polymerguru

SABIC Innovative Plastics and Franz Kiel GmbH & Co KG “We worked with SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Starflam resin because it matched our material needs, up to and including molding and design flexibility”, says Mr. Mill, Leader of Development of Franz Kiel GmbH. Kiel chose XGen Starflam resin to make bus and tram seats for public seating. When a bus or tram passes through tunnels, legislation requires the use of flame retardant materials passing the DIN5510 flame retardancy standard. Other requirements of this application were stiffness and material ductility as well as good chemical resistance against aggressive cleaning agents. A big benefit is the possibility to color XGen Starflam PF1004 Z270, thereby potentially circumventing costly painting processes. The molded bus/tram seat each weighs approximately 3 kilograms. All these requirements could only be met by the newly

Wastewater treatment firm Zalaviz opened the dispensing point in the town of Zalaegerszeg, in south-western Hungary. The firm uses the gas produced from organic sources to propel its own vehicles and they also plan that town's buses may take advantage of this fuel in the future. This week, two new filling stations have widened the environment friendly facilities in the country. Besides the biomethane filling station, Hungary’s first charging station for electric vehicles was opened in Budapest. Moreover, the European Union supports the Sustainable and Innovative European Biogas Environment (SEBE) project which studies the scope of sustainable biogas production in the continent. SEBE is carrying out a venture to determined biogas possibilities, policies and frameworks needed to make it a successful renewable energy provider in Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and also Hungary.

In what could be the biggest innovation in motorcycle helmet design since the introduction of the expanded polystyrene foam liner, a UK-based technology partnership has developed a new construction that mimics the human skull’s own protection mechanism. According to the developer of the new “SuperSkin” technology, Dr Ken Phillips, head trauma is the cause of more than 80% of motorcycle accident fatalities. A key factor in these deaths is rotational head injury, serious damage to the brain structure caused by rapid transfer of rotational force to the brain during impact between the helmet shell and surfaces such as the road. Phillips looked to nature’s own construction of the head when trying to come up with a solution. His SuperSkin concept mimics the “skull and skin” structure of the human head, which allows the skin to slip over the surface of the hard skull to absorb rotational energy. “While we cannot prevent road accidents altogether, by creating a helmet that replicates a much st

Owing to the increasing demand of fuel cells, Toho Tenax has developed an improved gas diffusion layer (GDL) using carbon fiber fabric that is meant to be used in fuel cells as an electrode component. The innovation is claimed to perform high-speed roll-to-roll processing. In the absence resins, unlike paper-based GDLs (carbon fiber sheets impregnated with resins), the improved GDLs show better water permeability, lower contact resistance (uniform textile surface obtained by spinning, weaving, and carbonizing), flexibility and strength. The new GDL will be available in 260µm and 320µm thicknesses; the development of 200µm ultra-thin fabrics is underway. This improvement in carbon fiber fabric can enhance performances of mobile devices, stationary power supplies and fuel cell vehicles.

Cereplast, Inc., a leading manufacturer of proprietary bio-based, compostable and sustainable plastics, announced that it has partnered with Sezersan Ambalaj (Sezersan), a subsidiary of Asc Group in Turkey, to produce bio twist films made from Cereplast Compostables® resins. The first-of-its-kind, patented product will serve as wrap packaging for a variety of food products distributed throughout Europe. The Sezersan bio twist film will be manufactured using Cereplast Compostables® 7003 bio resin, designed to provide high strength, toughness and process ability for products. Under the terms of the multi-million dollar agreement, Cereplast will begin monthly shipments of 100 to 150 metric tons of bio resin in December 2010. The new bio twist film has substantial form memory capability (dead-fold behavior) and is heat sealable. The film is also thinner than other twistable product and may be made into opaque or semi-transparent, film-like material. The bio twist film wil

In order to reduce the emission levels and operational costs, the government-owned Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) intends to powered is bus fleet by compressed natural. Consequently, the company recently held meetings with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to determine the proper infrastructure to supply the fluid. "We are keen on shifting to CNG to bring down emission levels of our buses. It would also reduce our fuel expenditure. We had elaborate discussions with IOC, but they said they were not in a position to supply CNG now,'' reported transport official to The Times of India. IOC executives stated they are planning the construction of an LNG terminal at Ennore. "We signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation early this month to set up a Rs 3,000-crore facility,” he added. On behalf of Petroleum Conservation Research Association, V Sivakumar explained: "Delhi government was able to control pollution ther

Partial Hand Solutions has developed prosthetic fingers using thermoplastic polyurethane (PUR) from RTP Company. ‘M-Fingers’ device from Partial Hand has been used as a prototype. The inner structure of the dexterous fingers and multi-position friction thumb is designed using RTP 2300-series glass-filled rigid thermoplastic PUR, which is over-molded with RTP 1200-series thermoplastic PUR elastomer to provide each finger with dexterity. The fingers and thumb have urethane over-molds to provide better grasp and in-molded finger nails for picking up small objects. The rigid PUR material gives strength and dimensional stability to the product. The mechanical fingers are actuated by a Spectra cable that crosses the wrist and is controlled by simple wrist flexion. M-Fingers are normally built using silicone partial hand socket with the appropriate number of fingers and finger sizes to match the sound-side hand. M-Fingers are distributed by Liberating Technologies of Holliston,