polymerguru

Toxicologists have developed a new  biodegradable packaging  that helps cosmetics firms meet customers’ demand for environmentally friendly packaging at Heriot-Watt University. The new packaging solves a conundrum for cosmetics firms that currently sell organic, ‘clean’ products in plastic containers made from fossil fuel products that cannot degrade and will forever remain in landfill. PLA-based New Packaging The new packaging is made from  polylactic acid (PLA) , which can be obtained from renewable resources like corn starch or sugar cane and is compostable and biodegradable. Polylactic acid (PLA) was selected as the plastic for the new packaging, but in order to improve the performance of this plastic, and to increase the shelf life of the cosmetic product, two different materials were incorporated.  Nano clays and rosemary extract were added as the nano clays improve the barrier properties of the product and rosemary extract acts as an antioxidant to ...

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued an update of the risk assessment of the phthalates DBP, BBP, DEHP, DINP and DIDP for use in food contact materials. EFSA reviewed the safe levels for the five phthalates in plastic FCM and evaluated whether current dietary exposure to them posed a concern for public health. Setting a New Safe Level EFSA experts have now set a new safe level – a group Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) – for four of the five phthalates (DBP, BBP, DEHP and DINP) of 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight (µg/kg bw) per day based on their effects on the reproductive system. The TDI is an estimate of the amount of a substance that people can ingest daily during their whole life without any appreciable risk to health. The key effect on which this group-TDI is based is a reduction in testosterone in fetuses. The fifth phthalate in the assessment, DIDP, does not affect testosterone levels in fetuses, therefore we set a separate TDI of 150 µg/kg bw per ...

It’s piled up in landfills. It clutters fields and rivers, dangles from trees, and forms flotillas of waste in the seas. China’s use of plastic bags, containers and cutlery has become one of its most stubborn and ugliest environmental blights. Actions to Drastically Reduce Use of Disposable Plastic Items So the Chinese government has introduced measures to drastically cut the amount of disposable plastic items that often become a hazard and an eyesore in the country, even deep in the countryside and in the oceans. Among the new guidelines are bans on the import of plastic waste and the use of nonbiodegradable plastic bags in major cities by the end of this year. Other sources of plastic garbage will be banned in Beijing, Shanghai and wealthy coastal provinces by the end of 2022, and that rule will extend nationwide by late 2025. Serious and Systematic Efforts Previous efforts to reduce the use of plastic bags have faltered in China, but the government has indicated ...

ETH researchers have created an incredibly lightweight 18-carat gold, using a matrix of plastic in place of metallic alloy elements. Leonie van ’t Hag has set to create a new form of gold that weighs about five to ten times less than traditional 18-carat gold.  The conventional mixture is usually three-quarters gold and one-quarter copper, with a density of about 15 g/cm 3 . That’s not true for this new lightweight gold, its density is just 1.7 g/cm 3 . And nonetheless it is still 18-carat gold.  Light Weighting Gold Using Polymer Latex Instead of a metal alloy element, van ’t Hag, Mezzenga and colleagues used protein fibers and a polymer latex to form a matrix in which they embedded thin discs of gold nanocrystals. In addition, the lightweight gold contains countless tiny air pockets invisible to the eye. Gold platelets and plastic melt into a material that can be easily processed mechanically. The Process to Develop the New Gold They added the ingredients to...

A new Stanford study shows mealworms can eat Styrofoam containing a common toxic chemical additive and still can be safely used as a protein-rich feedstock for other animals. Natural Breakdown of Chemicals in Mealworm’s Gut The study is the first to look at where chemicals in plastic end up after being broken down in a natural system – a yellow mealworm’s gut, in this case. It serves as a proof of concept for deriving value from plastic waste. “ This is definitely not what we expected to see. It’s amazing that mealworms can eat a chemical additive without it building up in their body over time. ” said study lead author Anja Malawi Brandon, a PhD candidate in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. In earlier work, Stanford researchers and collaborators at other institutions revealed that mealworms, which are easy to cultivate and widely used as a food for animals ranging from chickens and snakes to fish and shrimp, can subsist on a diet of various types of plastic. “ ...

In a major step towards making India a natural gas-based economy and making CNG as the eco-friendly option for long distance transport in the country, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, unveiled India’s first long distance CNG bus. Fitted with composite CNG cylinders, it can travel around 1,000 kilometers on a single fill. The project has been executed by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) and has been achieved through pioneering design of Type IV Composite Cylinders in buses, replacing traditional very heavy Type-I Carbon Steel cylinders. According to Pradhan, these CNG buses are being run on a pilot test, but soon they will be scaled on commercial basis. “Delhi has witnessed revolution in shift towards cleaner, gas based fuels. Over 500 CNG stations are operating in Delhi NCR today and about 1.2 million piped natural gas connections have been provided. Long haul CNG buses originating from Delhi to other locations will further drive this shift ...

Covestro has announced that it is particularly focused on premium packaging materials for high value medical devices that meet increased requirements for mechanical protection, sterilization and dimensional stability. Breast implants are sensitive products that should arrive undamaged at the treating doctor or hospital after manufacture, sterilization and transport. Covestro's Makrofol® MA507 polycarbonate film is well suitable for their packaging because it is highly transparent and allows the physician to reliably visually inspect the implant before unpacking it. It also provides stable protection for the valuable medical device. The comparable product Makrofol® MA336 offers the same advantages, but also features a laminating film on it. Both films are characterized by high tear and impact resistance. They can be easily thermoformed and are fully compatible with the demanding autoclave sterilization process, where they need to withstand temperatures of up to 163 degrees...