Room temperature superconductors – Carbios and Partners Celebrate Groundbreaking for PET Biorecycling Plant 30-04-2024
Room temperature superconductors
Crude Oil Prices Trend
Crude Oil Prices Trend by Polyestertime
Carbios and Partners Celebrate Groundbreaking for PET Biorecycling Plant
New plant will use enzymatic process to depolymerize PET
Carbios held a groundbreaking ceremony for its project to construct a PET recycling plant. The plant will use a unique process involving the depolymerization of PET using enzymes. Participants included local authorities, partner brands and industrial partners. Located in Longlaville, in the Grand-Est region of France, the site will be Carbios’ first commercial plant. The plant will have a processing capacity of 50,000 ton/yr of prepared waste when operating at full capacity. According to the company, work is progressing on schedule with significant quantities set to be delivered to customers in 2026. Room temperature superconductors
The technology opens up new recycling streams for multilayered, colored and opaque trays made from packaging waste and polyester textile waste, which until now have been little or not recycled at all, giving them value and providing an alternative to fossil-based monomers.
“Our revolutionary enzymatic depolymerization technology marks the beginning of a new era in plastic recycling, moving away from dependence on oil to a circular economy fueled by PET waste itself. Room temperature superconductors
Amcor unveils 100% recycled PET bottle for soft drinks
The stock bottle empowers beverage brands to meet growing sustainability demands and regulations while accelerating their time to market.
Hyatt said each Mr & Mrs Smith property is known for its distinct character, with highlights including treehouse accommodations in Finland. Credit: Hyatt Hotels Corporation.
Amcor, a world leader in packaging solutions, has announced the launch of a one-litre polyethylene terephthalate (PET) carbonated soft drink (CSD) bottle made entirely from post-consumer recycled (PCR) material. Room temperature superconductors
The company said this innovative stock bottle empowers beverage brands to meet growing sustainability demands and regulations while accelerating their time to market. It also claims the product is the first-of-its-kind stock option.
The new bottle represents a significant advancement in Amcor Rigid Packaging’s (ARP) commitment to responsible packaging.
BIR publishes position paper on chemical recycling
The organization says mechanical recycling must take priority and be incentivized.
In its latest position paper, the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) says chemical recycling needs careful consideration and well-informed, market-based policies to ensure that it complements rather than competes with traditional recycling methods.
Additionally, BIR writes that mechanical recycling must remain the preferred method on a large scale, whereas chemical recycling should be used only for hard-to-recycle plastics at their end-of-life. Room temperature superconductors
This position paper on chemical recycling follows shortly after one on extended producer responsibility (EPR), which BIR published in November 2023. Describing chemical recycling as “a nascent technology,” BIR urges caution in its development and calls for the introduction of a harmonized definition of chemical recycling that excludes fuel production.
BIR says chemical recycling processes are extremely energy-intensive and some that are currently available produce more greenhouse gas emissions than primary production using fossil fuels during the production process. Room temperature superconductors
Suzano Ventures, the investment branch of Brazilian pulp producer Suzano, has invested $5 million in Bioform Technologies
This Canadian startup, originating from research at the University of British Columbia, focuses on developing sustainable alternatives to conventional single-use plastics using bio-based materials.
This financial injection forms part of Bioform’s initial funding round, aimed at enhancing the production of these eco-friendly plastics. These materials can be produced using existing industrial methods from the pulp and paper industry, incorporating wood pulp fiber from Suzano as a primary component. Room temperature superconductors
Bioform’s innovative hydrogels, reinforced with wood pulp, promise to be home compostable or recyclable through standard paper recycling routes without relying on fossil fuel-derived resources.
The applications for this technology are broad, including recyclable thermoformable films for packaging and compostable films for various uses such as agricultural and trash bags. Bioform’s products are designed to significantly reduce carbon emissions, offering an 80% lower footprint than traditional plastics while maintaining or improving on performance metrics like strength and barrier properties. Room temperature superconductors
Room temperature superconductors, once envisioned as transformative for energy production and transport, have faced scrutiny
Initially highlighted by physicist Ranga Dias in 2020, these superconductors promised a future of efficient energy systems, ultra-fast computing chips, and magnetic levitation transport. Despite periodic announcements signaling breakthroughs, persistent technical limitations and setbacks often followed.
Dias, a University of Rochester physicist, maintained his course despite growing criticism, publishing successive studies claiming room temperature superconductivity. His resilience against skepticism suggested potential in his research. However, a damning report detailed in Nature revealed significant data manipulation. This discovery, made during an internal investigation by the University of Rochester, not only undermines Dias’s credibility but also threatens his career, as dismissal looms. Room temperature superconductors
Room temperature superconductivity, a Nobel-worthy achievement if validated, would revolutionize multiple technological domains. Traditional conductors lose energy as heat due to electrical resistance, a problem superconductors don’t have. Ideally, they could transport electricity without energy loss, impacting both technology and economy significantly. This phenomenon, explained by the BCS theory proposed in 1957 and Nobel-recognized in 1972, suggests that ambient temperature superconductors are possible but highly unlikely. Room temperature superconductors
The saga of Dias’s research, now tainted by allegations of falsification, serves as a cautionary tale for future claims in this high-stakes field of physics.
Kazakhstan’s Atyrau is set to open a terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate (TPA/PET) production complex in 2029, according to Interfax citing Kazakh Deputy Energy Minister Askhat Khasenov
This announcement was made during a briefing in Astana, where Khasenov revealed ongoing pre-feasibility studies in collaboration with China’s Sinopec. Khasenov also highlighted the Atyrau Refinery’s plans to modernize by 2027 to ensure an uninterrupted supply of paraxylene, a key raw material for PET production, without compromising gasoline and diesel output. Room temperature superconductors
Additionally, it was confirmed that there would be no limitations on paraxylene production upon the PET project’s initiation. This development was further underscored during a meeting between Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Sinopec Chairman Ma Yongsheng in China, where they discussed the construction of the TPA/PET facility. Furthermore, Magzum Mirzagaliev, Chairman of KazMunayGas (KMG), and Ma Yongsheng signed an agreement to jointly develop a preliminary feasibility study for the project. The Atyrau TPA/PET complex is expected to produce up to 735,000 tonnes of PET annually, using paraxylene sourced from the Atyrau Oil Refinery. Room temperature superconductors
ORNL researchers use thermoplastic nanofibers to toughen composites
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a method that demonstrates how fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials used in the automotive, aerospace and renewable energy industries can be made stronger and tougher to better withstand mechanical or structural stresses over time.
Composites are strong and lightweight relative to their metallic counterparts. They are also corrosion and fatigue resistant and can be tailored to meet specific industrial performance requirements. However, they are vulnerable to damage from strain because two diverse materials—rigid fibers and a soft matrix, or a binder substance—are combined to make them. Room temperature superconductors
The interphase between the two materials needs to be improved because of its influence on the overall mechanical properties of the composites.
The research team deposited thermoplastic nanofibers to create chemically a supportive network that toughens the interphase. Their technique differs from conventional methods of coating the fiber surfaces with polymers or providing a rigid scaffolding to improve bonding between the fiber and the matrix, which have been shown to be inefficient and expensive. Room temperature superconductors
