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Polymer Industry
News |
June 2009 |
NEWS INDEX
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 EUPlastvoltage
Project Kicks-Off
June 2009 sees the “EUPlastvoltage” research project commence with major
national plastics associations taking part in this European-wide research
project. The Brussels-based Association ‘European Plastics Converters’ (EuPC)
is co-ordinating the programme. The inaugural project meeting was held on
the occasion of the EuPC Annual Assembly in Lisbon on June 4th.
The
two-year project is funded by the European Commission as a part of its
Intelligent Energy Programme. Its objective is to prepare a voluntary
agreement for the European plastics converting industry – bringing
together best practice from across Europe – with the aim of creating a
voluntary longterm agreement to promote energy-efficiency within the
plastics sector. It is anticipated that a signed -off long-term agreement,
with clear energy efficiency targets contained within it, would not only
considerably help change behaviour within the plastics sector, but would
also act as a pre-cursor and model for voluntary agreements in other
manufacturing industries.
Energy usage within the sector is of critical importance, as part of the
broad EU agenda for sustainable development, the ambitions of national
governments to encourage lower carbon economies and also in terms of
managing fluctuating costs on a day-to-day basis. This project will have a
direct impact on the sector’s energy efficiency and will thus contribute
to the EU’s objective of 20% in energy savings by the year 2020.
EuPC
has participated in a variety of EU funded research and development
projects, including ‘Flowfree’ and ‘Polycond’ and is developing a
successful track record in managing them to a successful conclusion.
The
European plastics converting industry across the 27 Member States
comprises ca. 50,000 SME’s and 1.6m employees, with a turnover of over
€280bn per annum. Many of its products have the potential to save the use
of energy in society either through their linsulating qualities or through
their lightweight.
EUPlastvoltage will provide a platform for deepening these benefits and
enhance yet further the positive eco-profiles of plastics products.
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 PMMDA
KART RACING CHALLENGE 2009
PMMDA’s Annual Kart Racing Challenge was 'scaled down' for 2009 due to
the current economic climate, and Members were invited to race as
individuals instead of the usual team endurance race. Drivers seemed to
really enjoy this format and competitiveness hit an all-time high!
Colortronic and Wittmann-Battenfeld brought a total of 16 drivers
altogether, who competed in fast and furious race heats to determine the
grid positions for the semi-finals.
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 The
semi-finals saw 12 drivers fighting to gain one of the 6 places in the
Grand Final. After an exciting semi-final, the final fastest 6 were Rory
Galloway (Wittmann-Battenfeld), Jerry Martin (Colortronic), Andy Johnson (Wittman-Battenfeld),
Mark Gregory (Colortronic), Peter Bannan (Colortronic) and Richard Kennet
(Colortronic).
Finally the battle for the podium was won and the winners took their
places to receive their trophies:
First
Place Andy Johnson (Wittmann-Battenfeld)
Second Place Rory Galloway (Wittmann-Battenfeld)
Third
Place Mark Gregory (Colortronic)
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Dynisco HDT/Vicat Analyzer Meets ISO 2507 Standard for Testing PVC and ABS
Pipes and Fittings
 Programming
of the HDV3 family of polymer analyzers from Dynisco has been expanded to
cover the ISO 2507 standard for determining the Vicat softening
temperature of thermoplastic pipes and fittings made of PVC, ABS and ASA
resins. These materials have a wide softening range, which makes them
difficult to analyze using other testing standards. Vicat is a standard
method for finding the softening point of materials that have no definite
melting point.
The Dynisco HDV3 analyzer uses the Windows® operating system, so the
control and analysis software is easy to use. ISO 2507 and other test
methods are programmed into the software so that the operator needs only
to select the appropriate test and the specifications appear
automatically. Customers may also modify or create a test to meet specific
testing requirements.
The software provides control and analysis for two to six stations on
multiple HDV3 systems, and it can perform any combination of HDT (heat
deflection temperature) or Vicat tests provided that the temperature rise
rate for the heat bath is identical for the different tests.
