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Processing & equipment
March 1997
Additives for Polymers
With a good first quarter, Degussa sounds an optimistic note for 1997 An optimistic note for the current year is struck by Degussa, which reports a sharp rise in both sales and profits during the first quarter. With its foreign activities, especially in the USA going well, the company is also forecasting an improvement in the weak domestic market demand, and expects its chemicals division to benefit from a rising global demand. Pre-tax profits in the division rose to DM296 million (+12%) - but the increase is enhanced by the fact that the corresponding period a year earlier was very weak. Degussa has responded to more difficult economic conditions by reorganising its business around three centres: chemicals, healthcare and nutrition and precious metals and banking.
El5m investment will follow carbon fibre takeover An immediate investment of 215 million in production of carbon fibre is promised by the German SGL Carbon Group following its takeover of the Scottish producer RK Carbon Fibres. Based at Muir of Ord, the company produces carbon fibre for industrial applications and oxidised fibre for the aircraft industry. The company plans to increase its business in aircraft and welcomes the takeover, which now gives it access to capital for growth. SGL Technik GmbH, Werner von Siemens Str. I8, Postfach 1233 D-86405 Meitingen, Germany; tel: +49-82 71832149; fax: +49-82 71832351
PROCESSING EQUIPMENT
&
Contact: Degussa AG, D-60287 Frankfurtam-Main, Germany; tel: +49-69 218 2860; fax: +49-69 218 3743
Technical compounders opt for flexibility of continuous mixing systems
Pigment manufacturer celebrates 30 years
Continuous mixing systems are increasingly preferred by compounders, offering greater flexibility, faster production run changes and often also reducing space requirements.
Celebrating 30 years in business with anticipated accreditation to the IS0 9002 quality standard is a El million turnover specialist pigments company, Portwood Colour Co, Bury, UK. The company speciality is organic and inorganic colour pigments for the rigid PVC industry, which it supplies as dry powder, pre-packed sachets for direct addition into the blender and (now gaining in popularity) a new bead form. The company has a full colour-matching service and specialises also in rapid response to customer requirements. Contact: Portwood Colour Co. Ltd, I7-I9 Rochdale Road, Bury BL9 OQB, UK; tel: +44-161 764 5891; fax: t-44-161 7615763 8
A recent installation has been completed at Thermofil Polymers, Havant UK, where a line of six Rospen weigh feeders, individually linked to an LBC 2000 microprocessor weight controller, feeds a blend of polymers, stabilisers and fillers into a Farrel CP68 reinforcing line. All the ingredients are fed into a continuous mixing screw conveyor, which accepts them from the weight feeders and pre-blends them prior to transfer to the extruder. The conveyor was designed by Rospen as a variable speed screw operating in a tubular housing: by varying the screw speed it is possible to adjust the transfer time and
0 1997
Elsevier Science
Additives jbr Polymers
March 1997
mixing to match the specific requirements the extrusion compounding line.
of
Contact: Rospen Industries Ltd, Oldends Stonehouse, Industrial Estate, Lane Gloucester GLlO 3RQ; tel: +44-1453 825212;‘fax: +44-1453 828279
TECHNICAL
BRIEFS
Cost-effective plasticizers for a Siberian winter In the development of regions such as Siberia and the far north of Russia, there has been a growing demand for plasticizers for elastomers and composites to resist very cold conditions. Available synthetic products used for cold-resistant compounds, such as di(2-ethylhexyladipinate), Menazol and others, are expensive and produced in only limited quantities and plasticizers based on more readily-available petroleum refining products have been used.
been devoted to development of an alternative oil plasticizer for cold-resistant polymer compounds. It must be derived from available petroleum feedstock and employing ecologically clean waste-free technology, such as adsorption purification with a moving bed of aluminosilicate. Tllis process is in use to produce the base for oils used at low temperature, and as a by-product it also produces a second low-pour point purified material, the desorbed raffinate (DR). DR products (which have not been used in any specialised way until recently) are light, low-pour point oils from resinous polycyclic aromatic compounds, with a high concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons with one or two (condensed) benzene rings per molecule. Investigation of a series of DRs showed that ,t,he optimum feedstock for a cold-resistant plasticizer is the DR formed during adsorption purification of the deparafftnated target fraction for VMGZ oil.
Until recently the industry in Russia has used a special oil plasticizer derived from the unique Anastas’evsk crude oil (designated OST 38.0114-72) but reserves of this are now almost exhausted. Effort has therefore Phvsicomechanical
properties
Trials were made against the standard OST oil in compounds based on cis-divinyl rubber SKD (characterised by high crystallisability, but with the fairly low glass transition temperature of -105°C) and lithium polymerised isoprene SKINL (non-crystallising, with the relatively high T, of -62°C. It was shown
of two rubber compounds, SKD rubber
with different plasticizers SKINL rubber
Note: vulcanization temperature 80°C Content of curing agent quinoline ether EKh-1 (parts per 100 parts rubber): SKD compound = 1-2 parts; SKINL compound = l-2.25 parts
Source: International
Q 1997
Polymer Science and Technology
Elsevier Science
Additives for Polymers
With a good first quarter, Degussa sounds an optimistic note for 1997 An optimistic note for the current year is struck by Degussa, which reports a sharp rise in both sales and profits during the first quarter. With its foreign activities, especially in the USA going well, the company is also forecasting an improvement in the weak domestic market demand, and expects its chemicals division to benefit from a rising global demand. Pre-tax profits in the division rose to DM296 million (+12%) - but the increase is enhanced by the fact that the corresponding period a year earlier was very weak. Degussa has responded to more difficult economic conditions by reorganising its business around three centres: chemicals, healthcare and nutrition and precious metals and banking.
