For full functionality of this publication it is necessary to enable Javascript.

Solvay Launches Patented Recycling Process, New ‘Smart Molecule’ 

Solvay, a global supplier of polyamide-based performance materials, launched at K 2016 a nylon material made from post-industrial or end-of-life technical textiles, such as automotive airbags. This involves using a patented process for separating the silicone from the textiles. 

Called Technyl^® 4earth^®, the resulting material is being used to produce 100% recycled parts and delivers performance equal to that of prime quality engineering plastics, Sanjay Charati, research and technology director for Solvay Engineering Plastics, said in an Oct. 25 interview at the show. The firm is producing the material on a new line in Gorzow, Poland, that it started up in late summer.

“Technyl  4earth significantly reduces the environmental impact of polyamide parts to a level that has never been reached before,” said Richard Bourdon, Move 4earth^® Project Director. “Solvay’s initial cradle-to-gate assessment shows outstanding results — carbon footprint reduced by a quarter; consumption of non-renewable resources divided by two; and water use decreased by over two-thirds compared to traditional compounds.” The firm is taking post-industrial airbags from two suppliers — Takata and Autoliv — and applying a chemistry process that separates the silicone from the PA and then recompounds that nylon into Technyl 4earth. It sells the recycled silicone separately. 

About 35% of glass fiber reinforcement is then added to the nylon compound, and the material is being used to make automotive parts such as oil filters and other under-hood components. “We also are looking at using in in other applications, such as in electrical and electronics, and in consumer and industrial goods, said Charati. 

Solvay Engineering Plastics also showcased at K a new product called Technyl^® REDx, a heat performance polyamide 6.6 (PA66) that integrates a patented “smart molecule” self-strengthening technology without affecting its structure. This technology remains inactive during the injection molding of car parts, leaving the material behaving like a high-flow PA66. During the vehicle’s use, the elevated temperatures activate the smart technology, leading to rapid crosslinking that boosts the mechanical properties far beyond their initial values.

Technyl^® REDx can be processed at energy-saving mold temperatures below 100°C, allowing simple and cost-efficient manufacturing. Ageing tests over 3,000 hours at 220°C demonstrate very high retention property as well as tensile property gain of more than 50%, without degradation of elongation at break. This makes it ideal for applications such as charge air coolers used in downsized and turbocharged automotive engines. Technyl REDx also eliminates the need for heat shields that may be required when using conventional materials, Solvay noted. 

Solvay also said it has contributed to development of a 3D-printed part for the Polimotor 2 all-plastic engine, designed and developed by industry pioneer Matti Holtzberg. For the first time, Solvay applied its predictive simulation software called MMI Technyl^® Design to a functional 3D printed automotive part in Sinterline^®. The part is a plenum chamber, 3D printed by selective laser sintering using Solvay’s Sinterline Technyl polyamide 6 powder grade reinforced with a 40% loading of glass beads. The predictive performance simulations showed the plenum’s original design could be up to 30% lighter than originally thought possible.

Finally, Solvay also announced it is building a new Technyl polyamide compounding unit in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, with initial annual capacity of 10KT. This new facility is expected to become operational in the third quarter of 2017 to serve the region’s and America’s growing automotive and consumer goods markets. www.solvay.com 

DSM Rolls Out Dyneema® Carbon Lightweight Hybrid Composites

DSM Dyneema at K 2016 shone a spotlight on its Dyneema^® Carbon hybrid composites. Dyneema^® fiber — made of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMwPE) — is billed as “the world’s strongest fiber,” is 15 times stronger than steel and yet is so lightweight it can float on water. 

Now the Heerlen, Netherlands-based company has found a way to combine Dyneema with carbon fiber to yield a composite material that significantly improves the performance of pure carbon composites in terms of weight, impact resistance, ductility and vibrational dampening. 

The popularity of pure carbon is easy to explain: “It’s strong, stiff, lightweight and easy to mold. But it’s not so good at handling impacts,” notes Roel Marissen, a DSM Dyneema scientist who also is a part-time professor at Delft University of Technology. Carbon also splinters when it breaks, which can cause injuries. Marrying carbon with Dyneema can increase impact energy absorption by up to 100% while removing the risk of splintering. Dyneema Carbon hybrid composites are also lighter, less brittle and more vibration dampening than pure carbon composites.

Now as part of a hybrid composite, Dyneema can bring its lightweight strength to products currently using pure carbon composites – from golf clubs to racing bikes to steering wheels. As a fabric component, it’s becoming increasingly popular with high-performance sports apparel and athletic sportswear – from mountain climbing to motorcycling. 

“We need to grow into other segments,” said DSM Dyneema President Golnar Motahari Pour in an Oct. 26 interview on her firm’s stand at the K Show. “We also want to educate designers” on the material’s properties and potential, she added. 