The addition of ISO 2507 to the suite of other standards (including ASTM
D648 and ISO 75 for HDT tests, along with ASTM D1525 and ISO 306 for Vicat
tests) makes the HDV3 a powerhouse analyzer for the polymer test lab. The
ISO 2507 compliance allows it to be used for testing pipe and fittings
made of PVC-U (unplasticized polyvinyl chloride) or PVC-C (chlorinated
polyvinyl chloride) and PVC-HI (high-impact-resistant polyvinyl chloride),
as well as ABS (acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene) and ASA (acrylonitrile/styrene/acrylic
ester).
Once a test has been set up and initiated, it will proceed automatically,
with test progress displayed in a bar graph. In order to identify and
eliminate test anomalies, the HDV3 system has powerful graphing
capabilities that make it easy to discriminate small differences in
material performance that might otherwise get lost in a single numerical
end point. In the software’s analysis mode, the user is able to view a
combination of stations for both graphical and statistical analysis. The
software package also allows four different report generation options,
including the full test report, which provides station-by-station specimen
information including specimen loading, failure temperatures, rise rates
and statistical data.
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Power Efficiency's E-Save TechnologyR can save you energy and money on
existing equipment
Many technologies have proven to save
energy and electricity costs on a variety of plastics machinery.
Granulators are an example of plastics machinery that consumes large
amounts of energy. For equipment such as these – its motors operate at
variable loads, and wastes energy when the machine is lightly loaded or
not loaded at all. There is a technology available to counter this problem
called E-Save Technology®, which was developed by Power Efficiency
Corporation.
 Power Efficiency’s patented E-Save Technology improves the efficiency of
electric motors in granulators and other variable load, constant speed
applications. E-Save Technology monitors the load on an electric motor and
reduces the amount of power consumed by the motor when it is lightly
loaded. By conserving energy, E-Save Technology saves money by reducing
energy bills and supports sustainability programs to reduce CO2 emissions.
Improving motor efficiency on plastic manufacturing equipment can provide
a significant amount of energy savings to help meet the industry’s
energy-reduction goals. For example, case studies completed on granulators
at Graham Packaging Co. LP (York, PA) and Berry Plastics (Anaheim, CA)
showed 37% and 44% savings, respectively.
Power Efficiency Corporation will be exhibiting at NPE 2009 at booth
#118022. Our booth is located in the West Hall near the New Technology and
Emerging Technology pavilions. The company is promoting an exclusive offer
for NPE 2009. Attendees and exhibitors can receive the following offer at
the show by visiting our booth:
Learn more about Power Efficiency Corporation and its patented E-Save
Technology at
www.powerefficiency.com
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Plastic Adhesive Takes To
Polyolefin's
Master Bond MB514
polyethylene adhesive etches away at the bonding challenges presented by
non-polar and low energy polyolefin surfaces. Typically, a pretreatment
stage, which may include flame treatment, etching or roughening, is
required before being able to bond polyolefin substrates. Specially
formulated to eliminate this time consuming stage, the MB514 polyolefin
based hot melt is particularly suited for use on untreated surfaces of
polyethylene, polypropylene and combinations of these substrates.
The only required processing steps are melting these compositions and then
applying the molten hot melt to the surfaces to be bonded. Excellent bond
performance is retained over a temperature range of -29°C to 88°C. MB514
adhesive is VOC free as it is comprised of 100% solids and contains no
solvents. Bond strengths develop rapidly with no need for clamps or post
cure during assembly. One of the main advantages of this polyethylene
adhesive is the rapid speed of cure, which makes it ideal for high-speed
assembly operations as the bonds are formed immediately upon cooling.
Read
more about Master Bond's Specialty Polyethylene Adhesive:
http://www.masterbond.com/lp/tabs/tp_byt_polyurethane.html
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Self-healing
elastomer enters industrial production
 In
February 2008 Arkema announced the joint development with the Paris Ecole
Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles (ESPCI) Matière Molle et
Chimie Laboratory of a revolutionary self-healing rubber based on the
concept of supramolecular chemistry. Arkema will now begin the industrial
production of the first high-performance materials derived from this
chemistry.
