Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Bagworm Silk: Forging a Path to the Future of Fibers

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Bagworm Silk: Forging a Path to the Future of Fibers

Fibers are utilized by society in diverse ways, from clothing to industrial applications. However, petroleum-based synthetic fibers raise environmental concerns associated with their disposal, including their contribution to microplastic pollution. A natural material developed in Japan not only promises to resolve such issues, but also possesses remarkable strength. The key lies in the bagworm—a tiny creature with heretofore hidden potential.

Until now, spider silk has laid claim to being the world’s strongest natural fiber. Its strength is four times that of steel, its elasticity rivals that of nylon, and it can withstand temperatures exceeding 300 degrees Celsius. However, spiders have cannibalistic tendencies that make large-scale breeding for commercial applications extremely difficult.

“Bagworm” is a general term for moth larvae of the order Lepidoptera, family Psychidae. Some 1,000 species exist worldwide, about 50 of which are found in Japan. The giant bagworm (Eumeta variegata) is the most well-known species in Japan. Bagworms spin their own silk to bind bits of leaves and twigs to form the nests they wrap themselves in, as well as to hang from branches for protection from predators and to move from place to place.

“Bagworm silk is made of protein, just like silkworm and spider silk. When we analyzed the amino acid sequences that make up the protein, we found that it has a highly ordered hierarchical structure, which is what provides its high strength,” says ASANUMA Akimune, Ph.D., Executive Officer and Senior Manager of the Future Business Development Office, Corporate Strategy Division at Kowa.

To commercialize this revolutionary natural fiber, Kowa established the Kowa Research Laboratories for Advanced Science in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and began joint research with NARO on the artificial breeding of bagworms. With no bagworm specialists on hand, team members initially spent their days collecting, breeding, and observing bagworm behavior. The first step toward industrial application came with their discovery of a breeding method that leverages the characteristics of the bagworm lifecycle. Whereas silkworms spin silk only for two or three days just before pupation, bagworms begin spinning silk immediately after birth and continue throughout their larval stage. The team then developed indoor breeding methods and established a system for continuous silk collection.

Moreover, bagworms spin zigzag ladder-like silk threads and use them as scaffolding for their movement. Based on this “foothold silk,” Kowa successfully created ultra-thin nonwoven fabric-like sheets at a rate of up to 1,000 square meters annually.

In November 2024, Kowa successfully commercialized bagworm silk for the first time with the launch of its brand MINOLON.

The first product to utilize MINOLON was a new series of Ezone tennis rackets by sports equipment manufacturer Yonex Co., Ltd. MINOLON was used in the racket shaft by fusing it with advanced carbon materials. With MINOLON’s combination of strength and flexibility, the racket’s vibration damping performance improved by 5.8% compared to conventional products.

“Bagworm silk is made of protein and is biodegradable. Since it’s not derived from fossil fuels, there’s no risk of it turning into microplastics after disposal or negatively impacting ecosystems. We currently use it in composites with plastic, but if we can eventually produce composites with bioplastics, we should be able to develop products with even lower environmental impact,” says Asanuma about future prospects.

Kowa is pursuing low-volume, high-value-added applications that make use of the special properties of bagworm silk. The company anticipates the development of applications in unexplored fields such as aerospace where the fiber’s strength can be employed to maximum effect. Manufacturing that harnesses the hidden properties of living organisms like the bagworm is now opening up new possibilities for the future of fibers.

In 2018, the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and Kowa Company, Ltd., a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and optical equipment that also imports and exports textiles and building materials, announced surprising joint research results.

They discovered that bagworm silk surpassed spider silk in all indicators of durability: approximately 2.3 times greater toughness (flexibility to withstand deformation without breaking) and about 1.8 times higher tensile strength (force that can be withstood before breaking when pulled). This research was published the following year in the international scientific journal Nature Communications.

source: The Government of Japan

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Next-Gen UD Tapes: Tailored LM PAEK Solutions for Advanced Manufacturing

 Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

🚀 Next-Gen UD Tapes: Tailored LM PAEK Solutions for Advanced Manufacturing

Modern composite materials must be strong, lightweight, and easy to process. The new LM PAEK UD tapes, developed by A+ Composites, deliver on all fronts – offering next-level performance and broad application potential.