DSM Dyneema is working with Toyota Motor Sports, and evaluating Dyneema Carbon for wider use in racing cars.  Already being used in steering wheels, the composite hybrid was on display in the form of a high-end bicycle frame on DSM’s K stand. And world champion Dutch hand cyclist Laura de Vaan took silver and bronze medals in the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Ro riding in an ultralight seat made of Dyneema Carbon. www.dyneema.com/composites 

DuPont Says Entira™ EP Copolymers Help to Enable Mixed-plastic Recycling 

DuPont says its new series of Entira™ EP technology and copolymers are able to boost the performance of recycled polyolefins to a similar level as virgin resins, thereby improving the prospects for recycling mixed-plastics waste streams. 

Mixed waste streams containing polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) can be difficult to separate due to the similarities in densities. If one of these polymers contaminates the waste stream of the other, it tends to yield materials with very low mechanical properties. This can make it difficult or impossible to process such feedstock using standard polymer extrusion or injection technologies

DuPont’s Entira EP compatibilizers are based on ethylene copolymers. Adding them (typically 3-7 wt%) bridges the PE contaminant to the PP matrix (or vice versa), creating a homogeneous recycled resin. This leads to increased performance and surface properties for items manufactured with such “upgraded” recycled resins. The company claims that, in addition to being used to produce bulky items such as flower pots and outdoor furniture, the resulting recycled resins also are suitable for use in higher-value applications, as in thin films and membranes for the construction industry. 

“Incompatible plastics mixtures are very common in waste streams,” noted Loic Rolland, R&D Fellow, and Lucie Charbonnel, a marketing specialist with DuPont Performance Materials. “As a consequence, it is expensive and often nonprofitable for recyclers to collect, clean, sort, grind and melt process the streams. Our Entira EP technology can help solve this challenge, enabling recyclers to use less expensive plastic waste feedstock while producing recycled pellets with good properties, and to reach profitability in return.” 

DuPont said recyclers such as at Regeplastic in France are already successfully applying this technology. www.dupont.com

Arburg at K Talks Cube Molding, Additive Manufacturing & Industry 4.0

Arburg GmbH + Co. KG focused on Industry 4.0 at K 2016, while also showcasing Freeformer additive manufacturing machines as well as how it has transformed its cube molding capabilities into high-volume production. 

With the Allrounder Cube, a revolving four-faced mold spins between two injection units, and produces a multicomponent part. Running a cube mold from Germany’s Foboha GmbH at the K show, Arburg molded two-component, flip-top closure caps on a 32-by-32 cavity mold, in a 290-tonne press in an 8.5-second cycle. Both parts of the cap were polypropylene, but they were different colors. Arburg also offers an Allrounder Cube in a 460-tonne model. 

Regarding Industry 4.0, Heinz Gaub, Arburg’s Managing Director of Technology & Engineering, explained: “We used the example of a ‘smart’ luggage tag to demonstrate the potential of spatially distributed production and the individualization of high-volume parts in batches as small as a single unit. For this purpose, an Allrounder injection molding machine was combined with a Freeformer for industrial additive manufacturing and the product was individualized on a customer-specific basis.” 

After Arburg molded the two parts using a vertical Allrounder 375 V and an NFC chip was integrated, the order data for the subsequent production process was stored on the chip and the product thus became an information and data carrier, identifying itself at the various stations and controlling its own further manufacturing process. The subsequent processes included adding the address data of a QR code by laser and the additive application of a 3D graphic using the Freeformer. 

The Arburg host computer system stored all process and quality data on a central server. The individual website of the personalized product meant that all process and quality data could be traced at any time. At the central “Industry 4.0” information point, the last of five stations, Arburg also illustrated the benefits of such a system, and suggested some possible business models. In addition to traceability, this includes other data-supported actions using the NFC chip integrated in the luggage tag, such as the online ordering of brochures.

Arburg also demonstrated “smart service” by using a hydraulic Allrounder 270 S press to introduce a new remote maintenance tool that enables fast, efficient and reliable online support. It equipped the injection molding machine with a service router and integrated firewall for this purpose. Users can analyze malfunctions and process sequences through online support. This reduces unnecessary waiting times, machine downtime and cost, the company said. www.arburg.com

Struktol Introduces Lubricants for Wood Plastic Composites

Struktol Co. of America, a global supplier of polymer additives, introduced at the K show in Düsseldorf new lubricant packages designed to reduce required loading levels without any sacrifice of performance in wood-plastic composites (WPCs).

It is targeting these products at processors that need improved viscosity reduction and better flow through the die without negatively affecting functional requirements such as adhesion to protective, high-performance capstock compounds and physical properties. The new products work at loading levels up to 50% lower than other commonly used lubricants, which may help to lower costs.  