A comprehensive range
of supramolecular materials and additives will be marketed under the
trademark Reverlink™.During the past twelve months, Arkema has been
fine-tuning pilot plant processes capable of producing, on a
semi-industrial scale, materials based on supramolecular chemistry, and
studying applications that might benefit from this remarkable chemistry.
The production plant, based in France at the Feuchy facility
(Pas-de-Calais), boasts an annual capacity of almost 100 tonnes. These new
supramolecular materials are composed of at least 60% fatty acid oligomers
derived from vegetable oils. Their production is part of Arkema’s strategy
to increase the use of renewable raw materials.
Self-healing
materials derived from supramolecular chemistry
Supramolecular
materials specifically feature so-called « reversible » (non-permanent)
intermolecular bonds, in contrast with polymers derived from traditional
chemistry, which are based on so-called « irreversible » (permanent)
bonds. This reversibility feature imparts a capacity to self-heal: cracks
or breaks occurring in supramolecular materials can be repaired simply by
putting the fractured surfaces back together and applying light pressure;
the materials recover nearly all their initial strength without the need
for bonding or heating.
A huge
development potential in many applications
The self-healing
elastomer technology offers opportunities wherever an elastomer (« rubber
») part is likely to suffer damage from micro-cracks or deep grooves. Many
industrial applications are being explored: conveyor belts, sealing
joints, impact protection, insulation and shock–absorbing layers,
industrial gloves, anti-corrosion coatings for metal, and formulation
additives for adhesives, bitumen, organic binders, paints, varnishes,
pastes and sealants. Over 30 confidentiality agreements have already been
signed between Arkema and industrial partners relating to possible
developments in supramolecular chemistry.
Reverlink™: a
comprehensive range of materials
Arkema has developed
a comprehensive range of products with self-repairing characteristics
tailored to several application areas. The Reverlink™ range today
comprises ten grades of supramolecular elastomers featuring optimum
self-healing characteristics, products for traditional polymer
modification, and various specialty additives.
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First Commercial Use of Renewable-sourced Merquinsa´s Pearlthane® ECO in
Ski Goggles from SMITH OPTICS
 Merquinsa´s
renewable-sourced Pearlthane® ECO, Bio Thermoplastic Polyurethane
Elastomers (Bio TPU) can now be found in market leader, Smith Optics’ new
Evolve collection of snow goggles.
Merquinsa's Bio TPUs
are renewable-sourced (bio-content from 20% up to 90% according to ASTM
D6866) and recyclable materials with properties very similar to
petrochemically-based TPU, contributing to global warming reduction.
According to an
independent preliminary life cycle analysis, manufacturing Pearlthane® ECO
contributes up to 40% less global warming emissions.
Smith Optics has
chosen Pearlthane® ECO because of its environmental benefits and due to
its outstanding set of performance features, such as flexibility at low
temperatures, robustness and ease of processing.
“At Smith Optics we
understand that the products we make directly affect our environment.
There has been a contradictory or dichotomous relationship in our industry
between how we produce our products and how we live our lives and enjoy
our sports. We as a company pride ourselves on making products that help
people enjoy the outdoors and those products need to be created in a
manner that is as environmentally friendly as possible. Finding
Merquinsa’s Pearlthane ECO material has been the most dramatic step we
have been able to take toward our goals,” said Senior Product Manager, Ben
Flandro.
The renewable-based
content of the Bio TPU used in Smith Optics’ ski goggles is 44% as
certified by ASTM D6866.
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RadiciGroup aims for quality and sustainable development
 The
Group’s Novara chemicals complex achieves UNI EN ISO 14001 environmental
certification and is one of the first Italian firms certified under the
new ISO 9001:2008 standard
Radici Chimica SpA
–the RadiciGroup Novara chemicals complex– is one of the first Italian
firms to be awarded certification under the new ISO 9001 standard released
in December 2008. The new edition of the standard has the objective of
improving internal quality management and consistency with other
standards, such as ISO 14001, which governs environmental management
systems.
