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Sabic, Through Its Joint Venture Company, Sabic Sk Nexlene Company (Ssnc), Expands Capacity of Korea Nexlene Plant for Advanced Polyolefin Material Solutions

Julie Fernandes
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Sabic, Through Its Joint Venture Company, Sabic SK Nexlene Company (SSNC), Expands Capacity of Korea Nexlene Plant for Advanced Polyolefin Material Solutions

  • Capacity expansion at joint venture plant in ulsan to go on-stream in q2 of 2024 to leverage its nexlene technology for the production of advanced polyolefin materials including cohere pop, supeer mlldpe, and fortify poe
  • Growing demand for nexlene based polyolefin solutions expected e.G. In differentiated high-end market segments of photovoltaics, new mobility, footwear and advanced packaging solutions
  • Expansion supports sabic’s 2025 growth agenda to increase operational efficiency, create synergies and strengthen product offerings in its petrochemicals business

A global leader in the chemicals industry, has announced that its sabic sk nexlene company (ssnc) joint venture with sk geo centric (formerly sk global chemicals) in south korea will expand the capacity of their plant in ulsan for production of advanced material solutions using nexlene technology. The plant, operated by korea nexlene company (knc), supports the production of sabic’s broad portfolio of cohere metallocene polyolefin plastomers (pop), supeer metallocene linear low density polyethylenes (mlldpe) and fortify polyolefin elastomers (poe).

The capacity expansion will become operational in the second quarter of 2024 to meet a growing demand for nexlene based polyolefin solutions in several differentiated high-end market segments. Target applications include encapsulant film for use in photovoltaics, enabling energy transition, as well as innovations in new mobility, lighter weight & resilient footwear applications and enhanced packaging solutions to reduce food wastage.

Sami al-osaimi, vice president of pe & sales, sabic, and board chairman for ssnc said, “we have identified a strong trend towards customized and high-performance polyolefins, especially metallocene polyethylene materials, in several important new technology markets.” he added, “our cohere pop, supeer mlldpe and fortify poe polymers are ideally positioned to meet the needs of our global customers for enhanced toughness, flexibility, elasticity, heat-sealing properties, and optical properties, amongst others. The knc plant capacity increase will provide the operational efficiency to boost the growth of these nexlene based materials. At the same time, it will give us a significant competitive edge to strengthen the market penetration of our brands.”

The innovative nexlene technology combines a bimodal solution process with a proprietary metallocene catalyst to yield state-of-the-art ethylene copolymers with tailored molecular weight distribution and modality.

 

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INEOS Styrolution Receives Recyclass Certification for Its Recycled Abs Grades

Julie Fernandes
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INEOS Styrolution Receives Recyclass Certification for Its Recycled Abs Grades

  • The certification is valid for mechanically recycled Terluran ECO MR [1] and Novodur ECO MR grades
  • The certification confirms the post-consumer origin of the used waste
  • Applications based on Terluran ECO MR and Novodur ECO MR will be shown at the K fair 2022

INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, has today announced that its sustainable mechanically recycled ECO grades have received RecyClass certification. The Recycled Plastics Traceability certification, which is valid for Terluran ECO MR as well as Novodur ECO MR grades, confirms the post-consumer origin of the waste used in the production of the respective products.

The newly-obtained RecyClass certification now “guarantees the origins and traceability of recycled material and uses the percentage-based recycled content calculation approach that is verified throughout the entire value chain. This is ensured via the Chain of Custody ISO 22095 as well as the Recycled Plastics EN 15353:2006 standards, on which the certification is based. The transparency of the scheme is additionally warranted via the system of the third-party certification audits.” [2]

The certification confirms the post-consumer origin of the waste used in the Terluran ECO MR and Novodur ECO MR materials and

  • facilitates traceability of recycled materials along the value chain,
  • promotes transparent use of recycled plastic in new products, and
  • reinforces reliable and verifiable claims on recycled plastic.

Terluran ECO MR
INEOS Styrolution’s portfolio of sustainable §ECO” materials includes Terluran ECO GP-22 MR50 and MR70, two commercially available ABS [3] grades incorporating 50% and 70% recycled content, respectively. Both grades offer performance on the same level as virgin material, thereby avoiding the need for downcycling and instead offering a drop-in solution for existing ABS applications.

