- Email: [email protected]
Huber and Almatis enter into tolling agreement for speciality flame retardants
STRATEGIES
Contact: Rio Tinto Minerals Asia Pacific, 3 Temasek Avenue, #32-01 Centennial Tower, Singapore 039190. Tel +65 6464 6000, Web: www.riotintominerals.com
Gabriel-Chemie extends activities in Russia and South Africa
A
ustria’s Gabriel-Chemie Group reports that it is rapidly expanding its manufacturing capacity in Russia and is also seeking to strengthen its presence in the country in other ways, including the hiring of additional specialist staff. The group is represented in Russia by the limited liability company Gabriel-Chemie-Rus-2, a wholly owned subsidiary with production facilities in Dorokhovo, Ruzsky rayon, about 80 km southwest of Moscow, and with sales offices in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. When the plant was established in 2007 [ADPO, May 2007] it had an initial capacity of 400 tonnes/year, which was increased to 1000 tonnes/year over the next two years. During 2010 capacity has been further ramped up to 2500 tonnes/year to enable the Russian-manufactured range of white masterbatches and additives to be increased. Additional investments were also made in lab equipment. In the course of 2011 the production capacity will again be doubled to 5000 tonnes/year. The company has also invested in new specialist, highly qualified Russian staff, including a new sales director, Dmitry Grigoriev, and a new plant manager, Yury Gribanov. In addition, the group is providing high levels of training for its Russian employees, including training at its production sites in Austria, Germany and elsewhere. ‘Russia is one of our target markets in the next business year and for the future and we will focus on expanding our sales team and consequently improving customer service as well as investing in equipment’, comments Gabriel-Chemie’s CEO Rodolfo Santa Olalla. Development of new products to meet customer’s technical and specific requirements is also on-going. The company has also identified South Africa as another target market for the short and medium term. It therefore opened a new sales office in the country in September 2010, headed up by Pieter Snyman who has R&D and sales experience concerning polymers, liquid colours and masterbatches.
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Additives for Polymers
Contact: Gabriel-Chemie GmbH, Gumpoldskirchen, Austria. Tel: +43 2252 63630 0, Web: www.gabriel-chemie.com Or contact: Gabriel-Chemie South Africa, PO Box 1334, Brackenfell, 7561, Cape Town, South Africa. Tel: +27 83 450 6784
Huber and Almatis enter into tolling agreement for speciality flame retardants
A
tlanta-based Huber Engineered Materials (HEM) and alumina specialist Almatis, Inc have reached an agreement under which Almatis will toll manufacture for HEM certain speciality hydrate flame retardant products that it previously produced and marketed itself. HEM becomes the sales and marketing contact for the products with immediate effect and assumes responsibility for technical support. The specific products to be toll manufactured include Hydral® 710, Hydral PGA and SpaceRite ® grades. ‘The addition of the Almatis product line will further strengthen HEM’s portfolio offering of non-halogen flame retardants’, says Jerry Bertram, VP and general manager of HEM’s Industrial Minerals business. Along with HEM’s recent acquisition of the Kemgard® flame retardant and smoke suppressant business from Sherwin-Williams [ADPO, October 2010], the company now has an extensive line of environmentally friendly products for a variety of applications, Bertram comments. ‘We are also very excited about the opportunity to work with Almatis’ former customers to continue supplying them with the high-performing products they know, backed by HEM’s excellent technical expertise and customer support’, he adds. HEM, a division of J.M. Huber Corp, has supplied flame retardants and smoke suppressants for more than 30 years and produces value-added alumina trihydrate (ATH), magnesium hydroxide (MDH) and molybdatebased products. Almatis came into being in 2004 when Alcoa divested its speciality aluminas business. Headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, the company has nine wholly owned and strategically located production facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, India, China and the USA.
