- Email: [email protected]
Glass microspheres may provide better properties than glass fibre reinforcements
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Additives for Polymers
common plastics such as polypropylene and EVA to form nanocomposites. It has been found that these nanocomposites require significantly lower quantities of traditional flame-retardant additives, resulting in plastics with lower specific gravity and greater strength, while maintaining superior flame resistance, the partners say. As a result of the collaboration, Gitto Global has already commercialized some nanocomposite plastic compounds that not only have improved strength and weight compared with traditional flame-retardant packages, but are also more environmentally friendly from a recycling and halogen-exposure standpoint, according to Nanocor president Peter Maul. With the closer cooperation now planned, the partners expect to see products for a wider variety of polyolefins and the use of nanotechnology in more applications. The technology is said to be appropriate for many plastics, but the development programme is concentrating on polyolefins because they are used in a multitude of automotive, electronic, construction and industrial applications. Contact: Peter Maul, president, Nanocor Inc, 1500 West Shure Drive, Arlington Heights, IL 60004, USA; tel: +1-847-394-8844; fax: +1847-394-9040; e-mail: nanomail@nanocor. com; URL: www.nanocor.com
SpecialChem introduces online seminars in polymer additives SpecialChem has launched a series of online real-time meetings conducted by experts in various fields related to polymer additives. To ‘attend’, participants need an internet connection and separate telephone line. The first seminar was held on 10 July, dedicated to the use of TiO2 in plastics, followed by the second on 17 July on ‘Polyamide Impact Modification – Different Modifiers for Different Toughness Requirements’. The next meeting will be held on 7 August and will cover the innovative use of nanosized precipitated calcium carbonate. Further details concerning registration and the agenda of the seminars are available at www.specialchem.com/techcenter/webseminar. Contact: SpecialChem SA, 204, rue de Crimée, 75019 Paris, France; tel: +33-1-5526-4330;
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fax: +33-1-5526-4331; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: www.specialchem.com
Akzo Nobel Polymer Chemicals joins PolymerAdditives.com Akzo Nobel Polymer Chemicals LLC is to offer its Armoslip® slip and antiblocking agents and Armostat® antistatic agents and concentrates through PolymerAdditives.com. The additions further strengthen the e-business site’s product portfolio, which now includes antioxidants, antistatic agents, antiblocking agents, catalysts, curatives, flame retardants, UV stabilizers, lubricants, weatherable and non-weatherable modifiers, organic peroxides, organotin heat stabilizers, process aids, slips, and epoxidized plasticizers. “Offering Akzo Nobel’s additives through PolymerAdditives.com provides customers with strong partners, superb e-business capabilities and perhaps the broadest range of complementary products from one place”, says Todd Ryne, Akzo Nobel Business Manager, Polymer Additives. Elsewhere within the Akzo Nobel Group, PVC additive producer Akcros Chemicals has invested in new testing and measuring equipment at its site in Eccles, Manchester, UK. The addition of a Collin Measuring Mill and Brabender LabStation is leading to faster product development and improved customer service, the company says. Contact: Akzo Nobel Polymer Chemicals, 300 South Riverside Plaza, Chicago IL 60606, USA; tel: +1-312-906-7500; fax: +1-312-906-7681; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: www.akzonobel-polymerchemicals.com John McChesney, PolymerAdditives.com LLC; tel: +1-704-655-2041; URL: www.polymeradditives.com
TECHNICAL BRIEFS Glass microspheres may provide better properties than glass fibre reinforcements Low melt-temperature glass granules about the size of sugar crystals are claimed to yield resin
©2002 Elsevier Science
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compounds with longer application life and better tribological properties than conventional glass-fibre-reinforced polymers. The granules are also reported to provide improved surface quality on high-wear plastic parts like electrical relays, switches, gears and scratch-resistant housings. As reported in a recent issue of Modern Plastics (www.modplas.com), the specially formulated glass has been developed in Germany as a result of collaborative work involving the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) in Aachen, the University of Erlangen, glass manufacturer Glasütte, also in Erlangen, and Siemens. The special glass has a melt temperature of 270°C and forms spheres in the melt. It can be compounded with resins such as polyetheretherketone, polyethersulphone and polyphenylene sulphide. Other high-heat resins such as syndiotactic polystyrene and polyphthalamide may be compounded if the melt temperature of the glass can be further manipulated. According to Sven Prollius, a member of the IKV research team, the glass tends to become milky when melted, thus lowering transparency in transparent polymers. It is reported that compounds containing the microspheres can be processed by standard injection moulding equipment, with significantly less barrel, screw and mould wear than with standard glass fibres. Once moulded, the glass spheres orient and may elongate into fibres in the flow direction, remain spherical or form lamellae, depending on wall thickness. Particle end-shape depends on process parameters and mix ratio. In contrast to glass fibre, which tends to yield low reinforcement at the outer layer of a component, the molten spherical particles produce good outer-edge distribution without deformation, which facilitates the formation of thin walls. Nearer the part core, the glass is a filament. The researchers report that mechanical properties are similar to those achieved using glass fibre. Negotiations are currently on-going with compounders with the target of commercializing the technology by the end of September.