Furthermore, Radici
Chimica has achieved UNI EN ISO 14001 environmental certification for
research and development and the production and sale of nitric acid,
adipic acid, dicarboxylic acid mixture, hexamethylenediamine, 66 salt,
polyamide 66 and copolyamide 66/6 for fibres, plastics and compounds.
“We are very
satisfied with this important achievement,” stated Luigi Gerolla, Managing
Director of RadiciGroup Chemicals and Plastics. “We have invested a lot of
effort and resources to develop a management system that adequately
controls the environmental impact of our business operations. And, using a
logical approach, we continually work to improve it.In 2006, we
implemented nitrous oxide abatement technology at our two largest
production sites, Radici Chimica in Italy and Radici Chimica Deutschland
GmbH in Germany. This system has enabled us to reduce emissions to air by
over 90%. Adhering to a eco-management system is a social responsibility
for RadiciGroup. It is one of our organization’s key strategic variables
and of fundamental importance in achieving added value in our current and
future markets.”
Thus this
announcement marks a significant step forward for Radici Chimica, a
company with over twenty years of experience in the production of
polyamide 66 and related intermediates. The achievement demonstrates
RadiciGroup’s commitment to making a tangible contribution to the
safeguarding of its community and the environment.
“We want to ensure
the sustainability of our manufacturing operations and make sure that our
products further our goal to protect our natural resources,” said Stefano
Alini, Radici Chimica SpA Quality Manager. “As we are a chemicals group,
we, more than others, have to focus on the efficiency and quality of our
production processes, products and services by using new technology and
innovative systems that are compatible with our objective of safeguarding
the environment. We must not lose sight of the fact that, in this field,
we are battling to keep our products competitive nationally and
internationally. Our organization’s management system, which has been ISO
9001 certified since 1994, aims to guarantee the excellent quality of the
products and services we supply. We want to carry on our business strictly
in keeping with applicable laws and standards on the environment and on
health and safety in the workplace. Additionally, we strive to develop
eco-compatible products and optimize our use of natural resources and
energy. These are some of the goals our Group is committed to pursuing.
Quality and
sustainability are vital to RadiciGroup. Our results depend on the quality
of our products, our systems and the resources we utilize. Sustainability
is a global challenge, a challenge that RadiciGroup is strongly committed
to and continues to invest in.
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Dow Hyperlast Helps Identify Vacant Parking Bays at Heathrow Terminal 5
 When
Highlight Parking Ltd. conceived its signage system for displaying vacant
parking bays to car drivers at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, they approached an
engineering design company to create a suitable protective housing for the
outdoor electronic sensor. The design company, being unfamiliar with the
properties of polyurethane, discussed the project with Custom Moulded
Polyurethanes Ltd.
Together they designed and produced a mould and prototype for the outdoor,
floor-based sensor manufactured using HYPERLAST™ polyurethane elastomer.
The first production order for 300 sensor units was installed on the top
deck of the Terminal5 car park and bonded to the polyurethane roof
substrate.
Highlight Parking’s system updates car park information displays the
moment a sensor detects that a vehicle has vacated a bay in order to
direct drivers to the nearest space. While sensors are ceiling mounted on
multi-storey decks, external bays require a ground-mounted wireless sensor
that is durable and waterproof.
David Harrison, Managing Director of
Highlight Parking Systems, commented: “The system saves the driver roaming
round and round the car park looking for a space and so can reduce carbon
emissions.”
Custom Moulded Polyurethanes of Lydney, Gloucestershire – a specialist in
manufacturing a range of products from polyurethane – designed and
produced the sensor’s protective case, which comprises three parts
manufactured from Dow
Hyperlast materials –
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A
soft and malleable polyurethane outer assembly, that allows compression
from passing vehicles and returns to its original shape
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A
two-part rigid and tough polyurethane inside section with no compression
properties that can help to protect the sensor, radio transmitter and
lithium batteries (which normally have a 5-year life). These are
assembled around a stainless steel base plate.