In this way, the Terluran ECO MR grades are a significant step forward towards a circular economy, and a valuable tool to help customers achieve their sustainability targets.

Louie Mackee, Commercial Product Manager for Sustainable Products, says: “We are delighted to have completed the RecyClass certification for our mechanically recycled ABS grades, guaranteeing the post-consumer origin of the waste used to produce them. We recognise this as an important step towards increasing customer confidence when using materials containing recycled content, and our portfolio of sustainable ABS products is now stronger than ever. We invite customers to see a selection of applications made from our mechanically recycled Terluran ECO materials at INEOS Styrolution’s booth at the K show in Düsseldorf in October.”

Novodur ECO MR and Novodur ECO High Heat MR
Novodur specialty ABS solutions come in various colours. Consequently, also the Novodur ECO MR products are available in black and in various colours. A product for self-colouring is available as well. Mechanically recycled Novodur material is available with a 30% to 70% post-consumer mechanically recycled content. The individual grades come with a significant product carbon footprint (PCF) of up to 57%.

Nils Wittenberg, Technical Product Manager Novodur EMEA, says: “RecyClass certification is a significant step for our mechanical recycling solution. The properties for our Novodur ECO MR speak for themselves. The materials are plug-in solutions. And now, the origin of the post-consumer waste is certified as well.”

 

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Explore the Durability & Carbon-footprint Reduction Benefits of Geotextile Fibres & Woven Fabrics at Eurogeo7

Julie Fernandes
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0

Explore the Durability & Carbon-footprint Reduction Benefits of Geotextile Fibres & Woven Fabrics at Eurogeo7

  • Visit stand MS15, Hall M for fibre solutions and woven geotextiles
  • Achieve material savings and a longer service life with polyolefin fibres from Beaulieu Fibres International produced with 100% green electricity
  • Talk to Beaulieu Technical Textiles’ geotextile experts for case studies proving performance & sustainability benefits, backed by Environmental Product Declarations

Beaulieu International Group invites EuroGeo7 attendees to Stand MS15 Hall M to discover geotextile solutions promoting greater sustainability for future civil engineering projects.

Join our specialists from Beaulieu Fibres International (BFI) and Beaulieu Technical Textiles (BTT) as they highlight support for high-performance geosynthetics through high tenacity fibres for lightweight, nonwoven geotextiles, and a range of high durability woven geotextile solutions with an environmentally beneficial impact.

“We are delighted to sponsor EuroGeo7 and to be finally on-site, following a two-year postponement of the event. EuroGeo7 is bringing the geotextile community together to further promote and develop geosynthetics in a fast changing global economy striving for growth while reducing its carbon footprint along the supply chain, ” comment from Jefrem Jennard, Sales Director Fibres, and Roy Kerckhove, Sales Director Technical Textiles. “Geotextiles provide highly versatile, durable and natural resource-saving alternatives in large infrastructure works, and offer durable protection in erosion control and waste/water management projects. We are continuously developing our fibres and finished engineering textiles with proven sustainability-enhancing benefits to progress product development and customer sustainability goals on fossil carbon reduction, while taking concrete steps to reduce our own environmental footprint.”

For manufacturers of nonwoven geotextiles, BFI’s high-tenacity HT8 staple fibres enable customers to achieve nonwovens with high mechanical performance at reduced fibre weight. The HT8 high tenacity fibres are designed in a way that customers can meet the industry durability standards for a longer service lifetime, supporting more sustainable design and resource reduction over time.

BTT’s woven geotextiles are amongst the most sustainable in the industry and provide a wide range of functions, including separation, filtration, reinforcement and erosion control.

They follow the comprehensive European standard EN 15804+A2 and are accompanied by third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) to communicate the sustainability of each product to customers transparently. BTT’s woven textiles can reduce CO2-emissions in infrastructure projects by a factor of 10 compared to more conventional methods such as gravel and help to minimize use of natural resources.

Sustainability improvement is key to the long-term strategy of Beaulieu International Group, and it is committed to supporting the geotextile industry by targeting and accelerating change and communicating the sustainable performance of its products. The UN Sustainable Development Goals are integrated into its business and are the foundations of the new Route 2030 Sustainability Roadmap.