©2002 Elsevier Science
Additives for Polymers
EVENTS CALENDAR 25–27 September 2002 Atlanta, GA, USA Composites 2002 Composites Fabricators Association, 1655 N. Fort Myer Dr., Suite 510, Arlington, VA 22209, USA; tel: +1-703-525-0511; fax: +1703-525-0743; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: www.cfa-hq.org 25–27 September 2002 Halle/Saale, Germany Polymeric Materials 2002 Lothar Fiedler, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany; tel: +49-3461-462738; fax: +49-3461-463891; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: matsci.iw.uni-halle.de/P2002/index_e.htm 30 September – 4 October 2002 Birmingham, UK Interplas 2002 Reed Exhibition Companies, Oriel House, 26 The Quadrant, Richmond, TW9 1DL, UK; tel: +44-20-8910-7953; fax: +44-20-8910-7829; URL: www.interplas-expo.co.uk 13–16 October 2002 Salt Lake City, UT, USA Polyurethanes 2002 Conference Lisa Smith, Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry, American Plastics Council, 1300 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 222092321, USA; tel: +1-703-253-0656; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: www.polyurethane.org/2002 21–23 October 2002 Raleigh, NC, USA The Global Outlook for Carbon Fiber 2002 Intertech Corp, 19 Northbrook Drive, Portland, ME 04105, USA; tel: +1-207-781-9800; fax: +1-207-781-2150; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: www.intertechusa.com
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7/29/02
3:27 PM
Page 10
Additives for Polymers
common plastics such as polypropylene and EVA to form nanocomposites. It has been found that these nanocomposites require significantly lower quantities of traditional flame-retardant additives, resulting in plastics with lower specific gravity and greater strength, while maintaining superior flame resistance, the partners say. As a result of the collaboration, Gitto Global has already commercialized some nanocomposite plastic compounds that not only have improved strength and weight compared with traditional flame-retardant packages, but are also more environmentally friendly from a recycling and halogen-exposure standpoint, according to Nanocor president Peter Maul. With the closer cooperation now planned, the partners expect to see products for a wider variety of polyolefins and the use of nanotechnology in more applications. The technology is said to be appropriate for many plastics, but the development programme is concentrating on polyolefins because they are used in a multitude of automotive, electronic, construction and industrial applications. Contact: Peter Maul, president, Nanocor Inc, 1500 West Shure Drive, Arlington Heights, IL 60004, USA; tel: +1-847-394-8844; fax: +1847-394-9040; e-mail: nanomail@nanocor. com; URL: www.nanocor.com
SpecialChem introduces online seminars in polymer additives SpecialChem has launched a series of online real-time meetings conducted by experts in various fields related to polymer additives. To ‘attend’, participants need an internet connection and separate telephone line. The first seminar was held on 10 July, dedicated to the use of TiO2 in plastics, followed by the second on 17 July on ‘Polyamide Impact Modification – Different Modifiers for Different Toughness Requirements’. The next meeting will be held on 7 August and will cover the innovative use of nanosized precipitated calcium carbonate. Further details concerning registration and the agenda of the seminars are available at www.specialchem.com/techcenter/webseminar. Contact: SpecialChem SA, 204, rue de Crimée, 75019 Paris, France; tel: +33-1-5526-4330;
10
August 2002
fax: +33-1-5526-4331; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: www.specialchem.com
Akzo Nobel Polymer Chemicals joins PolymerAdditives.com Akzo Nobel Polymer Chemicals LLC is to offer its Armoslip® slip and antiblocking agents and Armostat® antistatic agents and concentrates through PolymerAdditives.com. The additions further strengthen the e-business site’s product portfolio, which now includes antioxidants, antistatic agents, antiblocking agents, catalysts, curatives, flame retardants, UV stabilizers, lubricants, weatherable and non-weatherable modifiers, organic peroxides, organotin heat stabilizers, process aids, slips, and epoxidized plasticizers. “Offering Akzo Nobel’s additives through PolymerAdditives.com provides customers with strong partners, superb e-business capabilities and perhaps the broadest range of complementary products from