🔬 What makes Victrex LM PAEK special?

LM PAEK (Low-Melting PAEK) processes at ~40 °C lower temperatures than standard PEEK. This significantly reduces energy demand and enables faster cycles, easier consolidation & more consistent results in automated processes like Automated Tape Laying or Overmolding with PEEK.

Slower crystallization also provides better formability and a wider processing window ideal for complex tooling or in-situ consolidation.

🛠️ Tailored Performance for Advanced Manufacturing

A+ Composites’ unidirectional LM PAEK tapes are:

💡optimized for excellent fiber-matrix bonding

💡highly homogeneous in resin distribution

💡thermally and mechanically robust

💡and fully customizable to customer needs.

These produced-to-size tapes can be tailored in width, resin content, fiber type, & spool geometry enabling maximum design freedom and precise process integration.

They support multiple processing methods: AFP, ATL, thermoforming, stamping, over molding, filament winding, compression molding, as well as laser and induction welding. Thanks to their thermoplastic matrix, parts can also be welded, repaired, or recycled later a clear advantage over thermoset systems.

🧵 Fiber Options – Made to Fit

The tapes are available:

Glass fibers: E-glass and S2-glass

Carbon fibers: HT (high-tensile), IM (intermediate-modulus), & UHT (ultra-high tensile)

This selection allows for optimal tuning of strength, stiffness, impact resistance, and thermal properties based on your application.

🌍 Applications Across Industries

Whether for aerospace, automotive or energy markets – LMPAEK UD tapes unlock new possibilities for modern lightweight construction:

✈️ Aircraft brackets, panels,& structural inserts

🚗 EV battery enclosures, motor sleeves

⚙️ Corrosion-resistant pipes, seals, and housings

🤝 A Strong Collaboration

The collaboration between A+ Composites and Victrex ensures both material innovation and supply security. As Jakob Sigurdsson Sigurdsson🎤, CEO of Victrex, states:

📢“With Victrex LMPAEK materials now available in UD tape format from A+ Composites, customers benefit from an expanded supply chain that enhances accessibility & flexibility. This marks a significant step in delivering innovative & high-performance solutions with greater efficiency and reach.

✅ Conclusion

Combining Victrex’s advanced LM PAEK polymer with A+Composites’ processing know-how results in a new class of thermoplastic composites: produced-to-size, highly adaptable & future ready. Whether in series production/demanding high performance parts these tapes deliver tangible advantages in processing, durability & sustainability.

source :A+ Composites

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Study finds 0.005% addition of carbon nanotubes can boost composite properties

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Study finds 0.005% addition of carbon nanotubes can boost composite properties

The #Skoltech Laboratory of Nanomaterials, along with the Ural Federal University and the Institute of Engineering Science Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, have published their findings on how single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can be used to create multifunctional composite structures regardless of their quality when used in extremely small amounts. 

Economic and processing benefits from low SWCNT usage

The article, reporting the findings on the percolation level addition of SWCNTs to #carbonfibercomposites, was published in the Polymer Composites journal. The work is one of the first to experimentally investigate SWCNT defectiveness, connect it with material system multifunctionality, and highlight how this nanomaterial can allow relaxation in typical quality parameters for high-performance materials.

 

“Generally, #nanomaterial parameters are highly controlled during composite and #nanocomposite manufacturing to ensure consistent performance. We wanted to identify where these boundaries lie for property improvement when integrating SWCNTs. SWCNTs only need percolation level addition (~0.005% weight) to cause multifunctional property augmentation, and in this amount, they provide great flexibility and economic advantages for manufacturing processes and performance,” said Hassaan Ahmad Butt, a research scientist at the Laboratory of Nanomaterials and one of the first authors, who equally contributed to the study.

 

Assistant Professor Dmitry Krasnikov, the co-supervisor of the work, commented, “The results were initially quite surprising. Not only did we not expect property development to be independent of #SWCNT defectiveness at these levels, but we also did not expect performance to be similar to works which used 1-2 orders of magnitude higher amounts of carbon nanotubes. The findings strongly show how SWCNTs can outshine their multi-walled counterparts, and in the process, make industrial utilization more attractive.”

