aerospace, highlighting the company’s consistent performance and world-class capabilities. “In over a decade of partnership with Kaman, we built a company that has demonstrated global competitiveness and credibility in the aerospace industry. We are deeply grateful to Kaman Aerospace for their unwavering support and trust throughout the years,” Sardessai remarked.
Sardessai also emphasized that this acquisition aligns with the company’s strategic focus on deepening its presence in the aerospace and defense sector and will be value accretive to the company in the medium to long term.
He added, Kineco now plans to integrate all of its aerospace & defence businesses into a single SBU to be branded as “Kineco Aerospace & Defence’.
This unification strategy coupled with full control of the SBU, will now position Kineco to pursue more ambitious growth targets.

source:KINECO

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : CARBON NANOTUBES DERIVATIVES

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Plastics are stronger and lighter thanks to carbon nanotubes derivatives

Reducing the environmental impact caused by plastics can be addressed through different strategies, such as the manufacture of more durable plastics or recycling. In general, there are two main types of plastics. The first is thermoplastics, which can be melted and molded to form other objects, although their mechanical properties weaken if they are melted several times. And the second, thermosets, do not melt at high temperatures, since the chains of the polymers that form them are intertwined by chemical bonds.

Thermoset plastics have advantageous properties compared to thermoplastics. They tend to have a higher resistance to impact and mechanical stress, although they are also more brittle. Epoxy resin, silicone or melamine are examples of thermoset plastics, commonly used in construction. To make these plastics stronger, engineers add reinforcement materials such as carbon fibers. They are already used to manufacture objects such as motorcycle helmets or sports equipment, which are very durable although they cannot be easily recycled.

At IMDEA Nanociencia, the Chemistry of Low-Dimensional Materials group, led by Emilio Pérez, is investigating a strategy to strengthen recyclable plastics in a collaboration with the company Nanocore. The plastic studied is a 'covalent adaptable network', whose molecular structure is similar to that of a thermoset plastic but with the particularity that it incorporates covalent– strong – bonds but at the same time reversible between polymer chains. Specifically, they work with imines, whose bonds are dynamic: can be broken by water or temperature, and re-arrange. The novelty of the study lies in the use of a derivative of carbon nanotubes that have a ring molecule around them - mechanically interlocked carbon nanotubes MINTs. The ring molecules are attached to the carbon nanotube mechanically, not chemically, so the bond between the two is very strong, but at the same time allows a certain movement of the molecule along the nanotube. The researchers have equipped the ring with two anchor points (two amines) so that they covalently bond with the polymers. In this way, the nanotube becomes a structural part of the polymer network.

Putting rings on nanotubes: a simple and very effective strategy

Carbon nanotubes are essentially a sheet of graphene rolled up on itself. To join a nanotube with other molecules, it is possible to do so directly by covalent bonds which break the tube a little, add defects and weaken it. The strategy pursued by the researchers uses the mechanical bond – a ring molecule around the nanotube – to integrate the nanotubes into the polymer lattice, preserving all their properties, and maximizing the load transfer from the matrix to the reinforcement. In other words, it cannot be done better.

The concept is simple: by surrounding the nanotube with a ring, the agglomeration of these fibers that makes the reinforcement less effective is prevented. In addition, polymer interaction sites are provided in the ring, which improves stress transfer. Adding only 1% nanotubes by weight to the polymer mixture achieves a 77% improvement in Young's modulus, and a 100% improvement in tensile strength. Remarkably, the mechanical properties of this reinforced plastic remain intact after being melted down and recycled up to 4 times.

The mechanical properties of this reinforced plastic remain intact after being melted down and recycled up to 4 times.

In engineering, the Law of Mixtures indicates that the properties of a compound are the mixture of the properties of the original materials, according to their proportion. The study led by the Madrid researchers confirms that this is only the case when there is an efficient transfer of mechanical stress between both compounds, at the nanoscopic level. In their work, the researchers have achieved maximum efficiency in transferring mechanical stress from the polymer to nanotubes, the strongest material. Nanotubes have a Young's modulus of 1TPa, 5 times harder than steel, being a much lighter material. Adding more nanotubes to the plastic does not make it stronger, as the nanotubes begin to agglomerate and lose efficiency. The key to success lies in the covalent bond between the nanotubes and the polymer.

It all started with an ERC grant

The story of this scientific result begins in 2012, when researcher Emilio Pérez received a prestigious 'Starting' grant from the European Research Council (ERC) to develop an innovative idea: putting molecular rings on carbon nanotubes. With this grant of 1.5 million euros, Pérez consolidated his research group at IMDEA Nanociencia institute. For 5 years, they created mechanical bonds between ring molecules and carbon nanotubes and studied their properties, although without yet focusing on their possible applications. In 2017, Pérez received a call from Nanocore ApS, a Danish company pioneering the transfer of results to the materials production market. They also intended to modify carbon nanotubes, from a biochemical approach. They began collaborating together on a year-long project, and then obtained an ERC 'Proof of Concept' grant that promoted the experiments. In 2020 they would sign a contract of more than 3 million euros to work together on the reinforcement of plastics with carbon nanotubes.

 A myriad of applications

The collaboration with Nanocore continues to explore all the most commercially relevant polymers that can be reinforced. Producing plastics almost as strong as carbon fibers, which can be melted down and recycled, is a dream. A before and after, which can firmly contribute to a new, greener and more sustainable scenario. Pérez explains: “Producing lighter structures, such as cars, planes, etc., would mean considerable fuel savings.” Manufacturing with less material and ensuring recyclability draws a promising horizon.

This work has been carried out at IMDEA Nanociencia and is partially funded by the Severo Ochoa Seal of Excellence awarded to IMDEA Nanociencia (CEX2020-001039-S).

source:IMDEA NANOCIENCIA

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Marie Curie-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