ENVALIOR ANNOUNCES NEW PPS COMPOUNDING FACILITY IN EUROPE

Envalior launches new PPS compounding facility in Uerdingen, Germany.

New facility supports growing demand for Xytron™ in Europe and the Americas.

To better serve growing customer demand in Europe and the Americas, Envalior – a global leader in sustainable and high-performance engineering materials – announces that it will invest in a PPS (Polyphenylene Sulfide) compounding facility in Europe.

Envalior’s PPS material Xytron™ combines a strong set of properties, including excellent chemical and hydrolysis resistance at elevated temperatures, extremely stable heat aging performance up to 240°C, very good and stable electrical properties at elevated temperatures, low moisture absorption with high dimensional stability, and inherent flame retardance that meets UL94 V0. 

Since 2016, when Xytron™ entered the market, the PPS material has built a strong track record across OEMs and tier customers. The new facility will provide local supply and additional services to customers in Europe while also supporting the Americas with more diverse supply options.

“Xytron™ is now widely recognized as one of the most high-performance, innovative, and sustainable PPS brands in the market. We are observing increased demand for Xytron™, particularly from customers in Europe and the Americas. Our strategy focuses on increased convenience and better service, including increased agility for new product development and technical support, enhanced sample availability, shorter lead times and improved security of supply," said Angela Zheng, Global Business Manager for Xytron™ at Envalior.

Xytron™ PPS production in Uerdingen, Germany is expected to begin in the second half of 2025. 

source: Envalior

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: Sulzer launches PyroConTM to enhance plastic and biomass waste reduction

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Sulzer’s new PyroCon technology rapidly cools the gases emitted during pyrolysis, a process that heats and liquefies plastic without oxygen, limiting harmful pollutants. The resulting pyrolysis oil can be used as a fuel or refined to produce valuable chemicals. PyroCon's rapid cooling (quenching) of the pyrolysis gases prevents further chemical reactions and potential product degradation, improving quality and yield for the circular economy and helping to reduce plastic waste.

Drawing on its success at Indaver’s Plastics2Chemicals plant in Belgium, and the legacy of its plastic waste projects at Quantafuel (Denmark) and Carboliq (Germany), Sulzer is proud to add PyroCon, its new rapid condensing technology for biomass and plastic pyrolysis, to its portfolio of chemical technology solutions.

Improving quality and yields:

PyroCon addresses key critical operational challenges including anti-fouling technology, low maintenance design, flexible capacity and feedstocks, ranging from polyolefins (PP/PE) and polystyrene (PS) to bio-mass waste residues. The solution is further designed to allow optimal reaction control for pyrolysis processes by rapidly quenching pyrolysis products, leading to increased yields.

Promoting a circular economy :

PyroCon optimizes superheated vapor condensation through unique liquid recirculation in a compact design capable of handling up to 600°C vapor inlet temperatures, joining other Sulzer Chemtech solutions that are essential to promoting circularity for solvents, chemicals, and plastics. “We are continually striving to improve efficiencies and create value for our clients,” said Tim Schulten, President of Sulzer Chemtech. “Our new PyroCon technology effectively ensures the integrity of the plastics and bio-waste pyrolysis process, making it a valuable technology for sustainable waste management and energy recovery.” 

source:Sulzer

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastics Recycling Routes

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

The increase in the usage of carbon fibres has led to the production of a significant amount of waste.

This has become a global issue because valuable carbon fibre waste ends up in landfill.

Recycling this huge amount of waste is one of the best ways to reduce this environmental impact while meeting global demand for this material in industrial applications.

The commercially viable CF recycling methods can be broadly categorized into mechanical, thermal, and chemical recycling.

Mechanical Recycling: Mechanical recycling is the physical process that breaks carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) into smaller pieces

Thermal Recycling: When waste material is subjected to high temperatures (450–700 ◦C) under controlled conditions, the frivolous material gets burned away and only the desirable fibers are obtained.

Chemical Recycling: In this technique, the CFRPs are crushed into smaller pieces using mechanical means which are then treated with chemicals which leads to the decomposition of the polymer matrix, leaving the desired carbon fibers as residue.

Want to learn how this waste can be turned into opportunity? Read whitepaper on recycled carbon fiber now: https://lnkd.in/djWi5p_4

source:Composights.com

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:Spiral Flow Test

 Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

So, you do your spiral mold test and conclude that Polymer B has a lower viscosity.....

Maybe not !

When spiral flow is conducted "the old way", i.e. under essentially controlled pressure, the flow stops necessarily at freeze-off. So the ranking of spiral flow length may reflect the thermal conductivity of your material much more than its viscosity. A lower viscosity grade with 50% GF may freeze faster than a higher viscosity grade with only 20%GF.

If you want your spiral flow test to correctly reflect the viscosity ranking, you must mold the spirals under strict constant filling rate and switchover to ZERO packing.