 

Professor Albert Nasibulin, the head of the Skoltech Laboratory of Nanomaterials, stated, “Industrial implementation of nanomaterials has always been the key driving force for our research. With our partners working in the aerospace sphere, we were able to investigate SWCNTs in industrial grade materials and applications. The SWCNTs not only promote high mechanical performance but provide exceptional electrical and thermal conductivity paired with self-sensing abilities. This all-round development allows a single material to do multiple jobs, in turn helping to make entire systems less complex, more economical and highly adaptable to cutting edge requirements.

source : Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology/ SpecialChem

KVE and Pinette to offer equipment for the assembly of thermoplastic composites

During the Paris Air Show, #KVE, a subsidiary of Daher, and #Pinette PEI signed a partnership to offer an integrated solution for thermoplastic stamp forming and part assembly by induction welding. KVE indicates that the two companies have a shared vision: to advance high-rate, sustainable manufacturing of structural aerospace components in thermoplastic composites. By establishing this non-exclusive partnership, they aim to offer an integrated solution for thermoplastic stamp forming and part assembly by induction welding. The thermoplastic forming and welding solutions will enable to increase part sizes, reduce weight, improve cycle times, optimise recyclability and cut the productions costs.

KVE’s Managing Director Pierre Rouch states: “The agreement marks an important step for the implementation of the KVE INDUCT welding technology worldwide. Pinette is a leading player in the field of thermoplastic production equipment and we are proud to work together with them to bring integrated solutions to the market.

The complementary business in the field of thermoplastics makes them the preferred partner for KVE. Furthermore, Pinette and our parent company DAHER, both founded in 1863, share a similar legacy.

Pinette PEI’s CEO, Erick Rousseau states: “For many years, Pinette PEI is well known and recognized in the world of composite materials forming, and more particularly for thermoplastics. Joining forces with KVE is an obvious move, that brings numerous opportunities to our customers. Thanks to this partnership, our customers will have a complete integrated solution for material preparation, stamping, welding and NDT control, with a high degree of integration, automation and supervision. This represents a major step forward in the quality and productivity of thermoplastic composite parts. The Pinette PEI teams are very proud to enter into this partnership, and very enthusiastic about continuing to promote thermoplastic composite through this unique global solution.

Within the integrated thermoplastic production equipment, Pinette PEI will be in charge of the system level design and manufacturing of the cell. KVE will continue to provide the welding specific hardware, software and part dedicated weld tooling. The company will also offer its expertise to support customers in welding process development.

The sales teams of the two partners will join forces. In order to promote the technology, a welding set-up will be installed at Pinette’s Tifaani production line to perform R&D programs and test the capability of the different thermoplastic processing technologies.

Cover photo: Pinette PEI‘s world largest thermoplastic press for stamp forming, showcased at JEC World 2025 (source: Pinette PEI)

source: https://pinetteemidecau.eu/en / JEC Composites

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : BASALT POWDER AVAILABLE IN INDIA

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

BASALT POWDER IN AGRICULTURE

Scientific research on Basalt Powder

It is not a fertilizer nor a phytopharm. The basalt Powder, obtained from grinding the effusive volcanic rock as defined by Fabio Fioravanti “represents the mother’s milk of the earth being carriers of primordial forces.

In biodynamic agriculture:

#BasaltPowder is an important ingredient in the composition of the Fladen preparation. Basalt Powder used for the re-mineralization of compost and topsoil with a 5% integration. Re-mineralization of agricultural land.

Basalt Powder is an effective natural method to supply fertility and nutrients to the soil, in extensive & intensive cultivations, those, which most impoverish the soils of mineral elements.

Many studies have shown an increase in cultures yields from two to eight times higher, with immediate effect and with slow release that lasts for up to 24 years.

For example, the application of basalt Powder with a ratio of 150 tons per hectare in woody fields after 24 years produced a wood volume 4 times higher.

Similar results were obtained in crop plants, with more nutrient & fragrance products. Re-mineralization is an important tool for a proper & economical sustainable development, with particular attention to the health of farmland and man through cultivated products. It could play a key role in ecological restoration. For the soil’ re-mineralization we recommend the use of Fine Basal Powder.

