Flexible film materials - from food packaging to detergent refill sachets - are used in a myriad of applications because they are lightweight, transparent and easy to process. Global demand for film packaging will increase by 4-5% per year from 33 million tonnes in 2023 due to population growth.
A new range of PP products from Lotte Chemical delays thermal runaway in electric vehicle batteries thanks to the products' unique flame retardant technology. Thermal runaway can be triggered by electrical shocks resulting from external disturbances, overvoltage or physical shocks caused by excessive discharging, which can cause the internal temperature of the battery to rise to over 100°C.
Renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power generate direct current, which batteries are best suited to store. However, given that higher-voltage batteries use electrolytes dissolved in organic solvents, this poses an increased risk of fire.
The shift to electromobility also affects the use of materials in vehicles. For example, lithium-ion batteries benefit from polycarbonates with high CTI (Comparative Tracking Index) values. Figure 1 shows the support frame of a lithium-ion battery built from special polycarbonates for electric cars.
When polycarbonate is processed with silicone rubber, the cycle time is usually determined by the curing time of the silicone. In this respect, the heat resistance of the PC is an important factor. Covestro has now developed a new PC copolymer for this purpose, which has more than doubled productivity.
By adding functional mineral fillers, the behaviour of plastics can be modified and tailored. Clever combinations of polymer and fillers often offer both technically and economically viable solutions for a variety of modern and challenging applications.
For years, natural fibres have been used to reinforce and fill plastics, partly from wood, plants and partly from by-products and waste from agriculture and the food industry. Intensive development is underway in this area to ensure sustainability.
STASSKOL specialises in the production of particularly high-performance materials that are already successfully used in various industries, such as chemicals and petrochemicals, mechanical engineering, aerospace, vacuum technology and food.
For the production of its NevoPP pipes, Rehau uses only electricity from renewable energy sources, and for the pipes and manholes themselves, up to 80% of the polypropylene used is recycled industrial waste. Rehau reports that the plant's consumption and CO2 targets are transparent in 100% according to ISO 50001 and 14001.
Lightweight construction technology is the basis for sustainable and resource-efficient mobility concepts. The use of a combination of metal and plastic or fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) is common practice, and fossil raw materials are mainly used for plastic or FRP.
Basically, the chemical composition of PET and PBT is very similar. Polyesters are synthesised by the reaction of an organic acid, in this case terephthalic acid, and an alcohol. In the case of PBT the alcohol is generally butylene glycol, whereas in PET it is ethylene glycol. The resulting polymers are therefore known as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
The latest trends in automotive composites applications include new materials and developments for battery electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell technologies, and recycled and bio-based materials.
Interest in biobased and biodegradable - or more specifically compostable - plastics is growing, although their overall volume is still relatively small, as they can be an advantage in injection moulding applications. Figures published by European Bioplastics show that global bioplastics production, including bio-based versions of PE, PET and PA, amounted to 1.9 million tonnes in 2022.
In many medical applications, transparent plastics are needed. However, in addition to transparency, the mechanical strength and chemical resistance of the material must also be adequate. All these requirements are met by transparent polyamides. Some polyamide types can be steam sterilised up to 500 times.
In the high-frequency range needed for fast data transmission, liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) compete with other polymers due to their special molecular structure. They are easy to assemble, have constant electrical properties and high temperature and dimensional stability. Celanese has developed new combinations of properties in the new data networks, e.g. adjustable dielectric constant (Dk), loss factors (Df).
Polyplastics has launched a new generation of polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) that is significantly more heat resistant than ever before which can be easily recycled without sorting during the PCR process of plastics recycling from consumers.
In both compounding and recyclation, additives used to enhance compatibility play a major role. This article presents the latest developments in this field. In the spirit of sustainability, Kenrich Petrochemicals offers plant-based - i.e. renewable - titanate additives.
In the case of medicines, foodstuffs and chemical raw materials, it is customary or even compulsory to state the latest date of safe use of the product, which must be indicated on the packaging as the expiry date. This date is determined in accelerated and real-time ageing studies, where a maximum value is set for the change in a property (or group of properties) and the aged product can be used until this is reached.
Thermoplastics offer new opportunities to improve processing technologies for product design. Lifocolor offers different colour and additive master batches that contribute to innovation.
BASF has launched ecoflex®, a new PBAT (polybutylene adipate terephthalate) grade that product footprint (PFT) is 60% less than the existing product and the packaging material compostable alternative for the packaging industry. For ecoflex® F Blend C1200 BMB, the fossil raw materials used in the conventional product have been replaced by renewable raw materials, obtained from waste or residual bio-mass.
As a result of close cooperation with users, new solutions for new applications are emerging. The German company Simona AG was involved in the conversion of an old locomotive hangar. The 100-year-old hall has long been used as a venue for events and has now been renovated to meet the latest requirements
Plastics reinforced with different fibres play a major role in the production of components and building elements subject to mechanical stress. However, a major drawback is that they are generally difficult to recycle. This issue is becoming increasingly important as national and international regulations become stricter.
Green aviation is not just about developing new propulsion technologies. By reducing the weight of the structure and lowering manufacturing costs, significant resources can also be saved. The latter requires new materials and new assembly methods.
