Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics 13-10-2021 - Arhive

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Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

Crude Oil Prices Trend 

Crude Oil Prices Trend  Polyestertime

-Spot Polypropylene Resins Record Deepest Price Decline of the Year

Further improvement in availability, softer spot demand, and falling feedstock PGP prices prompted the nickel decline.

Spot resin trading activity improved the first full week of October. Prices for polyethylene (PE) fell 2 to 3 cents and polypropylene (PP) came off at least a nickel, triggering better demand and stronger completed volumes, reports the PlasticsExchange in its Market Update.

While there were fewer deeply discounted offers than at the end of September, a broader range of grades were available at lower prices, which seemed to leak a bit during the latter part of the week. Some processors that typically tap the spot market for both PE and PP supplies were pleased with the cheaper materials and picked away with purchase orders, albeit only as needed rather than really restocking. However, many other processors remained on the sidelines, opting to work down on-hand inventories built up during the summer as a physical hedge against potential hurricane-related disruptions.

Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas did cause some production issues in late August and early September, but they were relatively benign, especially taking into account considerable collective producer inventories that have been growing since March. While producer direct export programs continued to provide a strong base of export sales, incremental exports through traditional broker channels had been minimal through the summer. In the meantime, resin reactor rates remained robust, so as the inventory rebuild became untenable, some material needed to purge. These channels only began to be utilized at higher volumes in the later part of September, as producers reduced export offering prices substantially to move a greater volume of material. The PlasticsExchange believes this trend will continue.

Spot Polypropylene Resins Record Deepest Price Decline of the Year

-At Fakuma, sustainability on stage

RadiciGroup launches its new Renycle® range, engineering polymers originating from pre- and post-consumer recyclate with high environmental performance

Four keywords – safety, reliability, quality and traceability – represent the new sustainable offering from RadiciGroup High Performance Polymers. A specialist in the manufacture of engineering polymers from recovered materials for over 40 years, the RadiciGroup business area is launching its new brand Renycle® at Fakuma (Stand A1-1106). The Renycle® PA6 and PA66 products include a variable percentage of post-industrial and post-consumer recycled polymers, which are the result of careful selection from incoming raw materials and advanced mechanical characterization.

“At RadiciGroup every production scrap has always become a new resource,” Erico Spini, global marketing manager of RadiciGroup High Performance Polymers, stressed. “We have years of experience in sorting the diverse materials and selecting the best road forward to give them a second life. We have developed a production process that precisely monitors the selection and treatment of raw materials to optimize the characteristics and variability of the end products. Moreover, in recent years, we have taken part in circular economy projects, such as CarE-Service, which has allowed us to acquire skills in post-consumer recycling, as well.” Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics 

“This is why we are launching Renycle® at Fakuma,” Mr. Spini continued. “This brand signifies our sustainability offering, in terms of both the characterization of products from the viewpoint of the properties (mechanical, chemical, physical, electrical, etc.) typically required for construction materials and the reduction of environmental impact compared to products made of 100% virgin polymer (LCA comparison).

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

-Plastics, Composites Venture into Orbit and Beyond

Next year’s Chinaplas will showcase engineering plastics that are supporting aerospace on earth, as well as space exploration and research, at an unprecedented level.

China’s Tiangong Space Station soon will receive its second batch of astronauts. Shenzhou 13 is scheduled to be launched on Oct. 16, bringing three astronauts to the space station on a six-month mission.  Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics 

The aerospace industry, which spans a host of applications from aviation to industrial and military, has taken innovation in plastic materials into a broader space. While metals remain mainstays in the aerospace industry, since the 1970s plastics have enabled key breakthroughs, notably by reducing aircraft weight by as much as 50%.

Beyond lightweighting, plastics have been meeting the aerospace industry’s requirements for strength and durability; resistance to corrosion and fatigue; impact-resistance; thermal stability; and ease of assembly. Materials such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyimide (PI), polyamide-imide (PAI), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), among others, are now being tapped for their inherent properties.