In organic and conventional agriculture:

Micronized Basalt Powder purifies only physical action by forming a mechanical barrier on leaves and fruits, creating a thin patina covering the plant’ leaves, this patina does not create difficulties in plant oxygen exchange. Micronized Basalt Powder is a natural corrugator included in the category of “stone or rock powders. The content of silicic acid helps to strengthen the leaves and stems and even the microelements that make up the rock help to strengthen the plant. Micronized Basal Powder also performs mechanical action (physical barrier) & thanks to its hygroscopic characteristics, it can act as a dehydrator by drying the outside of the plants and thus reducing the risks of proliferation and development of parasites

The micronized Basalt Powder sprayed on the olive plant with appropriate dosages hampers the establishment of the “oleaginous bactocera” (olives fly).The vine prevents the proliferation of fungal diseases on the leaf apparatus, & strengthens the plant.

 

List of benefits by using of micronized basalt Powder

– Provides a continuous and slow release of mineral micro-elements

– Increased nutrient absorption capacity by the plant

– Terrain pH Balance

– Prevents soil erosion

– Increases the resistance of the plant to insects, diseases, frost

– Produces more nutritious, more fragrant crops

– Reduces dependence on pesticide and herbicide fertilizers

BASALT POWDER AVAILABLE IN INDIA:

For MINIMUM quantity: 1 ton -100 tons

DM me for the bulk orders.

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Recycling of Multilayer Plastic Materials Through Faster and More Sustainable Processes

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Recycling of Multilayer Plastic Materials Through Faster and More Sustainable Processes

Multilayer plastic materials pose a significant challenge at the end of their life cycle due to the complexity of separating and processing their various components. This difficulty results in lower recycling efficiency and increases the amount of waste that ends up in landfills or incinerators. AIMPLAS is addressing this issue through innovative technologies such as physicochemical delamination, a combination of mechanical separation techniques, and enzymatic recycling. These approaches have enabled the efficient and sustainable recycling of multilayer waste, allowing it to be reintroduced into the value chain or used to produce new recycled plastic products.

This work has been carried out within the framework of the RECIPLUS research project, funded by the Valencian Institute for Competitiveness and Innovation (IVACE+i) through ERDF funds.

Mireia Fernández, lead researcher in Chemical Recycling at AIMPLAS, explained: “Multilayer materials are complex plastics commonly found in various industrial sectors such as food or chemical packaging, the pharmaceutical industry, automotive, electronics, and construction. In the RECIPLUS project, we have explored different strategies to address the recycling of multilayer structures using innovative technologies such as physicochemical delamination with supercritical fluids.

To separate and purify the different components of the multilayer structure, “we used chemical solvents under supercritical fluid pressure and temperature conditions, which allows us to reduce processing time and solvent usage. The environmental impact is lower, and the separated components have higher purity,” the researcher emphasized.

As part of this research, AIMPLAS also optimized existing separation technologies to increase efficiency based on the material mix obtained after delamination. This included various methods such as NIR (near-infrared) separation, air-flow density separation, and triboelectric separation.

“Once the different components of the multilayer material—PE, PET, and aluminum—are separated, they can be reintroduced into the value chain as recycled film, for example, thus closing the loop. Alternatively, they can be used separately in the production of plastic items. With the recycled polyethylene, and after an additive process to modify its properties, we have manufactured plant pots as an example of circular economy in the plastics sector.

Enzymatic Recycling to Promote Self-Biodegradation

In addition to physicochemical delamination, AIMPLAS has also addressed multilayer waste recycling through enzymatic delamination, which involves incorporating enzymes into the plastic material to enable its self-biodegradation. Furthermore, the enzymes have been enhanced through molecular biology to improve their performance.

ACTECO, a company specialized in comprehensive waste management, recovery, and valorization, and CEBIMAT LAB, a spin-off from the Jaume I University dedicated to studying material biodegradation, have collaborated on this research.

The RECIPLUS project is part of the 2024 call for R&D projects in collaboration with companies, aimed at technology centres in the Valencian Community, funded by IVACE+i and the ERDF.

source: AIMPLAS