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“Through a joint continuous improvement effort, Chevrolet and CSP have significantly reduced the density of the Corvette body panels – from 1.9 specific gravity for the 2013 model year, to 1.6 specific gravity for the 2014 model year to 1.2 for the 2016 model year,” said Christopher Basela, Lead Engineer for Corvette Body Composites.  The mass savings afforded by TCA Ultra Lite is accomplished through the use of a CSP-patented technology that uses treated glass bubbles to replace some of the calciumc carbonate filler, resulting in a lighter density material. On the C7, a total of 21 body panel assemblies, including doors, decklids, quarter panels and fenders, are molded from TCA Ultra Lite.  When combined with CSP’s patented vacuum and bonding manufacturing processes, TCA Ultra Lite offers a premium Class A finish with paint and gloss qualities comparable to metals, including aluminum. The material is able to withstand the E-coat process, and passes all OEM paint tests. It also offer

An agreement signed yesterday by Italian biotech company Bio-on and Cristal Union will see France’s first facility for the production of PHAs bioplastic from sugar beet co-products. The two companies, operating in sustainable biochemistry and sugar, alcohol and bioethanol production, will work together to build a production site with a 5 thousand tons/year output, expandable to 10 thousand tons/year. Requiring a 70 million euro investment, the facility will be located at a Cristal Union site and will be the most advanced biopolymers production site in the world. The new factory will create 50 new jobs specialised in fermentation to produce this revolutionary bioplastic. PHAs, or polyhydroxyalkanoates, are bioplastics that can replace a number of traditional polymers currently made with petrochemical processes using hydrocarbons. The PHAs developed by Bio-on guarantee the same thermo-mechanical properties with the advantage of being completely naturally biodegradable.“We are inves

The U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration announced a $2 million grant to the Port of Port Angeles to retrofit a building that will house the industrial and workforce training facilities for the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC).  “The Obama Administration has taken unprecedented steps to support workforce development and green initiatives and is deeply committed to strengthening America’s workforce and protecting the environment,” said Secretary Pritzker in the U.S. Department of Commerce news release. “This EDA investment supports recycling and environmental stewardship and will provide critical job training in Washington.”  This federal grant was made possible by a $1 million commitment from the Washington State Clean Energy Fund, combined with an additional $1 million in local government funds for the needed dollar-for-dollar match.  "This $2 million federal grant brings the Composite Recycling Technology Center one step closer to its goa

Evonik  Industries has strengthened its position in  C4-based products  and has successfully, and on time, put into operation new production plants in Antwerp (Belgium). Also in the Marl Chemical Park (Germany), the C4 capacities are being increased. For this, the company has invested a total amount in the three-digit million ranges (Euro) in the two sites.  The new plants result in an expansion of capacities for  butadiene  in Antwerp, for the  plasticizer alcohol Isononano l (Marl) as well as for the antiknock agent  MTBE  (Marl and Antwerp). According to market analyses, the global demand for these products increases by two to five percent per year.  "By expanding our C4 capacities and the necessary and important investments into the supply of raw materials at our sites, we are sustainably strengthening our market positions. At the same time we are supporting our customers’ growth plans in Europe and worldwide," said Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Evoni

Evonik Industries demonstrated for the first time in a pilot plant that innovative SILP catalyst systems can work reliably for about 2,000 hours. The high service life is important proof that these economically and ecologically interesting catalyst systems can be used on an industrial scale. SILP stands for Supported Ionic Liquid Phase and describes a technology with which homogeneous catalysts can be applied to solid materials, such as silicon oxides or aluminum oxide, with the help of ionic liquids.  Scientists used the new catalyst systems in hydroformylation, an industrially important reaction that is used in the chemical industry to recover aldehydes from olefins and syngas. Among other things, aldehydes are a precursor for plasticizer alcohols; Evonik is one of the largest producers of C9/C10 plasticizer alcohols in Europe. Prof. Robert Franke, who is responsible for Innovation Management Hydroformylation in Evonik's Performance Materials Segment says, "With our researc

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) announced that it has completed the acquisition of Tecnoelastomeri, a manufacturer and marketer of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) based hot-cast elastomer systems and processing machines, based in Modena, Italy. 2014 sales revenue for Tecnoelastomeri was approximately $12 million. The purchase price was not disclosed.  Hot-cast polyurethanes are used in many downstream applications, including bumper pads, coated conveyor belts, gears, rollers and wheels. These applications are used in the automotive, rail, oil and gas, mining and steel industries among others. Huntsman has supplied MDI for these applications for many years.  Tecnoelastomeri markets its diverse product line globally under a number of well-known trademarks, including Tecnoelastomeri engineering urethane elastomers, Tecnothane polyurethane systems, Rithane specialty polyurethane systems, Castech polyurethane machines and Linthane specialty thermoplastic urethanes (TPUs).  Commentin

This uniquely practical and industry’s UN-RIVALED course, to be offered in Atlanta, GA, USA,   SEPT 22 - 24, 2015 , “Polymer Failure & Defects: Problem Solving Case-Histories” has been attended by 500+ participants with representation from premier global companies. A highlight of the course is the presentation of 50+ Case-Histories of $MM business impact via skilled investigation of problems; solutions backed by PATENTS, PUBLICATIONS in prestigious journals & documented COMMERCIAL VALUE. There will be a major presentation on “How to Identify Innovation Opportunities During Routine Technical Operations”.   EXAMPLE #1: During occasional longer breaks, the extruder froze resulting in lengthy tear-downs & cleaning, thus adversely affecting the productivity. "Melt-Polycondensation" was established as the root-cause. Rather than changing the “near Impossible” manufacturing process for the plastic resin, a change in lubricant system with an unexpected catalytic effec