Today's KNOWLEDGE Share :LG Chem to Commercially Produce 100% Plant-based Acrylic Acid

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

LG Chem Accelerates Commercial Production of 100% Plant-Based Acrylic Acid

LG Chem is entering the global market with eco-friendly raw materials derived from vegetable oils. The company announced on the 13th Feb 2025 that it will commence the production of bio-acrylic acid in the second quarter of this year. Production capacity shall ramp up to 100 metric tons (MT) of prototype annually.

 

Bio-acrylic acid can be applied to various materials, including cosmetic ingredients that directly contact the skin, super absorbent polymers (SAP) for diapers, adhesives for electronics and vehicles, coating materials, and eco-friendly paints. Although attempts to develop bio-acrylic acid technology have been made worldwide, none have reached commercialization until now.

 

LG Chem's bio-acrylic acid is made from 3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3HP), produced by microbial fermentation of plant-based raw materials. The product retains the same molecular structure and properties as conventional acrylic acid while being entirely plant-based.

 

LG Chem developed its 3HP strain and fermentation technology in-house, earning the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased Product label, confirming it as 100% bio-based last year.

 

Starting with prototype production, the company plans to actively promote the product to sustainability-driven companies in North America and Europe. The cosmetics industry, which increasingly demands plant-based and naturally derived ingredients without compromising functionality, is expected to be a key market for bio-acrylic acid.

 

LG Chem plans to operate a customized bio-acrylic acid production system that can respond immediately to customer needs and is considering expanding production facilities if market demand increases.

 

source:LG Chem

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Researchers Develop 2D Polymer with Conducting Properties Similar to Metal

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

SCIENTISTS SYNTHESIZE 2D POLYANILINE CRYSTAL WITH UNIQUE METALLIC OUT-OF-PLANE CONDUCTIVITY

In a recent study published in Nature, an international team of researchers has developed a groundbreaking two-dimensional conducting polymer polyaniline (2DPANI) that exhibits exceptional electrical conductivity and metallic charge transport behavior. Unlike conventional conducting polymers, which show strong conduction along polymer chains but suffer from poor interchain/interlayer conductivity, 2DPANI overcomes these limitations with its unique crystal structure, enabling efficient electron flow both within and across its layers.

Conducting polymers such as polyaniline, polythiophene, and polypyrrole are renowned for their excellent electrical conductivity and have emerged as promising low-cost, lightweight, and flexible alternatives to traditional semiconductors and metals. The significance of these materials was cemented in 2000 when the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Alan J. Heeger, Alan G. MacDiarmid, and Hideki Shirakawa for their groundbreaking discovery and development of conductive polymers. This recognition highlighted the transformative potential of polymers in modern science and technology. Despite significant progress, these materials mainly conduct electrons along their polymer chains. However, conductivity between the polymer strands or layers remains limited because the molecules don't connect well and the electronic interactions are weak.

To address this long-standing challenge, an international research team from TU Dresden and the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics (Halle, Germany), in collaboration with the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), CIC nanoGUNE BRTA (Spain), and others, has synthesized and characterized a multilayer-stacked two-dimensional polyaniline (2DPANI) crystal through the use of on-water surface chemistry. 2D polymerization has now been achieved for individual monomers, e.g., aniline, which typically undergoes chain-growth oxidative polymerization to form polyaniline. The resulting 2DPANI material exhibits exceptional conductivity not only within its planes but also, remarkably, across its layers, demonstrating unique metallic out-of-plane (i.e. across layers) charge transport. The findings, published in Nature under the title “Two-dimensional polyaniline crystal with metallic out-of-plane conductivity,” represent a significant advancement in conducting polymer research.

This breakthrough opens the door to potentially achieving three-dimensional metallic conductivity in metal-free organic and polymer materials, offering exciting new prospects for applications in electronics, electromagnetic shielding, sensors and other devices that leverage the unique properties of organic 2D crystal materials.