Carbon fiber–reinforced plastics take flight

The shift from heavy metals to lightweight plastic materials brought to the fore the use of carbon fiber–reinforced plastic. Carbon-fiber composites have been used to produce large, complex parts for the aerospace industry. From narrow-body aircraft such as the Airbus 320 to the top-selling Airbus A350 and Boeing 787, material innovations have created major technological leaps in the aviation industry.

Plastics, Composites Venture into Orbit and Beyond

-ExxonMobil to build its first large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility

ExxonMobil plans to build its first, large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas, and is expected to start operations by year-end 2022.

  • Advanced recycling operation in Baytown, Texas will be among the largest in North America
  • Commercial volumes of certified circular polymers available by year-end 2021
  • Plans underway for up to 500,000 metric tons annually of advanced recycling capacity to be added by year-end 2026 across multiple sites

By recycling plastic waste back into raw materials that can be used to make plastic and other valuable products, the technology could help address the challenge of plastic waste in the environment. A smaller, temporary facility, is already operational and producing commercial volumes of certified circular polymers that will be marketed by the end of this year to meet growing demand.  Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics 

“We’ve proven our proprietary advanced recycling technology in Baytown, and we’re scaling up operations to supply certified circular polymers by year-end,” said Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “Availability of reliable advanced recycling capacity will play an important role in helping address plastic waste in the environment, and we are evaluating wide-scale deployment in other locations around the world.”

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

-Dutch PPE producing carbon neutral meltblown fabric

Dutch PPE Solutions, a joint venture of VDL Groep and Royal DSM, says it is now producing carbon neutral meltblown fabric for facemasks following its use of raw materials from Borealis. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics 

Borealis is providing the company with renewable polypropylene from its Bornewables range of circular polyolefins, supporting them in reducing the climate impact of meltblown production. The raw material is made from bio-based feedstock derived entirely from waste and residue streams and has ISCC PLUS certification

According to Dutch PPE, making its filter materials with Bornewables and green electricity enables it to significantly lower its carbon foot print.

“In the Netherlands, we produce high-quality medical face masks and meltblown filter material with priority to serve healthcare workers and the local industry. With Borealis as a partner, we significantly lower our carbon footprint at the same time,” says Mark Bakermans, managing director Dutch PPE Solutions.

In line with its EverMinds ambitions to accelerate action on circularity, Borealis’ Bornewables are made from second-generation raw materials such as waste and residues from vegetable oil refining and used cooking oils.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

-IHS Markit analysis indicates need for more chemical recycling of plastics

Circular Plastics Service findings show multibillion-dollar investments needed in mechanical and chemical recycling to enable circular plastics eEconomy by 2050.

According to a new analysis by the Circular Plastics Service of IHS Markit’s Houston office, attaining a circular economy for plastics could be achieved by transitioning a portion of the future investment required to meet the growing demand for plastics toward advanced recycling and mechanical recycling methods. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics 

IHS Markit says the global plastics industry will need to invest approximately $1.5 trillion to meet growing demand for plastics to 2050. Under current market trends, progress toward a circular economy would be modest, relying primarily on mechanical recycling. More ambitious goals, targeted at reducing the practices of landfill, incineration and energy recovery as end-of-life solutions for postuse plastics might be achievable by redirecting a portion of new manufacturing investment toward a wider range of plastic recycling facilities, including mechanical and chemical recycling, especially as the latter becomes more economically feasible, IHS Markit says.

More than $300 billion of the total capital spending earmarked for new plastics production capacity could be redirected to mechanical and chemical recycling processing capacity, thereby meeting the goals of an aggressive circular economy case, the analysis states.

IHS Markit analysis indicates need for more chemical recycling of plastics

-Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation: Expansion of production capability

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC; Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Masayuki Waga) hereby announces that it has decided to reinforce the polyester film production capacity of its affiliate Mitsubishi Polyester Film GmbH (MFE; Location: Wiesbaden, Germany; President: Thomas Hehl).

The company has announced an expansion of the production capacity of HOSTAPHAN® polyester films in Europe and will invest in a new production line.