March 2011
RESEARCH/MARKETS
Contact: Huber Engineered Materials, Atlanta, GA, USA. Tel: +1 678 247 7300, Web: www.hubermaterials.com Or contact: Almatis Headquarters, Lyoner Str. 9, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany. Tel: + 49 69 957 341 0, Web: www.altamis.com
RESEARCH NEWS Fraunhofer UMSICHT studies customization of plastics via CO2 impregnation
I
n Germany, research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (Fraunhofer UMSICHT) in Oberhausen is examining how compressed carbon dioxide can be used to impregnate plastics, in a process that could lead to new applications ranging from coloured contact lenses to bacteria-resistant door handles. At a temperature of 30.1°C and a pressure of 73.8 bar, CO2 goes into a supercritical state that gives it solvent-like properties. In this state it can be introduced into partially crystalline or amorphous polymers, such as nylon, TPEs, TPUs, PP and polycarbonate, acting as a carrier in which dyes, additives, medical compounds and other substances can be dissolved. At Fraunhofer UMSICHT, liquid CO2 is pumped into a high-pressure container with the plastic components that are to be impregnated, then the temperature and pressure is steadily increased until the gas reaches the supercritical state. When that state is reached, the pressure is increased further. ‘At 170 bar, pigment in powder form dissolves completely in the CO2, and then diffuses with the gas into the plastic in just a few minutes. When the container is opened, the gas escapes harmlessly through the surface of the polymer, but the pigment stays behind and cannot subsequently be wiped off’, explains researcher Manfred Renner. In addition to colorants, the team has impregnated polycarbonate with antibacterial nanoparticles, so that E. coli bacteria placed on the plastic’s surface in the institute’s high-pressure laboratory were killed off completely – a useful function that could be applied to door handles impregnated with the same nanoparticles. Tests using silica and the anti-inflammatory drug flurbiprofen were
March 2011
also successful. The process is suitable for impregnating partially crystalline and amorphous polymers but it cannot be applied to crystalline polymers, Renner says. The researchers believe their process holds enormous potential, as CO2 is non-flammable, non-toxic and inexpensive. Whilst it shows solvent-like properties, supercritical CO2 does not have the same harmful effects on health and on the environment associated with many solvents, such as those used in nonaqueous paints. Painted surfaces are also easily damaged and are not scratch-resistant, while conventional processes for impregnating plastics and giving them new functions have numerous drawbacks, the team says. Injection moulding, for instance, does not permit the introduction of heat-sensitive substances such as fire retardants or UV stabilizers, and some dyes change colour; for example, purple turns black. Renner continues: ‘Our method allows us to customize high-value plastic components and lifestyle products such as mobile phone shells. The best about it is that the colour, additive or active ingredient is introduced into layers near the surface at temperatures far below the material’s melting point, in an environmentally friendly manner.’ According to Renner, Fraunhofer UMSICHT’s impregnation technique is suitable for a broad range of new applications – for instance dyeing contact lenses, or enriching them with pharmaceutical compounds that would then be slowly released to the eye throughout the day. Contact: Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology, Ostfelder Strasse 3, 46047 Oberhausen, Germany. Tel: +49 208 8598 0, Email: [email protected], Web: www.umsicht.fraunhofer.com
MARKETS Global demand for flame retardants to rise 6.1% per year through 2014
W
orldwide, the demand for flame retardant additives will rise by 6.1% annually, from 1.7 million tonnes in 2009 to 2.2 million tonnes in 2014, according to a new study published by the Freedonia Group, World Flame Retardants (#2709).
Additives for Polymers
9
Contact: Rio Tinto Minerals Asia Pacific, 3 Temasek Avenue, #32-01 Centennial Tower, Singapore 039190. Tel +65 6464 6000, Web: www.riotintominerals.com
Gabriel-Chemie extends activities in Russia and South Africa
A
ustria’s Gabriel-Chemie Group reports that it is rapidly expanding its manufacturing capacity in Russia and is also seeking to strengthen its presence in the country in other ways, including the hiring of additional specialist staff. The group is represented in Russia by the limited liability company Gabriel-Chemie-Rus-2, a wholly owned subsidiary with production facilities in Dorokhovo, Ruzsky rayon, about 80 km southwest of Moscow, and with sales offices in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. When the plant was established in 2007 [ADPO, May 2007] it had an initial capacity of 400 tonnes/year, which was increased to 1000 tonnes/year over the next two years. During 2010 capacity has been further ramped up to 2500 tonnes/year to enable the Russian-manufactured range of white masterbatches and additives to be increased. Additional investments were also made in lab equipment. In the course of 2011 the production capacity will again be doubled to 5000 tonnes/year. The company has also invested in new specialist, highly qualified Russian staff, including a new sales director, Dmitry Grigoriev, and a new plant manager, Yury Gribanov. In addition, the group is providing high levels of training for its Russian employees, including training at its production sites in Austria, Germany and elsewhere. ‘Russia is one of our target markets in the next business year and for the future and we will focus on expanding our sales team and consequently improving customer service as well as investing in equipment’, comments Gabriel-Chemie’s CEO Rodolfo Santa Olalla. Development of new products to meet customer’s technical and specific requirements is also on-going. The company has also identified South Africa as another target market for the short and medium term. It therefore opened a new sales office in the country in September 2010, headed up by Pieter Snyman who has R&D and sales experience concerning polymers, liquid colours and masterbatches.