BASF presented the following solutions to stakeholders in the battery and electric vehicle industry at The Battery Show Europe in Stuttgart this year:
Using SABIC's ELCRES™ HTV150A ultra-thin dielectric film, the Japanese company Nichicon has produced a capacitor that offers stable performance at high temperatures (up to 150 °C) and voltages (up to 1000 V) for use in AC/DC drive inverters for electric cars. The ELCRES™ HTV150A film capacitor, produced by segmented metallization of the film, has been durability tested at 150°C for 2000 hours and at 130°C for 3600 hours.
The use of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes has a number of economic advantages. Not only do they reduce initial and long-term costs, but their lightweight construction makes them easier to transport and handle, so that the cost of installation is also lower than that of steel or concrete pipes.
The market for medical plastics is expanding at an extreme rate, as there is a strong demand to move away from glass, while at the same time there is a growing interest in durability, which requires the development of innovative manufacturing methods.
The role of auxiliary equipment is crucial to the proper functioning of plastics processing lines, and its use can also lead to significant cost and efficiency gains. According to the principles of the American company Moretto, the key to efficient production line design is to look at the entire production process as a coherent whole.
Lithium-ion batteries are also a key component of electric vehicles, among other wide-ranging uses. As demand for battery electric vehicles continues to grow, infrastructure investments are needed to meet demand.
Screw cleaner blends have proven their ability to significantly reduce downtime and waste in many areas of the plastics industry. Depending on the equipment they use, plastics processors have varying specific requirements for cleaning mixes.
In injection moulding, the melt temperature is important for a stable process and consistent product manufacture, but there are many questions about this characteristic. This article discusses seven processing parameters that can affect the actual temperature of the slurry.
It is nothing new that industrial plants are using solar panels to meet their energy needs, but Wittman, together with its partner Innovenergy AG, is going one step further and is trying to use DC (DC) power source directly to power processing machinery. A high energy prices, incentives to use renewable energy, unreliability of the grid in some countries make solar energy attractive.
R. Dray Manufacturing Inc. (USA) has entered the market with a "mule" solution (IRM: injection regrind machine) that allows the use of up to 100% recycled grinds in injection moulding. This has the advantage of using two heated cylinders instead of one.
One of the methods of 3D printing is selective laser sintering (SLS), which uses powdered polymers as a starting material and sinters them with a directed laser beam. This technique, unlike fused filament fabrication (FFF), had a relatively limited choice of raw materials.
Product family moulds and multi-cavity moulds represent two different approaches and have different capabilities in terms of production, efficiency, cost and flexibility. The following summary compares the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of moulds.
Engel Austria GmbH and Glassomer GmbH are jointly developing new injection moulding applications under a cooperation agreement. Founded in 2018 as a start-up company, the Freiburg-based Glassomer specialises in the injection moulding of quartz glass and the production of high-quality glass elements.
The European Plastics and Rubber Machinery Trade Group has warned that geopolitical changes are requiring new business strategies, and said that incoming orders fell by 22% in 2023.
A comprehensive assessment of the development of the European market for reinforced plastics (composites) has been provided by the German AVK, the trade association for reinforced plastics (Europe in the survey refers to the narrower Europe, i.e. excluding the former Soviet republics, excluding the Baltic States).
In electrical and electronic applications, construction and transport, it is essential that plastic components are as flame retardant as possible and, ideally, self-extinguishing. One method of characterising this is the oxygen index, the measurement method and typical values measured on different plastics are described below.
At what temperature does the transition between the flexible and the rigid state occur? This is not a specific temperature, but a range of more than 10°C below which the flexible plastic becomes brittle. It is called ductile/brittle transition temperature (DBTT).
Plasticisers (small molecule organic additives) are most commonly found in amorphous polymers - PVC is the best known, but they are also used in polystyrene, styrene and acrylate copolymers to increase flexibility. Their main effect is to reduce the glass transition temperature.
Real-life data are limited, so researchers are trying to test AI models with artificial (synthesised, generated) data. In the framework of the eQuality project, the Fraunhofer-Institut für Techno- und Wirtschaftsmathematik (ITWM) has developed a digital error dictionary of artificial data for optical testing with AI.
Chemical recycling involves many technologies. This article describes their main features. Not all chemical recycling technologies are strictly chemical. Depolymerisation, pyrolysis and gasification are, but dissolution does not clearly fall into the 'chemical' classification, but is arguably much closer to it than mechanical recycling in terms of process.
Legislation, collection and production capacity all pose challenges to the uptake of recycling of engineering plastics. These issues are discussed in this article.
Recycling is crucial to achieve a circular economy, but mechanical recycling of flexible plastic products made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE), for example, is challenging due to the presence of dye contamination. Printing inks used for LDPE contain various compounds such as solvents, pigments, binders and additives, which are key to the performance and properties of the ink, but also affect the recyclability of LDPE and the quality of the final product.
PVC has been a widely used plastic for decades. It has been used continuously to make long-lasting products such as flooring. These products are now becoming waste in large quantities, so recycling is very topical. This is all the more the case since, in the interests of sustainability, there is a growing demand for PVC recyclate from raw material customers.
Maguire Fusion is an integration of WSB gravimetric mixers and MGF gravimetric feeders that opens up a new era of accuracy and flexibility in the plastics processing industry. It seamlessly combines WSB gravimetric batch mixer control with MGF gravimetric feeders located underneath or away from the mixer. The innovative layout allows additives or colorants to be added directly at the hopper, while the mixer feeds and mixes the raw materials.
