polymerguru

In a recent carbon fiber production demonstration, 4M Carbon Fiber announces that it has produced a 15% stronger carbon fiber while tripling production output using their atmospheric plasma oxidation technology.. The results offer industry-disrupting opportunities for carbon fiber manufacturers, demonstrating the ability to produce better carbon fiber while spreading capital and operating costs over three times the production capacity. 4M is exploring ways to license this technology to end users worldwide. In collaboration with Formosa Plastics Corporation, a commercial carbon fiber producer, and the Department of Energy’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN, 4M’s team oxidized Formosa’s precursor using the internationally-patented technology developed by 4M and ORNL. The fiber was then carbonized, surface-treated, and sized at the CFTF. The carbon fiber properties were then tested at the CFTF using industrial testing methodolo

New Transparent Bioplastic with UV Radiation Blocking Property Researchers at the University of Oulu's research unit of sustainable chemistry have developed a new synthetic and transparent bioplastic that protects from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Biopolymer Made of HMF and Furfural The raw materials used in the biopolymer production are hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural, which are biorefinery products derived from cellulose and hemicellulose. By chemically linking them, the researchers were able to create copolymer parts with both bisfuran and furan-like structures. The bisfuran structure of the copolymer effectively prevents UV radiation from passing through a film made from the material. In addition, the airtightness of the material is three to four times that of standard PET plastic. The material can be used in high-tech applications, such as chassis materials for printed electronics. A patent application is filed for this method. Source: University of Oulu

The Lyding Group has recently developed a technique that can be used to build carbon-nanotube-based fibers by creating chemical crosslinks. The technique improves the electrical and mechanical properties of these materials. “ Carbon nanotubes are strong and are very good at conducting heat and electricity. Therefore, these materials have wide applications and can be used as strong fibers, batteries, and transistors ,” said Gang Wang, a postdoctoral research associate in the Lyding lab, which is at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. New Method Based on Linking Individual CNTs Together There are many ways to build materials that have carbon-nanotube-based fibers. “ Airplane wings can be made, for example, by embedding these fibers in a matrix using epoxy. The epoxy acts as a binder and holds the matrix together .” said Joseph Lyding, the Robert C. MacClinchie distinguished professor of electrical and compu

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 protect the cosmeti

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 water an