 Developed
and supplied by Dow Hyperlast, HYPERLAST™ is a tough and durable elastomer
that has excellent wear and tear properties. The HYPERLAST range of
products can be applied by cast or spray and are suitable for
manufacturing,
engineering, electrical, filter, mould-making, marine and other
applications.
Phil Thorne of Custom Moulded Polyurethanes commented, “We could use other
suppliers, but we find the technical and sales office support from Dow
Hyperlast to be excellent. It’s important to have good suppliers if we are
to have good customers.”
Highlight Parking’s system at Terminal 5 demonstrates HYPERLAST’s
flexibility and suitability as a material for the manufacture of
innovative products for high class applications.
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Oxo degradable additives are incompatible with mechanical recycling
 Europe
is leading the market in terms of sustainable development thanks to the
abundance of European legislation aiming to protect the environment. The
European Treaty of Lisbon goes even further than previous Treaty regarding
environment. The new Treaty lays down that the European Union should aim
to the “improvement of the quality of the environment” and not only
protect it. New technologies are the one way to achieve the above
mentioned objective. Nonetheless, after our analysis, some technologies
bring more drawbacks than advantages for certain uses. This is the case of
the OXO degradable additives used in plastics for several reasons.
Firstly, plastics are like an energy bank. Once the energy is stored by a
polymerisation one can transform this energy into stable products.
Depending on the product cycle the waste produced can be mechanically
recycled or energy recovered to recuperate the enclosed energy. Therefore,
in both cases the plastic has an energy value. On the opposite the use of
OXO degradable additives will completely destroy the stored energy of the
material. It is an economic and environmental nonsense to destroy this
value. Moreover, it is the most unsustainable - together with landfill -
way to use the valuable oil transformed in plastic. The claim that
greenhouses gases are being saved by the use of OXO degradable additives
is not a proven fact. Regarding plastics mechanically recycled several
values can be discussed but all studies show clear emissions savings.
Secondly, the joint efforts done by all the stakeholders in order to
achieve the European recycling targets is currently at risk. The OXO
degradable additives will jeopardise mechanical recycling as they will
pollute the existing waste streams. As a matter of fact, the consumer will
not differentiate the different type of plastics and will throw everything
in the same bin. Lack of accepted recyclability standards and over kill in
labelling are not presenting a clear message to the consumer.
Consequently, these uncontrolled presents of additives will create an
uncontrolled quality of recycled material as these additives cannot be
eliminated or detected. Furthermore, independent evaluations of the
recyclability of these materials are missing.
Thirdly, these additives will not solve the littering issue. One way to
tackle littering is through education. Moreover, the public attention will
be diverted from recycling by thinking, “it will degrade by itself”. This
thinking will damage the recycling rates achieved after decades of efforts
from industry, authorities and population. Furthermore, it might increase
littering instead of solving the problem as people will be less cautious
to put their waste in adequate bins.
In
conclusion, OXO degradable additives can be seen as hidden actor which is
not bringing a clear message in finding a sustainable solution to waste
generation. They destroy the stored material’s value, will not reduce
littering and will jeopardise the benefits of mechanical recycling. EuPR
calls industry to be watchful not to destroy the achievements of the past
years in plastics recycling by using unsustainable technologies for
plastics.
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Dow Europe GmbH Announces Price Increases for Polystyrene Products
 Dow’s
raw material and energy costs for polystyrene have steadily increased over
the last weeks and the polystyrene margins are at unsustainably low
levels. As a result, Dow Europe GmbH is announcing a price increase across
the European, Middle Eastern, African and Indian regions for polystyrene
resins.
Effective June 1, 2009, or as contract terms allow, Dow Europe GmbH will
increase its polystyrene prices by 90 Euro per metric ton for all general
purpose and high impact STYRON™ polystyrene resins and STYRON™ A-TECH™
advanced technology polystyrene resins.
