MUNDOMATERIAL

In my last post, I discussed why it is important for bioplastics to penetrate the market of durable applications. I suggested that this was a new step for the industry and I’ve been politely corrected by Todd Rogers, Market Manager- Polyamides at Arkema Inc, who pointed out that Arkema has been commercialising durable bioplastics for nearly 50 years. To amend my mistake and provide me with more info, Mr Rogers and I spend some time discussing Arkema’s Renewable range, the recently created Bioplastics Council and some of the environmental challenges faced by the plastics industry. Arkema Renewables Arkema has been producing at commercial scale for more than 40 years a high performance polyamide, PA11, under the tradename of Rilsan®. The fact that Rilsan® is derived from castor oil, a renewable source, has not been a top marketing priority until recently —I don’t think the market place was requesting bioplastics until recently. Most of our customers were and still are... 
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DuPont and Denso corporation have collaborated to launch an automotive part made with a renewably sourced polymer. The novelty here is that the part is a radiator end tank that is going to be exposed to harsh underhood conditions. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me a very important breakthrough for bioplastics, going from disposable products to pure high performance. Of course, DuPont is not an ordinary plastic producer and Denso is not just a client. DuPont/Denso bioplastic radiator The part: automotive radiator end-tank The material: nylon The grade that made it: DuPont™ Zytel® 610 DuPont Renewably Sourced Materials The launch of a bioplastic underhood car part is well framed within DuPont’s strategy towards better environmental practices, it is certainly not an isolated movement. Through an alliance with Tate & Lyle, of which I have already written here, DuPont can now commercialised several plastics with renewable content, as well as polyols. DuPont... 
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I wanted to write about materials used in cars for a while, in particular about the main uses of plastic. The automotive sector is being hardly punished by the crisis, both OEMs and tiers suppliers. For example, in 2008 in Spain both the automotive and the plastic markets suffered job losses of 39.080 y 11.480 respectively (Source: La voz de Galicia, 16 February 2009). Plastic is essential in cars today, it’s used everywhere. I invite you to have a look at your car and try to guess which parts are made in plastic, apart from the terribly obvious ones. It is not easy, if you consider that around 20% in weight of a car manufactured today is plastic. The advantages that plastic offers are low weight, low cost and ease to mass produce parts. In fact, it is thanks to plastics that our average car consumes less, simply because they make it lighter. Plastic was first used in car interior, in the dashboard, the foam of your seats, the driving wheel, etc. Today it is more difficult to say... 
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I found this video trough Bioplastic News, but it was originally posted in Green Plastics. They are actually looking for more instructive videos, so maybe we should keep an eye on them, see what else they can get. In their own words: Would you like to make a bioplastic instructional video? Can you create a fun and informative instructional video about bioplastic? We are looking for videos of all different types. You can demonstrate how to make a specific bioplastic product in your own home. You can test the biodegradability of various bioplastic products. You can compare and constrast the properties (strength, flexibility, etc) of bioplastic compared to regular plastic. Regardless of what you want to show, make it fun and informative and we will feature your video here! Enjoy the lesson! AKPC_IDS += "1686,"; 
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1,3-Propanediol, also known as PDO, is an organic compound used as a monomer in a variety of applications. At the moment PDO can be obtained from both petrochemical and renewable sources. This gives me the chance to analyse how both routes lead to the same chemical, but not the same product. Some of the main applications for PDO are listed below: As a monomer in the production of polymers As heat transfer fluid, coolant and solvant As an additive in thermoplastic polyurethanes, to improve thermal, hydrolitic and dimensional stability As an additive in polyester systems, to improve flexibility of coatings formulationsas a chain extender in polyurethane formulations The largest producer of PDO is Shell, which manufactures it in its US plant in Geismar. Shell began PDO production in 2000 and it now has a plant capacity of 73 kt per year. The proprietary Shell method for producing PDO is the hydroformylation reaction of ethylene oxide (EO) with syngas to make 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (HPA)... 
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