PT Blog

A unique 3D-printed shock absorber will make its debut at the Fakuma 2018 trade fair (October 16-20) Friedrichshafen. For several years,Covestro (U.S. office in Pittsburgh) has been developing customized polymer materials for all common additive manufacturing processes. The diverse properties of these filaments, powders and liquid raw materials make them suitable for many applications in various industries.

At the upcoming trade show, Covestro will present a complex demonstrator for a shock absorber (Stand 4206, Hall B4)

Many big brands have committed to 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025 or earlier. But there are questions that come with those pledges: how will those efforts be impacted by material availability, and what will the impact of higher recycling content levels be on future lifecycles?

Phoenix Technologies International, a global producer of recycled rPET manufacturing, believes that 50% rPET is the ideal recycled bottle content to help meet sustainability objectives and avoid compromising the recycling stream for future lifecycles.

Over the last several years, we have reported on Braskem’s Green PE and also the company’s capability to produce Green PP, though commercial production has yet to surface. Interestingly, a collaboration started in 2016 by Finland’s Neste and the Netherlands’ IKEA, may result in the first commercial PP and PE, based on 20% renewable content.

The production of these bio-based plastics, slated for startup in a pilot plant this fall, will be based on Neste’s 100% renewable hydrocarbons. The collaboration led to Neste’s ability to turn waste and residue raw materials, such as cooking oil as well as sustainable vegetable oils into PP and PE.

Over the last few years, we have all seen PLA bioplastic evolve beyond the important role it has been playing in packaging applications to increasingly more durable and structural parts in a variety of consumer goods and other applications. Perhaps one of the most exciting is what appears to be the world’s first biobased, circular car, successfully designed and built in the Netherlands by the Technical University (TU) of Eindhoven, earlier this year.

Reportedly, this is the first time that a car’s chassis and all its bodywork has been made from natural and biobased materials—no metal or traditional plastics were used for the structural parts of the car. The parts are made up of light and strong sandwich panels, based on natural flax fiber and Luminy PLA supplied by the Netherlands’ Total Corbion PLA (U.S. office in New York, N.Y.).

Global plastic packaging and film industry giant Klöckner Pentaplast Group (kp) announced a new Positive Plastics Pledge, outlining a commitment to develop and manage its products with a focus on sustainability. The pledge includes a commitment where possible to increase to 100% kp’s usage of recyclable and sustainably sourced polymers by 2028.

“kp has been designing products for sustainability and recyclability since the beginning,” Lubna Edwards, Global Sustainability Director for kp, told Plastics Technology. “However, we realize our responsibilities go beyond what we directly control. The commitments within our Positive Plastics Pledge touch every part of the value chain: design and manufacturing processes, through consumer use, to post consumer collection and recycling. It’s a transformational approach that focuses on creating mutual benefit for society and the environment, as well as a sustainable future for plastics which are a valuable resource,”