Avantium and Amcor Rigid Packaging Partner to Advance More Sustainable Packaging with Plant-Based Polymer Releaf®

Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials, has signed a joint development agreement with Amcor Rigid Packaging USA, LLC a leader in responsible packaging solutions. This partnership aims to explore the use of Avantium's plant-based polymer PEF - branded as releaf® in rigid containers for various products, including food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home, and personal care.

Additionally, Amcor has committed to a multi-year capacity reservation for PEF from a future industrial-scale facility, based on a technology license from Avantium. This agreement guarantees Amcor preferred access to PEF volumes produced by Avantium's future licensee network.

Avantium has developed a proprietary process technology to produce FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), the key building block for PEF (polyethylene furanoate), and is currently in the process of starting up the world’s first commercial FDCA plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. This FDCA Flagship Plant will be pivotal for Avantium's licensing strategy, allowing the Company to sell FDCA and PEF directly to customers while also offering technology licenses to industrial partners. Ensuring sufficient commercial demand is crucial for future licensing partners. The capacity reservation agreement with Amcor demonstrates Avantium's ability to meet this demand effectively.

Releaf® is a 100% plant-based, high-performance polymer that can be recycled in existing PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recycling streams. It is 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. Releaf® furthermore stands out due to its superior barrier properties, which extend the shelf life of food and beverages, its higher mechanical strength that reduces material usage, and its lower processing temperature that cuts energy consumption compared to traditional fossil-based plastics. Additionally, with its lower carbon footprint, releaf® will support Amcor’s net-zero ambitions by 2050.

“This partnership between Amcor and Avantium represents a significant step forward in advancing responsible packaging solutions. It combines Amcor's expertise in innovative packaging with Avantium's renewable and circular polymer releaf®. This partnership enhances our efforts to offer customers innovative, packaging that is better for products, people and the planet ” said Terry Patcheak, Amcor’s vice president of research & development and program management excellence. 

source:Avantium

Panacol Launches Epoxy Adhesive for High-Strength Magnet Bonding

Panacol launches Structalit® 5859, a new adhesive system developed specifically for magnet bonding. The adhesive can be used for magnet/rotor bonding as well as for joining magnets in pole housings.

 

Structalit® 5859 is a one-component epoxy resin adhesive that cures at temperatures as low as 100°C. At 150°C, the curing time can be reduced to just five minutes. The product has an impressively long open time and can be processed for seven days at room temperature.

 

Due to its high glass transition temperature (Tg) of 143°C, Structalit® 5859 has a tensile shear strength of 17 MPa on steel - even at 150°C.

 

In addition, the adhesive has high impact strength and good elongation at break, which enables it to be used with material combinations with different thermal expansion coefficients. Good gap bridging to compensate for production-related tolerances, resistance to aggressive contact media such as oils or coolants and excellent damping properties round off the versatile performance of this new product.

source:Panacol/ echemi.com

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : PPS & mould surface temperature as key to high crystallinity and performance

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

PPS & mould surface temperature as key to high crystallinity and performance

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is a high-performance thermoplastic that is used in a variety of applications, including automotive, aerospace, and electronics. Injection moulding is a common method for processing PPS, but it is important to control the mould surface temperature in order to achieve optimal crystallinity and performance in the molded parts.

In this blog post, we discuss the importance of mould surface temperature for PPS injection moulding.

📌 Key points to consider with PPS & injection moulding:

1️⃣ Mould surface temperature for PPS should be between 135° and 150°C in order to obtain high levels of crystallinity.

2️⃣ "Hot mould" temperatures (above 135°C) are preferred for precision parts as they promote crystallization, resulting in the best overall appearance, thermal stability, and dimensional stability.

3️⃣ After moulding the PPS part, use DSC to check if the part was fully crystallized and as a consequence, all important properties such as thermal and chemical stability, as well as dimension stability are fully developed.