Struktol also is expanding its line of engineered capstock compounds for WPC decking materials. The products provide good durability combined with scratch resistance, adhesion to the substrate, processability and surface gloss control. Struktol^® SA 1242, for instance, is a low-surface-gloss capstock compound with superior scratch and mar resistance that can be made with or without the firm’s UV stabilization package. Struktol says it can tailor-make capstock compounds to address customer needs. www.4struktol.com 

Ascend Boosting Nylon 6/6 Compounding Capacity

Ascend Performance Materials LLC says it plans to expand compounding capacity for nylon 6/6 at its Foley, Ala., plant by adding a twin-screw extrusion line there in the first half of 2017. Strong demand -- especially in automotive, electrical/electronic and consumer/industrial products -- is driving the expansion, according to Phillip McDivitt, president and chief operating officer of the Houston-based company. 

McDivitt, in an Oct. 24 interview on his company’s stand at K 2016, said that automotive, in particular, is demonstrating favorable trends in terms of metal replacement and the need for high heat resistance under the hood, as downsized engines tend to run hotter. The electrification of vehicles also is helping to drive demand for resins such as nylon 6/6. 

McDivitt said Ascend even is expanding its reach into the food packaging sector, where downgauging and puncture resistance are key properties. “It’s relatively new for us,” admitted former Celanese executive, acknowledging that packaging represents a small part of Ascend’s current portfolio, but said, “we’ll grow it via technology.” Nylon 6/6 can help to improve shelf life for meats and other products. 

The company, owned by New York private equity firm SK Capital Partners since 2009, also is applying its technology to specialty fibers, such as for sportswear, and sees that as a growing part of its future business. 

Ascend, which operates the world’s largest integrated nylon 6/6 line at its Pensacola, Fla., facility, has continued to add polymerization capacity for its Vydyne-brand resin both there and in Greenwood, S.C. “Because we are fully integrated, we can design polymers to suit applications,” McDivitt said. www.ascendmaterials.com

Conair’s R-PRO Conveying System Offers Variable-Speed Capability 

The patent-pending R-PRO™ dense-phase vacuum-conveying system that Conair introduced at K 2016 is said to help to minimize pellet fracturing, “angel hair” and equipment wear caused by conventional dilute-phase conveying. Conair presented the results of R&D efforts aimed at taking advantage of the fact that the system can be “tuned” to match material speed to application requirements and the characteristics of the material being conveyed. 

When the Conair first introduced its R-PRO^® (for Resin-PROtection) conveying system a year ago, the focus was on slow-speed, dense-phase conveying, which eliminates pellet fracturing, dust, “angel hair,” equipment wear and other problems caused by conventional high-speed vacuum conveying. However, the system’s inventor, Doug Brewster, Conair’s conveying product manager, says R-PRO is not only capable of running at low speeds. It also can operate in the more conventional dilute phase, with individual pellets fully suspended in the high-speed air … or at any speed in between. 

As material speed increases, Brewster says, there is a gradual transition from dense phase to dilute phase, and “we have found we can control that transition very effectively and run right on the edge in a sort of mixed-pulse phase. We think we can use this for higher-volume unloading where more airflow may be desirable but truly high-speed operation is not necessary or desirable.” 

Conair says that response to this innovation has been very positive, especially since conveying throughput and distances are comparable to high-speed systems. In addition, since R-PRO uses standard deep-vacuum pumps, conveying tubes and material receivers, the system costs only a little more than conventional systems and can be easily retrofitted to existing systems.

The variable-speed capabilities of R-PRO now give processors the flexibility to tune the system to their exact needs. For highly abrasive glass- and mineral-filled materials, Brewster added, the slowest material speeds are “absolutely the best.” However, he said, “we are finding that we can run at higher speeds with some materials and still avoid a lot of the usual problems. This can be a big advantage for unloading bulk trucks and railcars where more airflow is helpful.” 

He suggests this mid-range speed would be good with materials such as PET and acrylic, which are only mildly abrasive, or with light-bulk-density materials (e.g., 15 lb/cu ft), such as PE sheet flake.  

“It’s really easy to raise or lower material speed and airflow,” Brewster said, and the customer can set up and store up to 10 programs per receiver station, and convey different materials at different speeds. www.conairgroup.com

Songwon Broadens its Scope, Launches New Coating Stabilizers

South Korea’s Songwon Industrial Co., Ltd. is diversifying and moving beyond its role as the world’s second-largest producer of polymer stabilizers, to become more of a specialty chemicals supplier, CEO Maurizio Butti told journalists at its K 2016 press conference. The firm used the occasion to launch new ranges of coating stabilizers and functional monomers, and showcase its Songstomer™ thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) resins and SongXtend^® long-term thermal stabilizers (LTTS). It also introduced its new logo, meant to better reflect its changing business model. 

