Few plastic processors produce technical products by extrusion blow moulding. This technology is more commonly used for the production of thin-walled packaging such as dairy cups. The following is an example of the activities of a US company whose main activity is the production of blown products for medical applications.
It takes quite a long time for a „crazy idea” to become a widespread industrial process, but all industrial processes started out as foolishness. There are still ideas like this today, and developers are working feverishly to turn some of them into useful technology in 5-10 years.
Foam injection moulding of thermoplastics offers a number of technical and economic advantages over the solid version for many products. Chemical and physical foaming require different investments and the technical parameters of the product are also slightly different. The main thrust of the improvements is to improve the surface quality.
Some plastics are difficult or impossible to coat without special surface treatment. The reason for this is the low surface energy of these polymers, which can be significantly increased by appropriate surface treatment processes. The surface energy is most easily characterised by measuring the interface angle.
New type of gas cap The US company Mold-Masters has developed a new cap manufacturing technology for sealing carbonated liquid flasks. Their process, called Iris, involves co-injecting a layer of EVOH [poly(ethylene/vinyl alcohol)] onto the inner surface of a PE-HD closure cap. The gas-tightness of the caps produced in this way is thirty times better than that of a PP cap, for example, and it is no longer necessary to apply a gas-tight coating to the inside of the cap in a further operation.
Instead of fragile metal oxides, which can usually only be applied to a flat surface, a metal structure is printed on a flexible film that is invisible to the naked eye. These films are transparent and allow touch or touchless operation on complex shapes.
Packaging is now expected to perform other functions in addition to protecting the goods and fulfilling its marketing function. Sometimes they are required to prevent children from opening them, but to enable elderly people to manage. Other times it is just that they should not have to bother opening them. And some household and garden chemicals are now sold in dispenser bottles.
Reducing the weight of cars and lowering the cost of parts and their assembly has already led to a significant uptake of plastics in the automotive industry in recent decades. This trend has been further reinforced in recent years by regulatory requirements in developed countries that will drastically reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of cars in the future and significantly increase fuel efficiency. In order to further reduce weight, plastics will in future often be used in combination with other materials or with foam and fibre reinforcement.
The price of polyolefins fluctuated within a range of ±5% between October 2012 and October 2013, while the price of polystyrene fluctuated slightly more. The price curve cannot be evaluated due to the change in the price disclosure of PVC, as since July only the prices of the pseudo-rigid types are known, whereas previously the prices of the pipe types were reported (Table 1, Figure 1).
In Russia, the production of raw materials for plastics (monomers, polymers) will be developed at a high rate in the next few years, but it is feared that processing will not keep pace. Two of the main players in this development are Sibur and Nizhnekamsk, the former concentrating on PP and the latter on PE, thus avoiding competition in the Ha-za market.
Production of corrosion protection films in Croatia EcoCortec, a company of the US Cortec Corporation group, is expanding its special foils production plant in Croatia. Their main product is a film manufactured using vapour phase corrosion inhibitor technology.
Polyamides, which are the flagship of engineering plastics, are continuously being developed to further increase heat resistance, chemical resistance and allow for new metal substitutions.
Plastic foams are great insulators and great packaging materials. But they also have many other good properties - such as the specific stiffness of some types, good energy absorption, resistance to dynamic loads - that make them suitable for engineering applications. For example, special hybrid foams have been developed which can absorb the energy of a strong impact and therefore provide enhanced protection for the safety of car occupants in the event of an accident. And to preserve the durability of running shoes and their athlete-friendly properties, extensive tests have been carried out to determine which of the polyolefin cross-linked foams best serve this purpose.
In corporate management, it is not worth following the „as many houses as there are habits” principle, but to pay attention to the management strategies of successful competitors, especially in times of crisis. Although the examples mentioned in this article are examples of the development of companies overseas, the methods can also be applied in the Central and Eastern European region. And the German suggestions for sustainable development are worth listening to for all plastics processing companies.
In the US, the past year has seen a slow exodus of plastics processing plants from Asian countries. Customers have more confidence in domestic products. While it is possible to make simpler moulds and standard moulded products in China, it is better to build complex moulds and use more sophisticated technology at home.
The middle phase of the mandatory registration of chemicals under REACH was completed in the first half of the year. Companies that have not registered the substances they use for re-registration will not be allowed to use or import them after 31 May 2013. In the third stage, until 2018, a very large number of small and medium-sized enterprises would have to register their substances, for which they lack the financial resources and knowledge. They will be assisted by a specialised company. Under REACH, many previously used substances will be restricted or banned. Chemical companies are therefore trying to develop substitutes. Environmentally and health-damaging solvents used to clean tools can now be replaced by suitable products.
Garbage floating in the oceans is not only disgusting, it is also a threat to marine life. The world has moved to do something about it. In the Northern Hemisphere, efforts are being made to reduce the amount of litter entering the water (Part 1 in Review 2013, Issue 5). In the Southern Hemisphere, the extent of pollution and the accumulation of litter in the subtropical gyre of the Southern Chern-des-Oceans has been measured (Part 2).
The blending of biopolymers with PVC aims to improve not only the properties but also the environmental position of PVC. The association of plant-derived natural fibres with polymers is widely researched. It is now proven that flax, hemp, jute or bamboo fibres have a reinforcing effect in polymer matrices. However, in addition to the properties, it is also important that the fibre is available to the processor in the right quality, quantity and time.