BFI and BTT have conducted lifecycle assessments to calculate their activities’ carbon footprint and solutions and have received external recognition for their ongoing sustainability efforts. For example, in 2022, BFI was awarded a Silver EcoVadis sustainability rating, and BFI and BTT are proud recipients of the Voka Charter for Sustainable Entrepreneurship 2022.

Find out more at EuroGeo7 Hall M Stand MS15.

 

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Sabic Expands Its Ultem Resin Optical Material Portfolio to Help Advance the Adoption of Single-mode Fiber Optics

Julie Fernandes
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Sabic Expands Its Ultem Resin Optical Material Portfolio to Help Advance the Adoption of Single-mode Fiber Optics

Sabic, a global leader in the chemical industry, has expanded its optical materials portfolio with the launch of ultem 3310td resin, which is well suited for optical transceiver collimator lenses used in single-mode fiber optic systems. This new polyetherimide (pei) resin delivers a significantly lower coefficient of thermal expansion (cte) than that of standard ultem grades. A low cte is essential to optimize the dimensional stability of the collimator lenses and ensure alignment with single-mode fibers. Furthermore, the new grade provides near-infrared (ir) transmission without degrading signal quality. As a potential replacement for glass, ultem 3310td resin offers the efficiency of high-volume micro-molding, avoids the need for costly secondary operations, expands design freedom and lowers part weight.

“Sabic is helping to facilitate further adoption of single-mode fiber optics, an emerging datacenter infrastructure technology for high-speed transmission of large data volumes over long distances,” said scott fisher, business director, ultem resins and additives, sabic. “our new lower-cte ultem 3310td resin, a great candidate for single-mode optical transceiver lenses, provides better design and production capability, and potential cost savings, compared to traditional aspherical glass lenses. This new material builds on decades of customer success using incumbent ultem resins for multi-mode fiber optic components. As the industry embraces new advancements such as increasing use of single-mode fiber optics, sabic continues to innovate with targeted, high-performance products.”

Addressing challenges with single-mode fiber optics
As datacenters handle larger data volumes that generate more heat, temperature fluctuations can cause expansion and shrinkage in optical lenses. Dimensionally stable lens materials are needed to avoid misalignment with the fiber, which can lead to signal loss or distortion. This challenge is more critical with single-mode fiber than multi-mode fiber, due to the difference in core diameter (8-9 μm vs. 50-62.5 μm, respectively). Collimation in the smaller light bundles of single-mode fiber is highly sensitive to misalignment, with less tolerance for heat-induced dimensional changes.

New ultem 3310td resin has a cte of ~38 ppm/c, a reduction of 30 percent compared to the cte of ultem 1010 resin, which is widely used in multi-mode optical transceiver lenses. The new material’s cte, while not as low as that of glass, expands the implementation opportunities for thermoplastics in single-mode fiber optics. Furthermore, ultem 3310td resin offers several advantages over glass, including the ability to be micro-molded into a wide variety of shapes without the time-consuming secondary grinding and polishing required for aspherical glass lenses. As a thermoplastic, the new resin helps enable complex part designs, like free-form optics and multi-channel lens arrays, which may be difficult to achieve with glass. It also helps to achieve easy integration of mechanical and optical components such as alignment fixtures.

For customers that use ultem 1010 resin for multi-mode fiber optic lenses, choosing ultem 3310td resin instead of glass for single-mode optics provides continuity in processing and simplifies the supply chain. The two grades complement each other, offering a complete solution for single-mode and multi-mode applications.

“Until now, the industry has been forced to use glass for single-mode optical lenses because the cte of conventional thermoplastics was too high,” said david wang, senior product manager, sabic. “we formulated ultem 3310td resin with a low cte to address the increased dimensional stability requirements of single mode fiber, while maintaining near ir transmission above 85 percent. To assist customers around the world in transitioning to ultem resin, sabic’s technology centers in europe and japan provide micro-molding capabilities, including state-of-the-art equipment to test optical properties, metrology and aging.”

