Engineering Resins
PLA Biopolymers: New Copolymers, Expandable Beads, Engineering Alloys and More
Up to now, the number-one biopolymer in commercial use, polylactic acid or PLA, has been available mainly from one supplier and in a limited range of varieties. But there appear to be a number of new sources waiting in the wings, who are preparing a profusion of new PLA variants鈥攃opolymers, alloys, 鈥渆ngineering鈥 PLA and even 鈥渄o-it-yourself鈥 PLA.
Read MoreYour Business Pricing Update - November 2008
All commodity resin prices are down and still falling, thanks to weak global demand and soft feedstock prices.
Read MoreWellman to Sell Its Engineering Resins
Wellman, Inc., Fort Mill, S.C., has signed a letter of intent to sell its Engineering Resins Div. and its entire Johnsonville, S.C., manufacturing facility to an investor group of three private-equity firms.
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Your Business Pricing Update - October 2008
At press time in mid-October, the impact of Hurricane Ike on Gulf Coast refineries and resin plants was still being assessed.
Read MoreSPI Starts Bioplastics Special Interest Group
Last month, the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), Washington, D.C., launched the Bioplastics Council to provide a forum for resin and additive suppliers, processors, and equipment makers to promote the development of bioplastics.
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Investing in Planet-Friendly Packaging
Clear Lam Packaging Inc. is a mid-sized, family-owned packaging company with an enviable growth rate of over 20%/yr, unusual at a time when many mid-sized packaging companies are being bought out and disappearing. The secret, Clear Lam believes, has been its aggressive investment in R&D.
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Prices Hit Scarey Levels
The athletes in Beijing aren’t the only ones taking record leaps this summer.
Read MoreNew Biopolymers Find Commercial Use
Two promising new biopolymers are finding some initial commercial applications.
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Composites Embrace Mass Production
The focus this year at the international JEC Composites Show in Paris was not so much on brand-new processes as on adapting existing processes and materials for mass production, especially of large parts with critical structural demands. Attracting the most attention was wind energy, where composite material usage is growing more than 17%/yr, according to Gurit (formerly SP Systems), a Swiss-based global prepreg supplier with U.S. operations.
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Enhancing Biopolymers: Additives Are Needed for Toughness, Heat Resistance & Processability
Plastics are going 鈥済reen,鈥 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.
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