El5m investment will follow carbon fibre takeover An immediate investment of 215 million in production of carbon fibre is promised by the German SGL Carbon Group following its takeover of the Scottish producer RK Carbon Fibres. Based at Muir of Ord, the company produces carbon fibre for industrial applications and oxidised fibre for the aircraft industry. The company plans to increase its business in aircraft and welcomes the takeover, which now gives it access to capital for growth. SGL Technik GmbH, Werner von Siemens Str. I8, Postfach 1233 D-86405 Meitingen, Germany; tel: +49-82 71832149; fax: +49-82 71832351
PROCESSING EQUIPMENT
&
Contact: Degussa AG, D-60287 Frankfurtam-Main, Germany; tel: +49-69 218 2860; fax: +49-69 218 3743
Technical compounders opt for flexibility of continuous mixing systems
Pigment manufacturer celebrates 30 years
Continuous mixing systems are increasingly preferred by compounders, offering greater flexibility, faster production run changes and often also reducing space requirements.
Celebrating 30 years in business with anticipated accreditation to the IS0 9002 quality standard is a El million turnover specialist pigments company, Portwood Colour Co, Bury, UK. The company speciality is organic and inorganic colour pigments for the rigid PVC industry, which it supplies as dry powder, pre-packed sachets for direct addition into the blender and (now gaining in popularity) a new bead form. The company has a full colour-matching service and specialises also in rapid response to customer requirements. Contact: Portwood Colour Co. Ltd, I7-I9 Rochdale Road, Bury BL9 OQB, UK; tel: +44-161 764 5891; fax: t-44-161 7615763 8
A recent installation has been completed at Thermofil Polymers, Havant UK, where a line of six Rospen weigh feeders, individually linked to an LBC 2000 microprocessor weight controller, feeds a blend of polymers, stabilisers and fillers into a Farrel CP68 reinforcing line. All the ingredients are fed into a continuous mixing screw conveyor, which accepts them from the weight feeders and pre-blends them prior to transfer to the extruder. The conveyor was designed by Rospen as a variable speed screw operating in a tubular housing: by varying the screw speed it is possible to adjust the transfer time and
0 1997
Elsevier Science
Additives jbr Polymers
March 1997
mixing to match the specific requirements the extrusion compounding line.
of
Contact: Rospen Industries Ltd, Oldends Stonehouse, Industrial Estate, Lane Gloucester GLlO 3RQ; tel: +44-1453 825212;‘fax: +44-1453 828279
TECHNICAL
BRIEFS
Cost-effective plasticizers for a Siberian winter In the development of regions such as Siberia and the far north of Russia, there has been a growing demand for plasticizers for elastomers and composites to resist very cold conditions. Available synthetic products used for cold-resistant compounds, such as di(2-ethylhexyladipinate), Menazol and others, are expensive and produced in only limited quantities and plasticizers based on more readily-available petroleum refining products have been used.
been devoted to development of an alternative oil plasticizer for cold-resistant polymer compounds. It must be derived from available petroleum feedstock and employing ecologically clean waste-free technology, such as adsorption purification with a moving bed of aluminosilicate. Tllis process is in use to produce the base for oils used at low temperature, and as a by-product it also produces a second low-pour point purified material, the desorbed raffinate (DR). DR products (which have not been used in any specialised way until recently) are light, low-pour point oils from resinous polycyclic aromatic compounds, with a high concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons with one or two (condensed) benzene rings per molecule. Investigation of a series of DRs showed that ,t,he optimum feedstock for a cold-resistant plasticizer is the DR formed during adsorption purification of the deparafftnated target fraction for VMGZ oil.
Until recently the industry in Russia has used a special oil plasticizer derived from the unique Anastas’evsk crude oil (designated OST 38.0114-72) but reserves of this are now almost exhausted. Effort has therefore Phvsicomechanical
properties
Trials were made against the standard OST oil in compounds based on cis-divinyl rubber SKD (characterised by high crystallisability, but with the fairly low glass transition temperature of -105°C) and lithium polymerised isoprene SKINL (non-crystallising, with the relatively high T, of -62°C. It was shown
of two rubber compounds, SKD rubber
with different plasticizers SKINL rubber
Note: vulcanization temperature 80°C Content of curing agent quinoline ether EKh-1 (parts per 100 parts rubber): SKD compound = 1-2 parts; SKINL compound = l-2.25 parts
Source: International
Q 1997
Polymer Science and Technology
Elsevier Science