In addition to optical transceiver lenses, ultem 3310td resin can potentially be used in other telecommunications applications such as optical modems and optical cables. Furthermore, it can be considered for components in other industries that call for a low cte and good ir transmission, such as lidar sensors (automotive), drones (electronics) and robots (industrial).

Ultem 3310td resin is globally available. This new product is also listed in the zemax opticstudio database.

 

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Durable Material for Flexible Artificial Muscles

Julie Fernandes
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Durable Material for Flexible Artificial Muscles

Discovery also paves way for robots and wearable devices that mimic natural motion

UCLA materials scientists and colleagues at the nonprofit scientific research institute SRI International have developed a new material and manufacturing process for creating artificial muscles that are stronger and more flexible than their biological counterparts.

“Creating an artificial muscle to enable work and detect force and touch has been one of the grand challenges of science and engineering,” said Qibing Pei, a professor of materials science and engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the corresponding author of a study recently published in Science. In order for a soft material to be considered for use as an artificial muscle, it must be able to output mechanical energy and remain viable under high-strain conditions – meaning it does not easily lose its form and strength after repeated work cycles.

While many materials have been considered contenders for making artificial muscles, dielectric elastomers (DE) – lightweight materials with high elastic energy density — have been of special interest because of their optimal flexibility and toughness. Dielectric elastomers are electroactive polymers, which are natural or synthetic substances composed of large molecules that can change in size or shape when stimulated by an electric field. They can be used as actuators, enabling machines to operate by transforming electric energy into mechanical work. Most dielectric elastomers are made of either acrylic or silicone, but both materials have drawbacks. While traditional acrylic DEs can achieve high actuation strain, they require pre-stretching and lack flexibility.

Durable Material for Flexible Artificial Muscles
A 4×5-inch film made of 10 layers of processable, high-performance dielectric elastomers (PHDE) stacked together with 20 actuators.

Silicones are easier to make, but they cannot withstand high strain. Utilizing commercially available chemicals and employing an ultraviolet (UV) light curing process, the UCLA-led research team created an improved acrylic-based material that is more pliable, tunable and simpler to scale without losing its strength and endurance.

While the acrylic acid enables more hydrogen bonds to form, thereby making the material more movable, the researchers also adjusted the crosslinking between polymer chains, enabling the elastomers to be softer and more flexible. The resulting thin, processable, high-performance dielectric elastomer film, or PHDE, is then sandwiched between two electrodes to convert electrical energy into motion as an actuator.

Each PHDE film is as thin and light as a piece of human hair, about 35 micrometers in thickness, and when multiple layers are stacked together, they become a miniature electric motor that can act like muscle tissue and produce enough energy to power motion for small robots or sensors. The researchers have made stacks of PHDE films varying from four to 50 layers. “This flexible, versatile and efficient actuator could open the gates for artificial muscles in new generations of robots, or in sensors and wearable tech that can more accurately mimic or even improve humanlike motion and capabilities,” Pei said.

Artificial muscles fitted with PHDE actuators can generate more megapascals of force than biological muscles and they also demonstrate three to 10 times more flexibility than natural muscles. Multilayered soft films are usually manufactured via a “wet” process that involves depositing and curing liquid resin. But that process can result in uneven layers, which make for a poor- performing actuator. For this reason, up to now, many actuators have only been successful with single-layer DE films.

The UCLA research involves a “dry” process by which the films are layered using a blade and then UV-cured to harden, making the layers uniform. This increases the actuator’s energy output so that the device can support more complex movements. The simplified process, along with the flexible and durable nature of the PHDE, allows for the manufacture of new soft actuators capable of bending to jump, like spider legs, or winding up and spinning. The researchers also demonstrated the PHDE actuator’s ability to toss a pea-sized ball 20 times heavier than the PHDE films. The actuator can also expand and contract like a diaphragm when a voltage is switched on and off, giving a glimpse of how artificial muscles could be used in the future.