Source: Technische Universität Dresden

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : ARAMINOLIC RESIN

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share 

ARAMINOLIC RESIN:

“This thermosetting araminolic resin is designed to replace phenol-formaldehyde resins currently used in adhesives and composites. Its performance is the same, with interesting properties in terms of moisture resistance, rigidity and mechanical strength.

In order to prepare for a revolution in composite materials, MICHELIN ResiCare teams are currently developing new resins without SVHC, without styrene, formaldehyde, bisphenols nor isocyanates.

Michelin Araminolic resin can be 100% biobased. 

These resins are all plug-and-play with the key composite processes:

Compression molding

Contact lamination

Infusion molding

Molding of pre-impregnated

The intrinsic thermal, fire and mecanical resistance properties of Michelin araminolic resin makes it possible to meet the safety and normative requirements of many areas (transportation, automotive, aeronautics, space and defense).

In addition, the possibility of formulating according to a specification makes it possible to meet your requirements.

Made from beet sucrose and wheat or maize fructose, this biosourced resin has been developed to overcome the toxicity of phenol-formaldehyde resins, which are expensive to manufacture, dependent on Asia and have no existing ecosystem in Europe, while offering an alternative to fossil fuels.

Michelin, we used a phenolic polymer for tyres, resorcinol formaldehyde, but as it is petroleum-based and carcinogenic, we wanted to replace this molecule using retrosynthesis to break down the polymer into two monomers. The molecule discovered is non-toxic and is also found in caramel, honey and certain fruits. As it is similar to an aromatic aldehyde (a natural flavouring), we looked for another name for it and came up with Araminolic“, explains David Doisneau, Technical Director at Resicare, which developed the resin molecules in collaboration with IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN), a leading player in research in the fields of energy, transport and the environment. We now need to work on second-generation sugars so that, in a second phase, we can reversibilise this resin and make it recyclable, which is not yet the case,” says Laurent Lemonnier. “We need to create a specific ecosystem with research organisations in order to have a thorough understanding of the resin. We have already started testing the resin at Michelin,”

Two industrial projects are currently under way, with the aim of launching the product in 2026 and making the resin available on an industrial scale from 2027. “We are waiting for the final round of funding at the end of 2025 to build the manufacturing site for the 5HMF molecule, derived from fructose. It should be located on the Osiris chemical platform at Péage de Roussillon, near Valence, in France. The second unit should be located close to a sugar supply source.

source:Michelin ResiCare

India's First 3d printed Villa

 Tvasta , a Chennai-based deep-tech startup incubated at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, has made history by constructing India’s first 3D-printed villa for Godrej Properties in Pune. This ground-breaking achievement in modern construction uses 3D printing technology to create intricate, futuristic designs with reduced construction time.

The innovative 3D printing process not only ensures faster build times but also reduces material waste, making it an eco-friendly choice. The villa features superior insulation, leading to lower energy consumption. Tvasta’s revolutionary approach is setting new standards in the construction industry, and this project marks a step forward in sustainable and customized housing solutions.

source: thekarostartup.com

#3dprinting

RevBio Issued a Key Patent for its Regenerative Bone Adhesive Technology by the United States Patent and Trademark Office

The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently issued patent 12,178,937 entitled “Compositions and Methods for Adhesion to Surfaces,” which constitutes the 10th U.S. patent that covers the TETRANITE bone adhesive technology. This patent expands the protected technology to include injectable mineral-organic structural bone adhesive compositions that comprise alpha tricalcium phosphate. The issuance of this patent complements RevBio’s existing U.S. patent 11,638,777, which covers the method of repairing fractured bone using the aforementioned adhesive composition. These recently issued patents enlarge RevBio’s portfolio of adhesive compositions for bone repair. The novel TETRANITE biomaterial is also the only patented bone adhesive to include phosphoserine, an organic compound, which has been shown in published literature to play a role in the process of bone regeneration.

"The granting of this patent continues to expand RevBio's controlling intellectual property estate in the mineral-organic bone adhesive space. This novel and very promising biomaterial distinctively combines excellent handling characteristics, weight-bearing strength, and high biocompatibility with unique adhesive and bone regenerative properties," said George Kay, DMD, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of RevBio, Inc.

