New technology from Arkema Inc., Philadelphia, allows foaming its Kynar PVDF fluoropolymers, paving the way for new applications for foam-core pipe and sheet in aerospace, aircraft, and automotive.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Arkema Group’s subsidiary, Altuglas International, King of Prussia, Pa., and NatureWorks LLC, Minnetonka, Minn., have entered a global marketing collaboration to provide a range of high-performance alloys based on PMMA and PLA.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: What’s said to be the lowest-gloss of any PMMA on the market, plus a pleasant soft touch, are offered by new Altuglas HFI-10 Super Matt from Arkema’s Altuglas International, subsidiary (U.S. office in Bristol, Pa.). The unique matte finish of this resin when extruded is retained after thermoforming.

Bayer MaterialScience, Pittsburgh, will acquire the U.S. polycarbonate sheet business of Arkema Inc., Philadelphia.

Higher-performance and easier processing PE film resins for packaging, a one-pass crosslinked PE for photovoltaic (PV) wire and cable, several higher-performing nylons and TPEs, “greener” plastics, and enhanced styrenic and PC resins are among the new materials that made their debut at the big show in Orlando, Fla., last month.

The excitement in the air of the recent Innovation Takes Root conference was a sense of arrival.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: New Altuglas ShieldUp nanostructured acrylic sheet from Altuglas International (a unit of Arkema Inc.), Philadelphia, is said to combine the toughness of extruded acrylic sheet with all the other properties of cast sheets.

Arkema blend consisting of 20% biopolymer doubles the melt flow of straight acrylic; 30% triples it.

Impact modifier addresses three key needs.

Smaller volumes teams with higher quality and value as keys to the success of this growing medical compounder.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Three more suppliers at MD&M West brought out clear, hard plastic grades for medical uses.

Last fall’s K 2010 fair in Germany drew dozens of materials suppliers to show off hundreds of new products, aimed especially at packaging,medical, automotive, and electrical/electronics.

Want your plastic to mold faster, tougher, clearer?

The second conference on biopolymers hosted by NatureWorks testified to the burgeoning interest in this new field of plastics.

Additives that render plastic compounds antistatic or electrically and/or thermally conductive are in hot demand.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: In this month’s Starting Up section, we report on a new nylon 410, based on castor oil, from DSM of the Netherlands and Evansville, Ind.

If you’re thinking about adding bioplastics to your portfolio of processing capabilities, it’s best to first find out what separates them from traditional synthetic polymers and how their differences will affect you.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: As medical catheters get thinner and thinner, it becomes more difficult for unfilled TPEs and TPUs to provide the balance of stiffness and flexibility needed to insert the devices and thread them through long, complex vascular paths.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: “A profound step change in providing higher impact resistance in combination with high gloss” is how Dow Chemical Co. describes its new Paraloid KM-X100 impact modifier for PVC window profiles.

The roster of companies supplying thermoplastic blends with carbon nanotubes is upwards of half a dozen and growing.

A number of major businesses have changed hands recently.

WEB EXCLUSIVE The roster of companies supplying thermoplastic blends with carbon nanotubes is upwards of half a dozen and growing.

WEB EXCLUSIVE As part of its strategy to expand in engineering polymers, Arkema of France (U.S. office in Philadelphia) has acquired Oxford Performance Materials, Enfield, Conn.

Photovoltaic markets are growing explosively, and so are opportunities for specialty film producers. Solar cell and module production, which was forecasted to grow at 50% a year for the next few years before the recession hit, is now expecting slightly more healthy 30% annual growth, according to DuPont, a major supplier of photovoltaic film materials. Solar cell and module manufacturers are expanding, and large numbers of new companies are entering the field.

Arkema Inc., Technical Polymers, Philadelphia, has introduced Rilsan Clear G830, said to be the first transparent, bio-based nylon.

Huge new shuttle and carousel machines, expanded availability of CNC-machined aluminum molds, and new resins and additives highlighted the recent Rotoplas ’08 exhibition and 33rd Annual Fall Meeting of the Association of Rotational Molders (ARM) in Rosemont, Ill.

‘Zero-ODP’ is no longer enough. Now, PUR foamers are being asked to consider blowing agents with ‘low-GWP’ (global warming potential). Another environmental push is to expand use of bio-based polyols in rigid and flexible foams. Both were key topics at this year’s PUR conference.