8
Additives for Polymers
Contact: Gabriel-Chemie GmbH, Gumpoldskirchen, Austria. Tel: +43 2252 63630 0, Web: www.gabriel-chemie.com Or contact: Gabriel-Chemie South Africa, PO Box 1334, Brackenfell, 7561, Cape Town, South Africa. Tel: +27 83 450 6784
Huber and Almatis enter into tolling agreement for speciality flame retardants
A
tlanta-based Huber Engineered Materials (HEM) and alumina specialist Almatis, Inc have reached an agreement under which Almatis will toll manufacture for HEM certain speciality hydrate flame retardant products that it previously produced and marketed itself. HEM becomes the sales and marketing contact for the products with immediate effect and assumes responsibility for technical support. The specific products to be toll manufactured include Hydral® 710, Hydral PGA and SpaceRite ® grades. ‘The addition of the Almatis product line will further strengthen HEM’s portfolio offering of non-halogen flame retardants’, says Jerry Bertram, VP and general manager of HEM’s Industrial Minerals business. Along with HEM’s recent acquisition of the Kemgard® flame retardant and smoke suppressant business from Sherwin-Williams [ADPO, October 2010], the company now has an extensive line of environmentally friendly products for a variety of applications, Bertram comments. ‘We are also very excited about the opportunity to work with Almatis’ former customers to continue supplying them with the high-performing products they know, backed by HEM’s excellent technical expertise and customer support’, he adds. HEM, a division of J.M. Huber Corp, has supplied flame retardants and smoke suppressants for more than 30 years and produces value-added alumina trihydrate (ATH), magnesium hydroxide (MDH) and molybdatebased products. Almatis came into being in 2004 when Alcoa divested its speciality aluminas business. Headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, the company has nine wholly owned and strategically located production facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, India, China and the USA.
March 2011
RESEARCH/MARKETS
Contact: Huber Engineered Materials, Atlanta, GA, USA. Tel: +1 678 247 7300, Web: www.hubermaterials.com Or contact: Almatis Headquarters, Lyoner Str. 9, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany. Tel: + 49 69 957 341 0, Web: www.altamis.com
RESEARCH NEWS Fraunhofer UMSICHT studies customization of plastics via CO2 impregnation
I
n Germany, research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (Fraunhofer UMSICHT) in Oberhausen is examining how compressed carbon dioxide can be used to impregnate plastics, in a process that could lead to new applications ranging from coloured contact lenses to bacteria-resistant door handles. At a temperature of 30.1°C and a pressure of 73.8 bar, CO2 goes into a supercritical state that gives it solvent-like properties. In this state it can be introduced into partially crystalline or amorphous polymers, such as nylon, TPEs, TPUs, PP and polycarbonate, acting as a carrier in which dyes, additives, medical compounds and other substances can be dissolved. At Fraunhofer UMSICHT, liquid CO2 is pumped into a high-pressure container with the plastic components that are to be impregnated, then the temperature and pressure is steadily increased until the gas reaches the supercritical state. When that state is reached, the pressure is increased further. ‘At 170 bar, pigment in powder form dissolves completely in the CO2, and then diffuses with the gas into the plastic in just a few minutes. When the container is opened, the gas escapes harmlessly through the surface of the polymer, but the pigment stays behind and cannot subsequently be wiped off’, explains researcher Manfred Renner. In addition to colorants, the team has impregnated polycarbonate with antibacterial nanoparticles, so that E. coli bacteria placed on the plastic’s surface in the institute’s high-pressure laboratory were killed off completely – a useful function that could be applied to door handles impregnated with the same nanoparticles. Tests using silica and the anti-inflammatory drug flurbiprofen were
March 2011
also successful. The process is suitable for impregnating partially crystalline and amorphous polymers but it cannot be applied to crystalline polymers, Renner says. The researchers believe their process holds enormous potential, as CO2 is non-flammable, non-toxic and inexpensive. Whilst it shows solvent-like properties, supercritical CO2 does not have the same harmful effects on health and on the environment associated with many solvents, such as those used in nonaqueous paints. Painted surfaces are also easily damaged and are not scratch-resistant, while conventional processes for impregnating plastics and giving them new functions have numerous drawbacks, the team says. Injection moulding, for instance, does not permit the introduction of heat-sensitive substances such as fire retardants or UV stabilizers, and some dyes change colour; for example, purple turns black. Renner continues: ‘Our method allows us to customize high-value plastic components and lifestyle products such as mobile phone shells. The best about it is that the colour, additive or active ingredient is introduced into layers near the surface at temperatures far below the material’s melting point, in an environmentally friendly manner.’ According to Renner, Fraunhofer UMSICHT’s impregnation technique is suitable for a broad range of new applications – for instance dyeing contact lenses, or enriching them with pharmaceutical compounds that would then be slowly released to the eye throughout the day. Contact: Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology, Ostfelder Strasse 3, 46047 Oberhausen, Germany. Tel: +49 208 8598 0, Email: [email protected], Web: www.umsicht.fraunhofer.com
MARKETS Global demand for flame retardants to rise 6.1% per year through 2014
W
orldwide, the demand for flame retardant additives will rise by 6.1% annually, from 1.7 million tonnes in 2009 to 2.2 million tonnes in 2014, according to a new study published by the Freedonia Group, World Flame Retardants (#2709).
Additives for Polymers
9