Materials

Bioplastics developments are attempting to solve the waste plastics overgrowth without causing further harm to the environment, says Angelica Buan in this article. The plastic waste pollution is an issue that seems to refuse to die. The amount of plastics that is generated globally runs at 300 mega-tonnes/year. At this…

SABIC announced at JEC World 2019 a new, cutting-edge technology for producing lightweight, cost-effective and recyclable vehicle panels using its UDMAX™ tape, a unidirectional, fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite. This innovativetechnology, which is designed to replace traditional panelsmade of metal and thermoset materials for interior and exterior automotive applications, will soon be…

As the end of the first quarter is near,  PS and ABS prices in China’s import markets are closing the period higher than the early-year-levels. The gains in the PE market were only slight while PP prices failed to firm up. The PVC market, meanwhile, is ending the quarter lower.…

Pressure has built on US PVC producers’ prices to export markets amid globally weak demand and the lack of supply issues. A major Taiwanese producer’s sharp price cuts to China and India have also dented the outlook for US PVC. Outages fail to curb export inventories PVC turnarounds at Shintech…

Environmental awareness has stimulated an increased interest in sustainable materials and issues such as recyclability and environmental responsibility are becoming ever more important. Composite materials and products need to play their part in addressing these concerns as environmental legislation and consumer demand is increasing the pressure on manufacturers and designers…

Statistics reveal a remarkable jump in PE and PVC imports from the US to Europe in 2018. Given the new capacities coming online in the US and the changing trade routes, US cargoes are highly likely to continue finding their way to Europe in 2019 to an increasing degree, suggesting…

German chemical firm BASF has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with automotive parts manufacturer Chongqing BOAO Industrial Co., Ltd. to collaborate on the development of polyurethane (PU) system products in China. Under the terms of the cooperation, BASF will provide materials and technical knowledge, while Boao will focus on applications…

After receiving more than 20,000 tweets and retweets from people sharing their support for reducing ocean plastic, US-based household products firm SC Johnson says it will build an additional recycling centre in Indonesia. SC Johnson had challenged social media users around the world, including attendees at the GreenBiz 2019 sustainability…

Although there were several bearish factors pushing players to hold softer expectations, a major Taiwanese producer’s decision to cut its April PVC prices to China and India sharply caught most Asian players by surprise. Decrease amounts exceed initial expectations The major producer reduced its April offers by $60/ton to India…

The key to cost-efficient composite production is material efficiency. This can be increased by minimising production scrap or by the targeted use of the material through utilisation of the product’s anisotropy. A number of different processes exist for this. The symposium to be held on 15 and 16 May 2019…