📌 This brings me to the figure below:

It shows the results of two DSC curves. The upper curve shows a not fully crystallized PPS, having a so-called cold crystallisation peak at 114°C (exothermal) and a melting peak at 282°C. The lower curve shows a fully crystallised PPS part having only a melting peak at 282°C.

Check out the full post here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dAAxXHTJ

🔥 New post: PPS & mould surface temperature as key to high crystallinity and performance

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is a high-performance thermoplastic that is used in a variety of applications, including automotive, aerospace, and electronics. Injection moulding is a common method for processing PPS, but it is important to control the mould surface temperature in order to achieve optimal crystallinity and performance in the molded parts.

📌 Key points to consider with PPS & injection moulding:

1️⃣ Mould surface temperature for PPS should be between 135° and 150°C in order to obtain high levels of crystallinity.

2️⃣ "Hot mould" temperatures (above 135°C) are preferred for precision parts as they promote crystallization, resulting in the best overall appearance, thermal stability, and dimensional stability.

3️⃣ After moulding the PPS part, use DSC to check if the part was fully crystallized and as a consequence, all important properties such as thermal and chemical stability, as well as dimension stability are fully developed.

📌 This brings me to the figure below:

It shows the results of two DSC curves. The upper curve shows a not fully crystallized PPS, having a so-called cold crystallisation peak at 114°C (exothermal) and a melting peak at 282°C. The lower curve shows a fully crystallised PPS part having only a melting peak at 282°C.

Check out the full post here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dAAxXHTJ

source: Herwig Juster

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Researchers Use Lignin as an Alternative to Fossil Fuel-based Chemicals in Foam

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

A Washington State University-led research team used an environmentally-friendly preparation of lignin as a substitute for 20% of the fossil fuel-based chemicals in the foam. The bio-based foam was as strong and flexible as typical polyurethane foam. They report on their work in the journal, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering.

New Class of Renewable Building Blocks for Bio-based Value-added Products:

Petroleum-based plastic materials are an increasing waste problem. They take centuries to break down, but they are expensive and difficult to recycle, most often producing an inferior second-generation product. Because it costs more to recycle than to generate new plastic, the plastics recycling rate has consistently stayed below 20%.

“It’s quite novel in terms of the material we generate and the process we have,” said Xiao Zhang, corresponding author on the paper and professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering.

“Our extracted lignin offers a new class of renewable building blocks for the development of bio-based value-added products. It’s basically a no-win situation if you’re using petroleum-based plastics. The ultimate solution is to replace them with naturally derived materials,” said Zhang.

Homogenous with Good Thermal Stability:

Lignin is the second most abundant renewable carbon source, making up about 30% of the non-fossil fuel-based carbon on Earth. It is also notoriously difficult to extract from plants. The material is usually separated during papermaking and biorefining, but these processes often contaminate and significantly alter its chemical and physical properties, decreasing its value. So most lignin is either burned to produce fuel and electricity or used in low-value products, such as for cement additives or as a binder in animal feed.

In their work, the researchers used a mild, environmentally friendly solvent to separate a high-quality lignin from pine. Compared to other lignin formulations, their formulation was homogenous with good thermal stability similar to native lignin. The structural homogeneity is important in being able to produce high-value products.

When they tested their formulation, their product was stable and performed as well mechanically as the conventional foams.

“This work demonstrates that our prepared lignin formulation has a great potential for generating flexible, bio-based polyurethane foams,” said Zhang.

The interest in developing lignin-based polyurethane (PU) flexible foam work was also validated by industrial partners. Zhang’s team will now work with the industrial partners to optimize and scale up lignin PU foam production.

source:Washington State University/omnexus.specialchem.com

Berry incorporates 30% PCR content into its NorDiVent® Dry Packaging Solution to Deliver Sustainability Benefits While Maintaining Marlon’s Mortar Quality

Berry Global’s NorDiVent® Form-Fill-Seal (FFS) film is playing a key role in helping Danish dry mortar specialist Marlon meet its sustainable packaging goals.

Marlon is dedicated to leading the way in sustainability within the construction materials sector, focusing on reducing its carbon footprint, enhancing energy efficiency, and promoting responsible sourcing.

