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New title analyses Europe's market for plastic additives
LITERATURE/RESEARCH
rationalization programmes is delivering strong improvements in profitability. The Ferro organization is ready to pursue further opportunities for future growth’, he says. Net sales for Ferro’s Polymer Additives segment were $79.7 million for 2Q 2010, up 26.5% from $63.0 million the previous year. The segment also posted much improved operating income of $2.8 million, a rise of 79%. A similar pattern was seen for the first six months of 2010 compared with the first half of 2009. The company says that the increase in segment income was due to a combination of higher sales volumes, reduced manufacturing costs and expense reductions. Contact: Ferro Corp, Cleveland, OH, USA. Tel: +1 216 641 8580, Web: www.ferro.com
LITERATURE New title analyses Europe’s market for plastic additives
L
ondon, UK-based IAL Consultants, a division of Business Research Group (UK) Ltd (BRG), has released a new report The European Plastic Additives Market. According to the firm, this first-edition volume provides a detailed overview of the various additives used in the compounding of the wide variety of thermoplastics currently used in the European market. The report draws on the extensive database developed by IAL & BRG in the course of more than 30 years of research into the various additives and plastics markets. In addition, a programme of desk research and interviews with industry experts across Europe was conducted during the first quarter of 2010, IAL says. The publication covers all major classes of additives such as heat and light stabilizers, flame retardants and plasticizers, as well as newer and/or niche additive types such odour-reduction aids and nanotechnology additives. Colorants are not included. Each product sub-section includes discussion of technical and commercial trends; market statistics and forecasts (volume and value) from 2007 to 2015, trends and application data; legislation; and a competitive overview with a listing of global additives suppliers and trade names. The evolution of the plastics and thermoplastic polymers market in Europe is also discussed in a dedicated chapter, and there is a separate directory of international suppliers.
10
Additives for Polymers
The European Plastic Additives Market covers Europe as a whole, including the European Union bloc, other Nordic countries, Switzerland, Russia and the CIS countries, and Turkey. It is priced at E4500. Contact: IAL Consultants, CP House, 97-107 Uxbridge Road, Ealing, London W5 5TL, UK. Tel: +44 20 8832 7780, Fax: +44 20 8566 4931, Email: [email protected], Web: www.ialconsultants.com
RESEARCH NEWS Mass production of graphene moves a step closer
S
cientists at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research in Dresden, Germany, report that they have discovered a simple, inexpensive manufacturing method that offers the prospect of mass production of graphene, a material with the potential to revolutionize areas such as composites [see for example, ADPO, June 2010] and electronics. Graphene consists of atom-thick layers of graphite with unique properties. However, its significant potential is hindered by current cumbersome, expensive production methods, which result in poor-quality graphene and which are not practical for industrial-scale applications, according to Victor Aristov and his colleagues at the Leibniz Institute. They report that they have developed a ‘very simple procedure for making graphene on the cheap’ in which highquality graphene is grown on the surface of commercially available cubic silicon carbide (ȕ-SiC ) wafers to produce material with excellent properties. It had been thought that the ȕ-SiC substrate used would not be suitable on account of its cubic lattice structure (graphene of course having a hexagonal lattice). ‘Contrary to common belief, we succeeded in growing high-quality graphene on cubic ȕ-SiC and found that the interaction with the substrate is almost negligible, rendering this system a perfect candidate for future graphene-based electronics’, says the team in its report. This is a significant step forwards as ȕ-SiC wafers are widely grown commercially. The discovery ‘represents a huge step toward technological application of this material as the synthesis is compatible with industrial mass production’, notes their report ‘Graphene Synthesis on Cubic SiC/Si Wafers.
September 2010
rationalization programmes is delivering strong improvements in profitability. The Ferro organization is ready to pursue further opportunities for future growth’, he says. Net sales for Ferro’s Polymer Additives segment were $79.7 million for 2Q 2010, up 26.5% from $63.0 million the previous year. The segment also posted much improved operating income of $2.8 million, a rise of 79%. A similar pattern was seen for the first six months of 2010 compared with the first half of 2009. The company says that the increase in segment income was due to a combination of higher sales volumes, reduced manufacturing costs and expense reductions. Contact: Ferro Corp, Cleveland, OH, USA. Tel: +1 216 641 8580, Web: www.ferro.com
LITERATURE New title analyses Europe’s market for plastic additives
L
ondon, UK-based IAL Consultants, a division of Business Research Group (UK) Ltd (BRG), has released a new report The European Plastic Additives Market. According to the firm, this first-edition volume provides a detailed overview of the various additives used in the compounding of the wide variety of thermoplastics currently used in the European market. The report draws on the extensive database developed by IAL & BRG in the course of more than 30 years of research into the various additives and plastics markets. In addition, a programme of desk research and interviews with industry experts across Europe was conducted during the first quarter of 2010, IAL says. The publication covers all major classes of additives such as heat and light stabilizers, flame retardants and plasticizers, as well as newer and/or niche additive types such odour-reduction aids and nanotechnology additives. Colorants are not included. Each product sub-section includes discussion of technical and commercial trends; market statistics and forecasts (volume and value) from 2007 to 2015, trends and application data; legislation; and a competitive overview with a listing of global additives suppliers and trade names. The evolution of the plastics and thermoplastic polymers market in Europe is also discussed in a dedicated chapter, and there is a separate directory of international suppliers.
10
Additives for Polymers
The European Plastic Additives Market covers Europe as a whole, including the European Union bloc, other Nordic countries, Switzerland, Russia and the CIS countries, and Turkey. It is priced at E4500. Contact: IAL Consultants, CP House, 97-107 Uxbridge Road, Ealing, London W5 5TL, UK. Tel: +44 20 8832 7780, Fax: +44 20 8566 4931, Email: [email protected], Web: www.ialconsultants.com
RESEARCH NEWS Mass production of graphene moves a step closer
S
cientists at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research in Dresden, Germany, report that they have discovered a simple, inexpensive manufacturing method that offers the prospect of mass production of graphene, a material with the potential to revolutionize areas such as composites [see for example, ADPO, June 2010] and electronics. Graphene consists of atom-thick layers of graphite with unique properties. However, its significant potential is hindered by current cumbersome, expensive production methods, which result in poor-quality graphene and which are not practical for industrial-scale applications, according to Victor Aristov and his colleagues at the Leibniz Institute. They report that they have developed a ‘very simple procedure for making graphene on the cheap’ in which highquality graphene is grown on the surface of commercially available cubic silicon carbide (ȕ-SiC ) wafers to produce material with excellent properties. It had been thought that the ȕ-SiC substrate used would not be suitable on account of its cubic lattice structure (graphene of course having a hexagonal lattice). ‘Contrary to common belief, we succeeded in growing high-quality graphene on cubic ȕ-SiC and found that the interaction with the substrate is almost negligible, rendering this system a perfect candidate for future graphene-based electronics’, says the team in its report. This is a significant step forwards as ȕ-SiC wafers are widely grown commercially. The discovery ‘represents a huge step toward technological application of this material as the synthesis is compatible with industrial mass production’, notes their report ‘Graphene Synthesis on Cubic SiC/Si Wafers.
September 2010