MUNDOMATERIAL

I just created a bioplastics group on linkedin to discuss related topics. I invite you to join it: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/1454117 Linkedin is a social network directed to professionals, to promote networking and discussions. You can check my profile, but if you are new to linkedin, I recommend you have a look around. For those of you that already know it, just say that it has become much more proactive. You can now use different tools to encourage professionals with similar interests to meet, tools like groups, questions or notifications of events. I have asked a few open questions, which anyone can answer. The great advantage to me is that with linkedin I can check what type of background the person answering has, which can be any really. Here you have links to my questions, although the 3 are closed now! what is the future of bottled water? How is REACH going to impact your business? What materials are used to produce bicycles? Have fun! AKPC_IDS += "1693,"; 
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Bioplastics and other new materials offering environmental advantages have created a bit of confusion with the terms related with their source and end of life. I would like to shed some light in some of vocabulary used, starting with perhaps the less defined and yet more important word: Bioplastic: Plastic obtained from natural and renewable sources Most bioplastics are biodegradable and compostable, but they do not need to be in order to be classified as bioplastics. Similarly, not all bioplastics are sustainable. In Brazil, for example, there has been a lot of interest in obtaining traditional plastics from soy and other fast growing crops. Even though it sounds great, there are concerns about the impact these crops may have on the rain forest surface. To better understand the differences between new bioplastics, it is important to have some concepts clear. I have divided the vocabulary in two main aspects: sourcing of the raw materials and degradation process of the bioplastic. Degradation... 
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While living in England, I bought a bicycle and I used it to move around in my daily errands. To me it’s just a brilliant form of transport, although for many out there is much more than that. But what about the materials used in bicycles, do you know them? I’ve been asking around and it seems a lot is going on in the fascinating world of bicycles. So, let’s do a quick tour looking at materials used in the different parts of a bicycle, to then move to the newest trends in design. Of course, I’ll have some interesting examples of what you can do with the old but never aging bicycle. Looking for general information about bicycles I’ve found this great image in wikipedia, which saves me explaining all the different parts you can find in a modern bike. If you want to look at other great bicycle images, follow this wikimedia commons link. bicycle diagram. Source: wikipedia, author: AI2 Materials There are many available options for a bicycle designer. I asked a... 
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Earlier in Septembre the Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) part of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) announced the 8 finalists for the Innovation awards that will be voted attendees of “Polyurethanes 2008 Technical Conference”, to be held in San Antonio. There are three different categories for the awards chemical: Merquinsa, Ashland Performance Materials y BASF processing equipment: Graco y KrausMaffei finished products: Acma Industries, BASF y co-finalistas Fenner Precision y HP Labs You may remember my post from the 21st July, Renewable TPEs, where I discussed Merquinsa‘s new product, Pearlthane® ECO, for which is being nominated. It consists of a range of thermoplasic polyurethanes, TPUs, with a renewable content ranging from 30 to 90%. BASF is also nominated for introducing renewable content. In particular for its range of natural poliols, BALANCE, used in the production of polyurethane foam. The third nominee is Ashland Performance Materials, for... 
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If up to now I’ve discussed materials and companies that produce them, today I’m going to change a bit the perspective. Today I’m going to talk about skateboarding. I know is not a traditional product, but I got curious yesterday watching them jumping around about what kind of materials can withstand such treatment. It also exemplifies one of the most innovative markets in the materials world, leisure sports. If you still can’t see my point, then think about skiing, surfing, windsurfing or snowboarding. And I don’t mean only the boards themselves, there is also all the market generated by accessories like protective equipment, things like helmets, kneepads, elbow pads, etc. It’s a big market, it’s growing and a substantial part of it is added value products. It’s also a good place to test materials and judge their performance. The product I guess there aren’t that many material’s experts that know much about the fascinating world... 
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