By working in partnership with Berry, Marlon has been able to switch from NorDiVent bags made from 100% virgin plastic to a version containing 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. Alongside this, the film has also been successfully downgauged by 7% while maintaining its strength characteristics.

These reductions are part of ongoing initiatives between Berry and Marlon that will eventually see the inclusion of greater levels of recyclate and further downgauging for which successful trials have already been conducted. Increasing the use of circular polymers is one example of Berry’s commitment to sustainability, which also includes improved recyclability and reducing the carbon footprint of its products as well as utilising renewable resources and refill and reuse systems.

“The ongoing reduction in virgin material usage and incorporation of recycled plastic are critical elements in improving the sustainability of our packaging,” said Søren Hammer, Production Manager of Marlon.

“Nevertheless, specialist products such as ours also need the best packaging in terms of protection and convenience to ensure the highest quality and user experience for our customers. Through our partnership with Berry and thanks to the company’s technical know-how, we have been able to ensure that both requirements have been achieved with no compromise.”

Marlon Dry Mortar is a practical, high-quality dry mortar that only requires the addition of water for it to be used on construction sites. Full protection from water and moisture during transport, logistics, and storage is therefore essential. The durable and waterproof construction of Berry’s patented NorDiVent film, which lets out air in a dust-free manner, provides moisture protection, enabling the Dry Mortar to be stored outdoors.

Importantly, the recycled polymers used by Berry have been independently certified to provide traceability and reassurance on chain-of-custody claims, while ensuring that the NorDiVent film maintains high technical performance, consistency, and quality.

“Berry and Marlon share an ongoing commitment to sustainability in all areas of our operations,” said Neal Geryl, Business Development Director for Berry Global Flexible Films.

“It is very pleasing when partnerships like ours can achieve positive results that deliver real benefits for ourselves and our customers.”

source:Berry Global

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share :Importance of Permeation test on COPV

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Guidance on sorting out Hydrogen Permeation issues on Type 4 Cylinders:

I think I can throw some light on the H2 permeation that creates more concern in recent months in the H2 storage systems market.

Post COVID the hydrogen market boom takes place in the world market and there are a few challenges rising up especially looking at increased pressure requirements that range from 350-700 bar for H2 type 4 cylinders when compared with working pressure on CNG type 4 cylinders.

Hydrogen is the lightest element and it has highly volatile, escapes faster and disperses rapidly before it forms a flammable concentration level.When compare with other gases,hydrogen rises 2 times faster than Helium and six times faster than natural gas at 72km/hr (20m/sec).Volumetric flammable hydrogen concentrations in air starts at 4% and the explosive hydrogen concentrations starts at 18.3%.

The H2 type 4 cylinders factor of safety also increases and need to withstand upto 2000 bar in the burst test in order to meet the stringent international standard ECE R134 for H2 cylinder requirements.The winding time will increase and thickness of the cylinders (from 20 mm to 40 mm) too increase based on the design parameters.There are still many developments can be made with existing epoxy resin system to improve better heat resistance,toughness,strength,chemical resistance etc.In the coming years we can witness lots of changes in the improved Epoxy resin system that can offer better barrier resistance to H2 permeation.

The current type 4 manufacturers should form a team of experts and start focus on adding cost effective additives that will show better result in the prevention of H2 permeation on type 4 cylinders for the overall operations.There's still some certified well known Type 4 cylinder companies do struggle with Gas Permeation on their Type 4 cylinders in the world market.To solve this,the gas chemistry,liner material,epoxy,additives chemistry has to be understand completely to land up with the right solutions that will yield very good results on permeation over the years.

A allowable H2 permeation range that states in grams per day has to be calculated on your cylinder to see where your type 4 cylinders stand on Hydrogen Permeation range. And the better the permeation your composite structure offers,the excellent performance of type 4 cylinders one can witness while in operation for more than 20 years.

