polymerguru

Celanese Corporation, a global specialty materials and chemical company, today introduced a series of strategic initiatives designed to enhance capabilities, strengthen competitiveness, simplify manufacturing footprint, and prioritize continuity of supply to customers of its Engineered Materials business.  Celanese is repositioning its nylon business to create a more competitive and resilient platform for the future, without compromising customer confidence, product quality, or the Company’s ability to innovate on its existing polymer production assets or existing specialty polymerization capability.  A critical step in this nylon transition is today’s announced closure of the Sakra, Singapore, unit, as well as the optimization of the North American nylon 6,6 polymerization production facilities in Richmond, VA and Washington, WV, which is expected to reduce overall polymer production. Celanese expects to operate the Sakra facility through the end of July 2026 to ensure a smoo...

Many plastic products are designed to be used only once, yet the material itself lasts for years. But a new strategy is addressing this problem by creating products that self-destruct on command, known as living plastics. These materials incorporate activatable, plastic-degrading microbes alongside the polymers. One team reporting in  #ACS Applied Polymer Materials used two bacterial strains that worked together and completely broke down the material within just six days, without making microplastics. Zhuojun Dai, a corresponding author on the paper, explains that “the realization that traditional plastics persist for centuries, while many applications, like packaging, are short-lived, led us to ask: Many microbes can break long polymeric chains into smaller pieces using enzymes. Because plastics are polymers, these enzymes or the microbes that make them could be incorporated into living plastics. “By embedding these microbes, plastics could effectively ‘come alive’ and self-...

Borouge International announces the global launch of  #Borcycle™ GE2331SY, a new high-performance, recycled #polypropylene (PP) compound designed for demanding structural automotive components. The material is a finalist in the  #PlasticsRecyclingAwards Europe (PRAE) 2026, reflecting its role in supporting a more sustainable, low-carbon future for #mobility . Established in March 2026 by XRG – ADNOC’s international investment arm – and OMV, Borouge International is a leading global polyolefins producer that designs and manufactures essential materials for modern life. The company brings together Borouge plc, #BorealisGmbH and #NOVAChemicals Corporation – three regionally strong, operationally distinct businesses into a single global platform. Borcycle GE2331SY, is another example of Borouge International’s commitment to delivering materials that enable greater efficiency, durability, and circularity across critical applications—the #glassfiberreinforced compound com...

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐋𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐱𝐠𝐨𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐬 As engineers, we’re constantly balancing performance, reliability, and lifetime cost when selecting piping materials for thermal systems. That’s why I find Pexgol crosslinked PE pipes with EVOH coating particularly relevant for district heating & cooling and underfloor heating applications. 🔧 Material * Crosslinked Polyethylene (PEX-a) * EVOH oxygen barrier coating * Manufactured in compliance with EN15632, ISO 17455 and DIN 4726 🌡 Performance * Wide operating temperature range: -50°C to +110°C * Designed to handle continuous thermal cycling without fatigue * Excellent resistance to corrosion, scaling, and chemical attack 🏗 Applications * District heating & cooling networks * Underfloor heating systems (residential, commercial, and industrial) * Ideal for modern energy systems as well as demanding heating grids 📐 Specifications * Diameters available from 12mm up to 250mm * Fl...

𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐋𝐎𝐈𝐃 The English chemist Alexander Parkes invented and patented celluloid in the 1850s. He dissolved nitrocellulose in solvents and plasticized it with vegetable oil to reduce brittleness. In doing so, he created the first thermoplastic polymer and gave birth to the plastics industry. The first applications were waterproof coatings for cloth, but the earliest processes were inefficient and expensive, ultimately leading to bankruptcy. John Wesley Hyatt learned from Parkes’ failures. His experiments determined the optimal amount of camphor to efficiently plasticize and mold celluloid into stable finished products. Hyatt developed efficient production technology to produce billiard balls and piano keys, previously made from elephant ivory. Buoyed by these profits, he further improved the process to penetrate the garment market. Applications like ...

𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐏 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐎𝐓𝐏 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐏𝐕𝐂 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭. They are not automatically interchangeable at low temperature. Same PVC resin. Similar Shore A. Similar phr. Similar tensile and elongation at 23°C. Then the product sees -20°C. And suddenly the “drop-in replacement” needs a much closer look. The mistake is simple: Using room-temperature QC to predict cold-weather performance. For flexible PVC, Shore A is useful. But Shore A is not cold flexibility. Elongation at 23°C is useful. But it is not cold bend. A plasticizer change can affect: • fusion behavior • plasticizer efficiency • modulus at low temperature • brittleness temperature • volatility and mass loss • aging performance • migration and extraction behavior • retention of flexibility after heat aging DINP and DOTP ...