The investment amounts to approximately 110 million euros and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. This is the third investment by Mitsubishi Chemical in the global polyester film business since 2018. It follows the opening of a new production line in South Carolina USA in 2018 and an investment in a new production line in Indonesia, with planned start up in 2022. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics 

The polyester film market in Europe is growing by about 5% annually. Mitsubishi Polyester Film is global leader in the development and production of innovative high-performance Polyester films which meet demanding customer requirements. The Mitsubishi Polyester Film Group is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of polyester films.

Demand is expected to continue to grow strongly in the future and the parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, has decided to build a new production plant with a capacity of 27,000 tons per year. This state of the art line will be one of the world’s most modern production machines for polyester films.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

-Oerlikon and A.Celli set up technological partnership

Oerlikon Nonwoven and A.Celli Nonwovens have formed a strategic collaboration for the production of solutions dedicated to A.Celli’s festooning technology, a key process for the management of soft, thick and memory-effect materials.

The partnership will see the development of new machines, which will be part of the A.Celli F-LINE family of multifunctional lines. These systems will support the already tested A.Celli technology dedicated to spooling, thereby completing the range of solutions dedicated to the management of soft materials. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics 

“Oerlikon Nonwoven has many technologies ready to increase and develop the production capacity of our customers and A.Celli is the ideal partner to give concrete development to this potential,”, said Rainer Straub, President of the Business Line Oerlikon Nonwoven.

Alessandro Celli, CEO of A.Celli Nonwovens, added: “This strategic partnership with Oerlikon Nonwoven allows us to further extend our range of solutions. We wanted to combine the technological values of two links in the same supply chain: from the manufacturer of substrates lines to the ones of integrated end-of-line and intralogistics solutions. With this synergy we aim to strengthen our position as a reference company in a hygienic market that is increasingly attentive to the search for eco-compatible, innovative and differentiated nonwoven.”

Oerlikon and A.Celli set up technological partnership

-Mondi serves up RetortPouch Recyclable to food and wet pet food manufacturers

  • Mondi launches RetortPouch Recyclable – a mono-material solution that supports the circular economy Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics 
  • Innovative high-barrier film replaces aluminium ensuring new retort pouch solution is fully recyclable
  • Extensive research enables range of application needs to be met

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, has added to its range of sustainable premium food and pet food packaging solutions with the launch of RetortPouch Recyclable.

The new high-barrier pouch will replace complex multi-layer and unrecyclable packaging for a range of food and wet pet food products. Moist or semi-moist foods that are heat-treated in steam or hot water retort vessels to achieve commercial sterilisation for shelf-stable foods require retort packaging. The aluminium typically used in most solutions has been substituted with an innovative high-barrier film that keeps temperatures high and maintains short processing times during the retort process. The new mono-material retort packaging is fully recyclable, offering a solution that protects the product, provides exceptional shelf life for a mono-material solution and reduces potential food waste.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

-Essity begins tissue production from alternative fibers

First company in the tissue industry to use agricultural leftovers at industrial scale for the production of its tissues, based on pulp from wheat straw

Hygiene and health company Essity is today presenting a breakthrough in sustainable tissue production and is beginning production based on pulp from wheat straw. The plant in Mannheim, Germany, is the first of its kind in Europe, and the first on a large-scale tissue production in the world. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics 

This new type of tissue paper is as soft, bright, and strong as traditional tissue paper. Essity is the first company in the tissue industry to use these agricultural leftovers at industrial scale. About half of all straw worldwide remains unused. The straw used in this production is sourced in the region and is processed by Essity. With straw instead of wood-based virgin or recovered fibers as raw material, the process also requires less water and energy.

“This type of innovation is the way forward to increase circularity and reduce our climate footprint. Using straw as a new raw material in pulp makes us less dependent on wood fiber and recycling fiber and is more resource and cost efficient, while our consumers can make more environmentally friendly choices,” says Magnus Groth, President and CEO of Essity.

Essity begins tissue production from alternative fibers

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

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