While designing your prototype Type 4 cylinders,the main priority you have to give on the Barrier properties of the cylinders as a permeation test is going to give you a lot more problems with your cylinders in the coming years as the certification will be more stringent than today's one.

Muthuramalingam Krishnan

Credit (Photo) :Hexagon Purus

#composites #hydrogeneconomy #type4cylinders #epoxy #carbonfiber #COPV

Graphjet Develops High Purity Green Graphite from Agricultural Waste

  Graphjet Technology, a leading developer of patented technologies to produce graphite and graphene directly from agricultural waste, today announced that it has achieved key breakthroughs in catalyzing graphitization to produce high quality synthetic graphite with its patented green graphite production technology.

“Graphjet's artificial green graphite, produced from palm-based biomass residues, has been tested by an authoritative third-party agency, resulting in a purity level of 99.99% and a graphitization level of 98.8%, both of which exceed the standards of high-quality graphite,” said Aiden Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Graphjet. “These results verify that our patented technology is mature and reliable and that we are committed to providing industry-leading artificial graphite products to global customers, backed by proven metrics that they can trust. These significant innovations further validate our technology as we position ourselves as the world’s leading supplier of green graphite.”

Graphjet’s green graphite technology is the first in the world to produce artificial graphite directly from palm kernel shells, a widely available waste product in Malaysia and Indonesia. Pilot-scale testing has demonstrated that Graphjet’s artificial graphite can achieve purity levels of up to 99.99%, validating the Company’s technology and its ability to effectively compete with all forms of graphite production, including mining and other synthetic graphite operations.

In addition to the high purity levels achieved, Graphjet’s production technology boasts a 98.8% graphitization level. The production process of artificial graphite generally involves such steps as raw material mixing, molding, high temperature and high pressure graphitization, and graphite characteristics modifications. A high level of graphitization is key for the Company’s green graphite technology, as high graphitization demonstrates that the composition of the graphite lattice is highly organized and of a uniform crystal structure which results in improved physical and chemical characteristics. Graphite of this quality is a remarkable material for industries and applications such as lithium ion batteries, thermal management, and graphite electrodes, among others.

“Throughout Graphjet’s process, our core differentiator is our proprietary catalysts formula, which enables us to cost-effectively produce graphite of the highest quality,” continued Aiden Lee. “Maintaining high temperature graphitization for extended periods requires high-quality equipment to control parameters such as temperature, pressure, time and graphitization gas. These factors are critical in determining the graphitization degree and properties of artificial graphite.”

Graphjet has achieved the highest levels of both purity and graphitization among all biomass graphite production technologies, which further demonstrates its suitability for the production of semiconductors and anode materials for high-performance electric vehicle batteries. Notably, the Company’s technological achievements have been validated by third-party labs in China.

Higher graphitization levels signify a higher percentage of graphite crystal formation within a graphite sample. The graphitization level will depend on key factors during graphitization process such as temperature, pressure, time and graphitization gas.

Artificial graphite with favorable heat conductivity properties, stability and chemical properties can be applied in the production of lithium-ion batteries, graphite electrodes, heat management and high-performance porcelain industries. With the continuous advancement of science and technology, the application fields of artificial graphite will be further expanded and demand will continue to increase. Graphjet’s artificial graphite is a high-performance raw material, and its graphitization degree is an important factor affecting its properties and applications. Graphjet’s high-performance artificial graphite will enable the market to foster breakthrough technologies and new applications, signifying a wider range of applications.

Graphjet recently commissioned the world’s first and largest green graphite facility in Malaysia, with an annual production capacity of up to 3,000 metric tons of battery-grade graphite. This level of production is sufficient to support battery production for approximately 40,000 electric vehicles per year. Per kg of graphite produced, Graphjet’s patented technology produces only 2.95 kg CO2 emissions, compared to 16.8 kg CO2 emissions and 17 kg CO2 emissions from natural and synthetic graphite production, respectively, in China. Graphjet’s technology is expected to have the lowest carbon footprint of any graphite production process in the world.

source:Graphjet