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 Conair
to Market Kreyenborg Infrared Dryers
An agreement between The Conair Group, Inc., Cranberry Township, PA,
USA, and Kreyenborg Plant Technology, GmbH & Co., Senden, Germany, gives
Conair rights to sell a co-branded infrared polymer dryer (IRD) to
plastics processors worldwide. In fact, the first Conair-Kreyenborg IRD
has already been sold to a sheet producer in Monterrey, Mexico.
The deal with Kreyenborg expands Conair’s dryer product line – already one
of the most complete in the industry – to include technology that promises
faster drying and reduced energy consumption in high-volume applications
such as PET sheet and film. Conair will exhibit an IRD for the first time
at NPE 2009 (booth #42031).
“Over the last several years, Conair has made a huge commitment to serving
PET processors,” explains Larry Doyle, Vice President, Global Sales &
Marketing. “In 2007, we introduced EnergySmart®, a unique two-stage drying
system aimed primarily at PET preform molders. In 2008, we formed a PET
Team – a select group of Conair experts who are tasked with supporting the
special requirements of PET processors. And, today, our agreement with
Kreyenborg, allows us to offer these customers yet another drying option.
No other company is as well positioned to meet the auxiliary equipment
needs of this dynamic market.”
The contract with Kreyenborg is open-ended, Doyle says. It gives Conair
rights to sell the IRD dryers into the worldwide plastics auxiliaries
market. The machines will be sold and serviced through Conair’s global
network of representatives, service technicians and regional businesses.
“For Kreyenborg the agreement with Conair is a logical next step toward
expanding the IRD business that we started in 2004,” said Marcus Vogt,
Sales Manager – Infrared Technology & Plant Engineering, Kreyenborg. “With
50 machines delivered worldwide since then, we still see a great potential
for infrared technology. Our combined experience in PET processing, plus
worldwide sales/service capabilities, creates a broader knowledge base and
gets us closer to the customer. In addition, Conair’s desiccant dryers and
material handling products will allow the partnership to deliver a
complete drying solution. We have found in Conair a partner who can
actively develop the market for this technology and increase customer
value.”
The Conair-Kreyenborg IRD will offer several key advantages over other
infrared dryers. These include:
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Reliable IR module
and radiators are especially designed for drying dusty materials like
PET regrind. The module has a ceramic backing and is formed to allow
excellent laminar airflow around the lamps. This aids cooling, reduces
dust build-up and improves lamp longevity.
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Auger feeding
ensures reliably flexible throughput rates. Unlike other infrared
dryers, which are fed by gravity, the Conair-Kreyenborg IRD is fed by a
variable-speed auger for added control.
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Frame-mounted
infrared module slides out for maintenance and cleaning. The frame is
supported inside the dryer (instead of being floor mounted) so that the
dryer-discharge height can be changed to suit customer requirements. The
dryer can even be installed on a mezzanine.
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Enclosed drying
chamber prevents escape of dust and fines. An exhaust fan extracts air
from the IRD and can direct it to a dust filter if necessary.
Because the IRD
crystallizes and dries in one step, the technology is especially suited to
processing PET regrind and virgin/regrind blends. Most of the machines
installed today are used in this kind of application. For PET flake with
initial moisture content of up to 1%, the IRD can dry to 0.03% moisture in
about 15 minutes, while consuming just 130 W/kg/hr (59 W/lb/hr). This
moisture level can be acceptable for many vented extrusion applications
and even lower moisture levels (down to 0.005%) can be reached with one
additional hour of desiccant drying. Even when used in combination with a
desiccant dryer, the IRD can reduce energy consumption by 40% or more,
drying time is cut from up to 6 hours to just 1.25 hours, and the amount
of material in process at any given moment is reduced by more than 80%.
“IRD is one more efficient tool – along with our conventional desiccant
dryers, and the Conair EnergySmart two-stage and single-stage systems –
that we can offer PET processors and other customers who are trying to
meet objectives for energy efficiency, shorter drying cycles and better
quality products,” said Jamie Jamison, Conair Dryer Product Manager.
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