polymerguru

Together with TotalEnergires Corbion, Korean water producer Sansu is developing an embossed label water bottle made of Luminy® PLA bioplastics to speed adoption of recycled PLA as feedstock. This innovation is set to revolutionize recycled PLA production processes, marking a significant leap towards a more sustainable future. To Significantly Accelerate Processing of PCR PLA Bottles: Since 2019, Sansu and TotalEnergies Corbion have been engaging in post-consumer recycling of PLA. Traditionally, recycling post-consumer recycled (PCR) PLA has been a cumbersome process involving the removal of labels and caps. It is followed by crushing, cleaning, and shipping in flake form back to TotalEnergies Corbion’s Thailand plant for de-polymerization into lactic acid monomers and subsequent re-polymerization into recycled PLA. Recognizing the inefficiencies of this process, Sansu and TotalEnergies Corbion have reached an agreement to produce a 100% PLA bottle with an embossed label. This will sign

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share What are modified polyphenylene ethers? Modified polyphenylene ether (modified PPE or m-PPE) is the common name for a family of polymer alloys formed by blending modified polyphenylene ether (PPE) resin a type of non-crystalline engineering plastic with various other resins. PPE resin is a non-crystalline resin with a glass transition temperature around Tg=210°C; the primary molecular chains in this resin consist of benzene rings linked by ether bonds, making the resin highly resistant to hydrolysis. PPE resin exhibits low water absorption and boasts a low specific gravity of just 1.06, the smallest of all general-purpose engineering plastics. PPE resin also has the smallest linear-expansion coefficient of all general-purpose engineering plastics, ensuring excellent dimensional stability. Other advantages of PPE resin include its superior electrical properties, including excellent dielectric permittivity and loss tangent over a wide frequency range. PPE resi

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Translucent composite tiles for natural lighting and energy savings!  More than reducing the electricity bill, companies can improve their work environment by including these GFRP tiles, which have high thermal resistance, on their buildings! In addition to opaque composite roof tiles, Planefibra is adding translucent versions to its product offerings, highlighting their advantage in providing natural lighting to reduce electricity use, while blocking direct solar radiation to prevent overheating in buildings. According to the company’s website, the translucent tiles are made from glass fiber-reinforced polyester and have UV protection film on both sides. “Natural lighting strengthens the sustainable profile of companies because consuming less, under any circumstances, preserves the environment. It is also an important ally in improving workplace conditions,” Cyrus Muchalski, general manager of Planefibra, says.  Depending on the dimensions of the building,

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share It is correct that the degradation of plastic parts can lead to a decrease in their mechanical performance due to a loss of molecular weight. However, the explanations provided in some posts I see on this platform may not always be entirely accurate. The resistance to cavitation, which is the initiation of brittle failure, is controlled by the molecular weight between entanglements (Me) rather than the overall molecular weight (Mw). This means that cavitation will not be greatly affected by a loss of Mw as long as it remains well above Me (which is true in most commercial plastic grades except the very high flow grades). However, many other mechanical properties, starting already from tensile strength, will sharply decrease as Mw decreases due to progressive disentanglement of the shorter polymer chains. This is especially confirmed by testing polymers at cryogenic temperatures where reputation and plasticity are suppressed. The above explains why molecular

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Marie Curie, née Skłodowska-The Nobel prize in 1911 Marie Curie was a physicist and chemist who became the first woman to win a Nobel prize. Along with her husband Pierre, she discovered two elements: polonium and radium. She also carried out pioneering research into radioactivity. Born Maria Skłodowska in Warsaw on 7 November 1867, Marie moved to Paris in 1891 to study physics, chemistry and maths at the University of Paris, where she earned two degrees, supporting herself through her studies by tutoring in the evenings. There she met Pierre Curie, who worked at the university, and they married in 1895. The couple set up a joint laboratory in a basement, building their own equipment for their experiments. At the time no one knew about the effects of radioactivity on the body, so they handled the elements they used in their research without any of the precautions or protective clothing we would use today. Marie even kept vials of what she was working on in h

Stratasys Ltd., a leader in polymer 3D printing solutions, announced that it will provide 3D-printed materials for an upcoming lunar mission to test their performance on the surface of the moon. The experiments are part of Aegis Aerospace, Inc.’s first Space Science & Technology Evaluation Facility mission (SSTEF-1). SSTEF is a commercial space testing service, developed by Aegis Aerospace in Houston, Texas under NASA’s Tipping Point program, to provide R&D services on the lunar surface. The SSTEF-1 project focuses on technology development for space infrastructure and capabilities for the moon and near-earth space. The Stratasys experiments are sponsored by Northrop Grumman Corporation. In this moon mission, Stratasys will provide 3D-printed samples that will be brought to the lunar surface by an unmanned lander in a carrier structure 3D-printed by Stratasys. Three materials will be the focus of two different experiments led by Northrop Grumman. The first experiment assesses t

CARBIOS announced that CARBIOS Active, its enzymatic solution for the biodegradation of PLA, is included in the U.S. FDA Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substances (FCS) with the assigned Food Contact Notification (FCN) 2325, effective since February 29, 2024. With this milestone, CARBIOS Active can be used to make packaging materials that are sold in the United States. It can be used in food contact applications, including rigid and flexible packaging and other applications. Produces PLA that is 100% Compostable at Room Temperature: Integrated directly into plastic conversion processes, CARBIOS Active enables the creation of a new generation of PLA (polylactic acid). This PLA is 100% compostable, even at ambient temperature, without leaving toxic residues or microplastics. PLA made using this unique enzymatic solution is certified for industrial and home composting. CARBIOS Active was recently certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), North America’s leading authori