Two additive suppliers have expanded their offerings of modifiers for polylactic acid (PLA) biopolymers: •Biomax Thermal 300, a proprietary heatdistortion modifi er from DuPont Packaging and Industrial Polymers, Wilmington, Del., is said to allow PLA thermoformed packaging to withstand up to 95 C/203 F during transport, storage, and use.

Plastics are going “green,” but they will need some help to get there. Biodegradable polymers derived from renewable resources are attracting lots of interest and publicity, but that enthusiasm is counterbalanced by persistent questions of availability, cost, performance, and processability. All these issues are inter-related: Increasing demand will lead to more capacity, which will presumably lead to lower prices. But the foundation is market demand, which ultimately depends on whether biopolymers will have the performance properties and processability to compete with existing non-renewable plastics.

This first of two articles on directions in TPE development focuses on styrenic, copolyester, polyamide, and TP urethane elastomers. The following article covers olefinics—TPOs, TPVs, and POEs.

Among the host of new additives at K 2007 were a number of unusual entries: additives to add scratch resistance or reduce odor, leaps ahead in PP clarifying, specialized antioxidant protection for nanocomposites, a growth enhancer for greenhouse films, and a naturally free-flowing TiO2. In addition, “Green” was the theme of exhibits that highlighted “all-natural” additives for biopolymers, and colors to enliven recycled resins.

Three new additives are designed to improve melt strength, clarity, and recyclability of PLA (polylactic acid) biopolymer.

Chain branching opens up lots of new processing opportunities for these fluoropolymers.

The world’s largest plastics show next month in Dusseldorf will highlight an unusual mix of new polymer additives, including some based on novel chemistries that reportedly set new levels of performance.

With capacity scale-ups driving prices down, the pace has picked up for commerical applications that boost electrical and thermal conductivity, structural strength, and thermal stability.

A new EVA random copolymer for oil-resistant crosslinked cable and fl exible jacketing boasts a very high vinyl acetate content (40%) and a low MFI (less than 3), a diffi cult combination to achieve, according to the supplier, Arkema Inc., Philadelphia.

Innovative barrier technologies to boost the shelf-life of PET bottles were introduced at the May SPE ANTEC 2007 conference in Cincinnati.

Medical tubes are becoming ever smaller and thinner while adding new features like high-tech material combinations, more wire braiding/wrapping, and heat-shrink sheathing for strength and kink resistance.

High expectations for biopolymers— an emerging class of materials derived at least in part from biological activity—are being tempered by the realities of the marketplace.

A new technique for extrusion blow molding PVDF was jointly developed by Arkema Inc., Philadelphia, and blow molder ICM Plastics Inc., Rogers, Minn.

Thermal insulation has become ‘eco-friendly,’ but now the challenge is to optimize economics, processing, and performance.

Two new maleated terpolymers bond to "difficult" substrates in multilayer packaging.

Arkema of France (U.S. office in Philadelphia) has started up a major new plant for EVA copolymers in Ain, France.

Coex blow molding has the inside track, but makers of small gas tanks and jerry cans are also looking at fluorination and other monolayer systems. Rotomolders, too, are considering multilayer alternatives.

Two more firms have joined the race to produce carbon nanotubes in commercial quantities at reasonable prices.

A new family of acrylic block copolymers is said to be easily mixed into nanoscale dispersions with various thermoplastics, thermosets, and elastomers—and to be miscible with those matrix polymers.

The latest K show was rich in additives that can ease processing and end-use problems of thermoplastics and thermosets.

 Higher flow, higher heat, higher barrier, higher clarity, higher stiffness, lower durometer, lower smoke, lower odor—materials exhibits at the recent K 2004 show in Dusseldorf were stretching the bounds of processing and performance properties in all directions.

A great deal of effort is going into formulating rigid and flexible foams for lower cost and better properties, despite the transition to "cleaner" blowing agents. Improving fire and smoke performance is another challenge.

Several new commercial or experimental materials offer rotational molders higher stiffness, toughness, and processability in applications from toys to large storage tanks.

A new patent-pending technology developed by AtoFina Chemicals in Philadelphia creates highly flame-resistant foams of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fluoropolymer without the use of blowing agents or melt processing.

Food and consumer packaging was the focus of new developments in polyolefins and styrenics, while automotive was the main target for new engineering materials.