one place”, says Todd Ryne, Akzo Nobel Business Manager, Polymer Additives. Elsewhere within the Akzo Nobel Group, PVC additive producer Akcros Chemicals has invested in new testing and measuring equipment at its site in Eccles, Manchester, UK. The addition of a Collin Measuring Mill and Brabender LabStation is leading to faster product development and improved customer service, the company says. Contact: Akzo Nobel Polymer Chemicals, 300 South Riverside Plaza, Chicago IL 60606, USA; tel: +1-312-906-7500; fax: +1-312-906-7681; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: www.akzonobel-polymerchemicals.com John McChesney, PolymerAdditives.com LLC; tel: +1-704-655-2041; URL: www.polymeradditives.com
TECHNICAL BRIEFS Glass microspheres may provide better properties than glass fibre reinforcements Low melt-temperature glass granules about the size of sugar crystals are claimed to yield resin
©2002 Elsevier Science
August.qxd
7/29/02
3:27 PM
Page 11
August 2002
compounds with longer application life and better tribological properties than conventional glass-fibre-reinforced polymers. The granules are also reported to provide improved surface quality on high-wear plastic parts like electrical relays, switches, gears and scratch-resistant housings. As reported in a recent issue of Modern Plastics (www.modplas.com), the specially formulated glass has been developed in Germany as a result of collaborative work involving the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) in Aachen, the University of Erlangen, glass manufacturer Glasütte, also in Erlangen, and Siemens. The special glass has a melt temperature of 270°C and forms spheres in the melt. It can be compounded with resins such as polyetheretherketone, polyethersulphone and polyphenylene sulphide. Other high-heat resins such as syndiotactic polystyrene and polyphthalamide may be compounded if the melt temperature of the glass can be further manipulated. According to Sven Prollius, a member of the IKV research team, the glass tends to become milky when melted, thus lowering transparency in transparent polymers. It is reported that compounds containing the microspheres can be processed by standard injection moulding equipment, with significantly less barrel, screw and mould wear than with standard glass fibres. Once moulded, the glass spheres orient and may elongate into fibres in the flow direction, remain spherical or form lamellae, depending on wall thickness. Particle end-shape depends on process parameters and mix ratio. In contrast to glass fibre, which tends to yield low reinforcement at the outer layer of a component, the molten spherical particles produce good outer-edge distribution without deformation, which facilitates the formation of thin walls. Nearer the part core, the glass is a filament. The researchers report that mechanical properties are similar to those achieved using glass fibre. Negotiations are currently on-going with compounders with the target of commercializing the technology by the end of September.
©2002 Elsevier Science
Additives for Polymers
EVENTS CALENDAR 25–27 September 2002 Atlanta, GA, USA Composites 2002 Composites Fabricators Association, 1655 N. Fort Myer Dr., Suite 510, Arlington, VA 22209, USA; tel: +1-703-525-0511; fax: +1703-525-0743; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: www.cfa-hq.org 25–27 September 2002 Halle/Saale, Germany Polymeric Materials 2002 Lothar Fiedler, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany; tel: +49-3461-462738; fax: +49-3461-463891; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: matsci.iw.uni-halle.de/P2002/index_e.htm 30 September – 4 October 2002 Birmingham, UK Interplas 2002 Reed Exhibition Companies, Oriel House, 26 The Quadrant, Richmond, TW9 1DL, UK; tel: +44-20-8910-7953; fax: +44-20-8910-7829; URL: www.interplas-expo.co.uk 13–16 October 2002 Salt Lake City, UT, USA Polyurethanes 2002 Conference Lisa Smith, Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry, American Plastics Council, 1300 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 222092321, USA; tel: +1-703-253-0656; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: www.polyurethane.org/2002 21–23 October 2002 Raleigh, NC, USA The Global Outlook for Carbon Fiber 2002 Intertech Corp, 19 Northbrook Drive, Portland, ME 04105, USA; tel: +1-207-781-9800; fax: +1-207-781-2150; e-mail: [email protected]; URL: www.intertechusa.com
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