RevBio (formerly known as LaunchPad Medical) obtained an exclusive worldwide patent license from Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK) to six patent families which cover the bone adhesive technology composition and specific methods for its use. These issued patent families provide patent protection through 2033, resulting in a lengthy period of protection for RevBio to develop and market TETRANITE-based products.

Since 2016, RevBio has filed fourteen Patent Cooperation Treaty (PTC) patent applications to protect and expand its robust and growing patent portfolio for which many of these patents will provide protection of its bone adhesive platform through the year 2043. Four of these applications have issued as U.S. patents while the majority of these applications have published and are at various stages of prosecution in such countries and jurisdictions as the United States, multiple European Union countries, Canada, Australia, Japan, and China. These patent families provide patent coverage for RevBio’s product pipeline, such as compositions including derivatives to the original TETRANITE bone adhesive, expanded methods of use, ancillary devices, and key packaging components.

source RevBio, Inc.

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : More packing needed for Thick Parts

 Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

 Why do thick parts need more packing than thin ones ?

Packing changes the parts size/volume/mass, but not the final density. Whatever is already solid at the end of fill (frozen skin) does not need any packing (shrinkage has already occurred !).

So, as the picture shows (in a slightly exaggerated way) in a thin part/section one only has to pack a tiny fraction of the total volume, whereas in a thick part/section, most of the volume will need to be packed, to compensate for the shrinkage.

Since thick parts are easy to fill and need more packing, it is not unusual to use a packing pressure much higher than the filling pressure. Something that might not fit the default values proposed by simulation...

Always think twice before accepting a default value.

credits:Vito leo

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Researchers Develop Method to Recycle Carbon-fiber Reinforced Polymers

 Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

A team of researchers from Waseda University, led by professor Chiharu Tokoro from the Department of Creative Science and Engineering, have come up with a novel direct discharge electrical pulse method for efficiently recycling CFRPs.

Direct Discharge Electrical Pulse Enhances Carbon Fiber Recycling:

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are used in the aerospace, automotive, and sports equipment industries. However, their recycling remains a major problem. In a recent study, researchers demonstrated a novel direct discharge electrical pulse method for the efficient, effective, and environmentally friendly separation of CFRPs to recover high-quality carbon fibers.

Recycling CFRPs presents a significant challenge, with waste management being a pressing issue. Conventional recycling methods require high temperature heating or chemical treatments, which result in high environmental impact and elevated costs. It has been a challenge to recover high-quality carbon fibers. In this regard, electrohydraulic fragmentation has been proposed as a promising option. In this technique, intensive shockwave impulses generated by high-voltage discharge plasmas are applied along the interfaces of different materials to separate the various components.

Preserves Longer, Higher Strength CFRP Fibers with No Residual Resin

Tokoro stated “In our previous studies, we had already established research expertise in generating shock waves in water using electrical pulse phenomena to efficiently fragment difficult-to-process materials. In applications such as lithium-ion batteries, we discovered that direct discharge, which utilizes Joule heating and vapor expansion of the material itself, is more effective for high-efficiency separation than relying on shock waves.

The direct discharge electrical pulse technique leverages Joule heat generation, thermal stress generation & expansion force due to plasma generation, foregoing the need for heating or chemicals. Researchers compared this method with electrohydraulic fragmentation by examining the corresponding physical properties of recovered carbon fibers, length, tensile strength, resin adhesion, & structural degradation, as well as energy efficiency in terms of fiber separation.

They found that their new technique is more effective for carbon fiber recovery. It preserves relatively longer fibers with higher strength and precisely separates CFRPs into individual fibers without retaining any residual resin on the surface.

Improves Energy Efficiency by At Least 10 Times:

Furthermore, the direct discharge approach improves energy efficiency by a factor of at least 10 compared to traditional alternatives, while reducing environmental impact and promoting resource utilization.

Source: Waseda University/ polymer-additives.specialchem.com