Additionally, Butti said his firm expanded the manufacturing capability for its “one-pack systems” — products that combine a variety of complex additives into an integrated, dust-free pellet form that can be custom formulated. Earlier this year Songwon opened a new OPS facility in Abu Dhabi with a production capacity of 7,000 tonnes per year, and in November 2016 it planned to bring on stream in Qingdao, China, a plant with the capacity to produce 2,000 tonnes per year of its Songnox One Pack Systems. 

The firm also said it will open a new technical excellence center this coming January in Maeam, South Korea, where it operates the world’s largest, fully backward-integrated antioxidants plant. 

At K, Songwon showcased a broad range of products that encompassed antioxidants, ultraviolet light absorbers (UVAs) and hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS), which are light-stabilizing additives for polyolefins. HALS effectively protect coatings against the negative effects of light and heat in wood substrates for furniture and flooring, as well as applications such as automotive, transport, decorative, architectural and many others.

Songnox^® CS is the company’s diversified offering of antioxidants, which ranges from primary phenolics to secondary thioethers and phosphites. It developed the products to prevent thermal degradation in various manufacturing conditions, including high-temperature processing, curing and stoving.

Songwon’s UVA portfolio Songsorb^® CS is a comprehensive range of UV stabilizers that spans from the traditional benzophenones to the benzotriazoles – known for their extensive utilization scope and also includes the most recent, high-performing triazine UV absorbers. 

As for its new range of functional monomers, Butti noted they find use in all epoxy resins, epoxy resin composites and polycarbonate applications. The range includes dicyclopentadiene, bisphenol monomers and fluorine monomers. The firm said it also plans to expand further into specialty polyimide and acryclate monomers. www.songwon.com

Carver Non-Wovens, R3 Composites Expanding 

Grabill, Ind.-based R3 Composites Inc., a custom compression molder and compounder of sheet-molding compound (SMC), and its wholly owned subsidiary, Carver Non-Woven Technologies LLC, are both in the process of expanding. 

Carver, which supplies single- and multimaterial non-woven products from its Freemont, Ind., headquarters, only began commercial production in July. It said that Phase 2 installation work and was due to be completed by the end of October and involved doubling the number of opening lines to six. The company also is adding another blending line, an additional cross-lapper, and an additional card. Once installation of the second opening and blending lines is complete, Carver said it will be able to produce nearly 3,000 kilograms per hour of non-wovens. The new equipment also will enable Carver researchers to expand their developmental work on hybrid non-wovens, by adding more synthetic fibers to the mix as well as carbon fiber. This will include compound development for applications where higher impact strength, acoustical damping, heat-deflection temperature, and structural requirements are needed in a single application. 

The second line allows for construction of a single web incorporating up to six different fiber types in two different layers that will subsequently be combined into a single finished, needled product. Carver said this capability will allow it to fully customize its non-woven products to help customers optimize for cost, weight and aesthetics in their final molded composite parts and meet more challenging application requirements. 

Since its July startup, Carver has been producing both synthetic (polymer-based) and blends of synthetic and E-glass or natural fiber mats for customers in a number of industries. Further, the firm said it also is the first commercial non-wovens manufacturer in the world to install a line designed to run blends with up to 80% carbon fiber content.

Meanwhile, R3 Composites, a third-generation, family-owned business, currently operates 19 presses ranging in size from 400 to 4,400 tonnes at its Grabill plant, and can produce some of the largest compression-molded parts in North America. R3 is opening a new shared testing laboratory at the Carver location, and also has refurbished one of its three paint lines. www.r3composites.com

Thermo Fisher Scientific Highlights Polymer Analysis at K 2016

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. introduced new material characterization, molecular spectroscopy and web gauging solutions at the recent K trade fair. The company’s portfolio focuses on an integration of technologies, insights for accelerated materials analysis and superior control in production.

Thermo Fisher develops novel polymer compounds, encompassing a number of process steps, with integration of material characterization solutions for laboratory compounding, sample preparation and rheological characterization. Instruments displayed at K 2016 included:

• The Thermo Scientific HAAKE Minilab micro-compounder, which is used to measure structural changes during compounding and assess rheological properties of test materials for research and development. The micro-compounder is equipped with an intuitive user interface for standalone operation using a tablet computer.
• The Thermo Scientific Process 11 parallel, twin-screw extruder featuring a new sheet take-off to calibrate and cool down the sheet in a defined manner. The compact, scalable benchtop instrument is designed to simulate and optimize production processes with as little as 20 grams per hour or up to 2.5 kg per hour.
• The modular Thermo Scientific HAAKE Mars rheometer platform combines two new in-situ rheology solutions — the combination with dielectrical analysis expands the frequency range from mHz to MHz and the Rheo-Raman spectroscopy solution investigates structural changes on the molecular level under shear or deformation. www.thermofisher.com