In my experience, few people do this correctly...

source:Vito leo

INOXAP commissions India’s first Ultra-High Purity Electronic Grade Nitrous Oxide Plant

India’s largest industrial gases manufacturer, INOX Air Products (INOXAP), has announced the commissioning of India’s first Ultra High Purity (UHP) Electronic Grade Nitrous Oxide Plant with a capacity of 1700 Tons Per Annum (TPA) at Manali, Chennai. The state-of-the-art facility would produce UHP Electronic Grade Nitrous Oxide with an exceptional 6N (99.9999%) purity level, adhering to tightly controlled specifications for ensuring minimal contamination. The Plant’s capabilities make it a transformative solution for the electronic, semiconductor and solar industries,while ensuring superlative quality for the final product. With ready availability of Nitrous Oxide, a critical input for the solar and semiconductor segment, the commissioning of this Plant strengthens the gases and chemicals supply chain for the electronics industry through import substitution.

As an industry-first, INOXAP’s Nitrous Oxide Plant is a pioneering move, which showcases its intent to stay ahead of the curve in order to augment the high-tech sectors. Aligned with the goals of India Semiconductor Mission, the Plant aims at driving advanced manufacturing and fostering self-reliance in high-tech sectors. The Plant also depicts INOXAP’s commitment to sustainability and energy-transition.

Sharing his views on the commissioning of the plant, Siddharth Jain, Managing Director – INOX Air Products said, “The commissioning of India’s first Ultra-High Purity Nitrous Oxide plant is a strong testament of INOXAP’s capabilities of creating powerful assets and solutions that create tremendous value for its stakeholders. We are committed to make our country self-reliant while building a strong supply chain for essential gases for the electronics, solar and semiconductor segments. We are constantly evaluating opportunities to invest towards building product offerings for next-gen technology sectors which will define India’s future economic growth trajectory.”

Nitrous Oxide’s unique properties contribute to the precision, efficiency, and environmental sustainability of processes crucial for creating the electronic devices. Nitrous Oxide plays a critical and multi-faceted role in the electronic devices industry, particularly in gas-phase chemical deposition for the production of solar PV cells and semiconductors (chips, circuits, and transistors). It reacts with Silane or other silicon precursors to create high-quality oxide films, used as electrical insulators in microelectronic transistors. It also serves as an oxygen precursor for silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, low-k dielectric thin films and metallic oxides.

source:Inox Air products

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : EPA Finalizes TSCA Risk Evaluation for Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP):

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

EPA Finalizes TSCA Risk Evaluation for Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP):

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final risk evaluation for diisononyl phthalate (DINP) conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA has determined that DINP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health, because workers could be exposed to high concentrations of DINP in mist when spraying adhesive, sealant, paint, and coating products that contain DINP. DINP can cause developmental toxicity and harm the liver and can cause cancer at higher rates of exposure. Also, DINP can harm the developing male reproductive system, known as “phthalate syndrome” (e.g., decreased fetal testicular testosterone, male reproductive tract malformations, male nipple retention, and decreased male fertility). Therefore, EPA is including DINP in its cumulative risk analysis for six phthalates that demonstrate effects consistent with phthalate syndrome. This draft risk analysis was released earlier this month. 

DINP is used as a plasticizer to make flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and to make building and construction materials; automotive articles; and other commercial and consumer products including adhesives and sealants, paints and coatings, and electrical and electronic products. 

Uses and Risks Associated with DINP 

EPA conducted the risk evaluation for DINP at the manufacturer’s request. Under TSCA, manufacturers can request that EPA conduct risk evaluations on chemicals they manufacture. EPA received and granted this manufacturer request for a risk evaluation of DINP in 2019.  

Workers may be exposed to DINP when making products or otherwise using DINP in the workplace. When it is manufactured or used to make products, DINP can be released into the water where most will end up in the sediment at the bottom of lakes and rivers. If released into the air, DINP will attach to dust particles and be deposited on land or into water. Indoors, DINP has the potential over time to come out of products and adhere to dust particles. If it does, people could inhale or ingest dust that contains DINP. 

In the risk evaluation, EPA has determined that DINP poses unreasonable risk of injury to human health when workers are exposed to the chemical under four conditions of use that represent approximately 3% of the DINP production volume in the U.S. EPA found that workers are at risk if they are unprotected from the DINP contained in spray-applied adhesives and sealants, and paints and coatings. Spraying these products could create high concentrations of DINP in mist that an unprotected worker could inhale. EPA did not identify risk of injury to human health for consumers or the general population or the environment that would contribute to the unreasonable risk of DINP.  

source EPA

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Singapore researchers develop flame retardant removal process

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

A paper published by researchers at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) focuses on a method to remove brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from plastic before it is recycled.

BFRs are considered a toxic compound but are found in commonly used and recycled items, including laptops, keyboards and smartphones. When landfilled, BFRs can leach out from discarded electronics and if a recycling process involves heating plastic, that also can release the toxic compounds.

NTU says a research team led by Associate Professor Lee Jong-Min at its School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology has come up with a way to make BFR-contaminated plastic recycling safer.

Using a mixture of 1-propanol and heptane, the process dissolves and removes BFRs from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a resin commonly used in the casings of keyboards and laptops.

According to NTU, the solvents dissolved predominantly BFRs, enabling the researchers to recover more than 80 percent of the plastic after removal of the BFRs.

“The properties of the plastic were also unchanged,” the university says.

The project’s findings were published in a paper titled “Enhanced extraction of brominated flame retardants from e-waste plastics” in Chemical Engineering Journal and highlighted in Pushing Frontiers, NTU’s research and innovation magazine.

source:Nanyang Technological University (NTU)/ recyclingtoday.com