New development & innovation is key to growth of polymers in medical field

There are essentially two areas where polymers are used in the medical sector : disposable products/packaging products and medical devices. The disposable products or packaging products need lesser properties or performance compared to the sector of medical devices. New research and innovations play a major role in the field of medical devices where newer materials are required for better performance. To develop effective and safe devices, design engineers and manufacturers must have access to precise information on material properties. Several new materials with enhanced properties have been introduced:

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Bendable concrete modified with polymer fibers provides protection against hurricanes

New building codes and rising insurance costs are triggering a drive to develop new materials and structures that are more resistant to hurricanes, as well as other natural calamities such as earthquakes. One of the more exciting developments is new bendable concrete in which aggregate is replaced with a network of finely engineered and coated polymer fibers.

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High performance polymers based on renewable resources continue to grow

DuPont, an important ETP manufacturer in the global scenario, has been spending significant amount on research of polymers based on renewable resources. DuPont has launched new polymers based on renewable resources at K 2007. Most of these new products will be commercially available in the second half of 2008. Some of the notable new offerings are:

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Melt strength limitation of PVDF can be overcome by introduction of branching

Despite impressive properties, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer has remained a niche product. For over half a century, PVDF has found application in outdoor decorative films and paints, corrosion-resistant equipment and flame-retardant electronics insulation.

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Chinese extruders are getting a foothold in North America

Low-priced Chinese-built extruders have arrived in North America to make pipe, sheet, film and profiles. Chinese-built extruders are in small sizes and modest numbers in North America. Most are bought one at a time by large, sophisticated processors who are sampling the Chinese made machines and can afford the cost of to chucking up a machine away if they are not satisfied on grounds of performance. Some are being bought by small start-up companies who cannot resist the lucrative prices that stand at 25-35% of North American or European extruders. Some of these North American buyers have been satisfied with the performance, and appreciating a good buy, have ordered additional machines.
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Polycarbonate is poised to grow faster in Asia

Polycarbonate (PC) is one of the larger volume engineering thermoplastics and has enjoyed strong demand growth. The robust growth of Polycarbonate can be attributed to a combination of technical performance characteristics, including strength, lightweight,

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China’s appetite for Polypropylene is insatiable

China, the fastest growing economy in entire world, has been consuming very sizeable amounts all polymers including Polypropylene (PP). China 's polymer consumption was pegged at about 30 million tons in 2005, growing at 11%, almost the same rate as the GDP.

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Optimization of injection moulding cycle is a key to profitability of moulded product business

Plastic product business is becoming competitive as cheaper cost Asian countries including China continue to increase their share in the global business. To survive the competition, it is essential that the injection moulder optimize the process and enhance productivity, reduce wasteful operations and save time.

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A new invisible barrier coating for PET containers

An innovative barrier coating technology that will provide invisibility to the coating but at the same time not result in reduced clarity of the PET container, called Plasmax, has been developed by SIG. Plasmax is a cutting-edge technology for coating PET bottles, wherein, a pulsed, cold-plasma process deposits a thin-layer of glass-like silicon oxide on the interior of a PET bottle. The process occurs in a vacuum chamber, where the bottles are held neck down. A lance inserted into the evacuated bottle fills it with gaseous hexamethyl disiloxane. Microwaves are then generated to decompose the gaseous precursor, resulting in a deposit of SiOx on the bottle. Carbon dioxide and water, the two by-products, are removed by the vacuum system.

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A monomeric HALS light stabilizer is developed with FDA approval

BASF has recently developed a new light stabilizer Uvinul® 4050H, that is a first monomeric HALS worldwide to obtain a Food Contact Notification (FCN) for the use in plastics with food contact by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Uvinul® 4050H may be used in polypropylene, polystyrene, styrene copolymers and acrylonitrile copolymers (including ABS) that come into contact with foodstuffs. Applications for Uvinul® 4050H include woven fiber sacks such as bulk bags, flour sacks and corn (maize) sacks, electrical equipment such as kitchen equipment, thermoformed packaging such as yogurt beakers and disposable cutlery.

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A new anti-fog coating for PC eye lens with abrasion resistance is developed

A new innovative anti-fog coating on polycarbonate eye lens has been developed by a plastic optic manufacturing company called Fosta Tek Optics, USA . The coating is a more permanent technology with a longer useful life in the field, a feature especially important for military eyewear. New Army specification calls for complete resistance to fogging, wherein the coating must show no more than 6% haze increase when tested for abrasion resistance, and must also demonstrate superior resistance to degradation resulting from contact with bug spray and bleach.

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Inline compounding offers some economic benefits

Compounding is an important part of plastic conversion, and is generally carried out separately from the conversion process. Some conversion process manufacturing such as calendaring or oriented films exist where compounding is integrally connected with conversion. There are several independent compound manufacturers. It should be realized that independent compounding generally introduces an additional entity in the production process and hence additional cost.

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Can Styrene cause cancer on inhalation?

The German Government's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BFR) announced recently that its research into the risks posed by styrene indicate that a human enzyme found in the lungs could convert styrene to styrene oxide, which is known to be tumorigenic, or a cancer causing agent. BFR claims its scientists have succeeded in detecting the enzymes involved in styrene conversion in human lung tissue, which have an effect comparable to that of the mouse.

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A lid indicating temperature of coffee in a cup developed from high impact polystyrene

An innovative lid made of high impact polystyrene has been developed to indicate temperature of hot coffee in a cup. It shows colour change from dark brown to bright red as temperature increases and returns to dark brown when the coffee cools.

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A polymerization process/catalyst system to produce biodegradable PHB

Polyhydroxybutyrate, a biodegradable polymer, has so far been produced using enzymes. These laboratory routes to make PHB have used enzymes to convert glucose to hydroxybutyrate, which is subsequently polymerized.

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Middle-Eastern petrochem producers will always have a cost advantage globally

Ethylene gas crackers in North America have become prohibitively expensive due to tremendous increase in gas feedstock. Shortages of contractors and equipment, coupled with plant construction costs increasing by almost 70-80%, will also make starting new projects and expanding existing projects in the region challenging.

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Self-luminous automobile license plate will enhance visibility & safety

A self-luminous automobile license plate has recently been developed by technology driven giant 3M. While standard aluminum license plates are unevenly lit by a small number of lights positioned around them, the entire new plastic plate beams brightly from within, making the entire unit highly visible.

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PVC additives grow steadily, with a shift in focus to China & Asia

Global consumption of PVC reached a level of about 31 million tons in 2005. PVC is a matured polymer with average growth rate less than World GDP, but is seeing good growth in Asia due to more emphasis on infrastructure and construction.

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A new barrier coating for PET & PP containers extends shelf life of beverages

South Africa's council for scientific and industrial research has developed a new barrier coating known as “Oxyplete”, with barrier properties reported to be 30 times better than PET.

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New polymers manufactured from post consumer waste

As a part of continued efforts to develop environmental friendly process and as a part of its eco-imagination portfolio GE introduced two significant polymers under the brand names of Valox iQ & Xenoy iQ. These new polymers were developed as a result of a successful two-year initiative at GE Plastics that examined the company's manufacturing processes to redefine how its products can be made to be cleaner and more environmentally responsible than traditional materials.

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