The advance could lead to soft robots with improved mobility and endurance, and new wearable and haptic technologies with a sense of touch. The manufacturing process could also be applied to other soft thin-film materials for applications including microfluidic technologies, tissue engineering or microfabrication. Other authors of the study from the UCLA Materials Science and Engineering Department are Ye Shi, Erin Askounis, Roshan Plamthottam, Zihang Peng, Kareem Youssef and Junhong Pu —all current or former members of Pei’s Soft Materials Research Lab at ULCA. Shi, Askounis and Plamthottam are co-lead authors of the study. The authors from SRI International are Tom Libby and Ron Pelrine. The research was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The team, through the UCLA Technology Development Group, has filed for an international patent on the technology.

 

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BASF’s Irgacycle Stabilizes Recycled Plastics Used to Protect Pineapples From Sunburn in Malaysia

Julie Fernandes
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BASF’s Irgacycle Stabilizes Recycled Plastics Used to Protect Pineapples From Sunburn in Malaysia

ASF and 3T Industries Sdn Bhd, a leading recycling company in Malaysia dealing with post-industrial and post-consumer recyclates, are helping pineapple plantations in Malaysia to increase their yields and save resources. For the first time, 3T Industries has applied BASF’s IrgaCycleTM UV033 DD to enhance 100% recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) sheets used as protectors for pineapples.

While pineapples require a warm and humid climate, they are susceptible to damage from solar radiation and high temperatures (> 32°C) which can significantly reduce marketable yield and cut deep into a grower’s profit. Symptoms include sunburn or bleaching which are visible as yellow-white skin that turns pale grey or brown upon damage to the tissue underneath. This damaged tissue is susceptible to disease and infestation. The HDPE protector shields the fruit from direct sunlight while still allowing photosynthesis to occur.

BASF’s IrgaCycleTM helps pineapple plantations in Malaysia by stabilizing recycled plastics used in protecting pineapples from sunburn.

“Plastic additives specifically for the agricultural sector are highly customized to fulfil critical customer needs for enhanced crop protection solutions,” says Hermann Althoff, Senior Vice President, Performance Chemicals Asia Pacific. “We offer full customer support in all questions of quality improvement of recyclates to make them viable materials in new applications.”

Previously, 3T Industries used a combination of antioxidants and light stabilizers to achieve the performance requirements stipulated by the grower – the HDPE protectors needed to last through the intended service lifetime of four seasons. IrgaCycle offers a one-pack solution that is immediately available for the recycler without the need for further premixing. It is also more efficient at lower concentrations compared to traditional antioxidant systems and reduces the overall quantity of additives required.

This results in easy and accurate dosing, improved product quality, as well as upgraded recyclate for use in long-term applications. “We use our expertise in recycling technology and post-consumer resins to provide better solutions to consumers and communities,” says PH Tan, Managing Director of 3T Industries.

“With IrgaCycle, we were able to use recycled feedstock to design a new product that features a high amount of recyclate content and makes more sustainable agricultural plastics possible.” BASF not only provided 3T Industries with the suitable additive solution, but also the technical recommendations to stabilize the recycled polymers during processing and outdoor weathering. This is important as an effective and sustainable application of recycled materials depends on, amongst others, the optimization of process conditions and modifying agents. Launched in 2021, IrgaCycle consists of a series of plastic additive formulations, which enable recycled plastics to be reused for the production of high-value plastics in combination with virgin materials.

The additive solution addresses specific quality issues associated with recycled resins, such as limited processability, poor long-term thermal stability and insufficient protection from outdoor weathering. The IrgaCycle range is offered as part of the valeras portfolio. In addition to enabling plastics circularity with IrgaCycle, valeras solutions bring significant sustainability value to plastic applications by improving durability, saving energy, as well as reducing waste and emissions.

 

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Welcome to the Family: Colombiaplast Joins the K Global Gate Portfolio

Julie Fernandes
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Welcome to the Family: Colombiaplast Joins the K Global Gate Portfolio

When it comes to plastics, colombiaplast is the most important international trade fair in the Andean region, Central America and the Caribbean. For the first time, will take place in September as part of K’s Global Gate portfolio, and will be supported by Messe Düsseldorf’s extensive network.

“At the end of 2020, Acoplasticos, Messe Düsseldorf and Corferias signed an agreement for the joint organisation of colombiaplast 2022 to strengthen its position as the leading trade fair for the plastics, rubber, petrochemicals and packaging industry in Latin America,” explains Erhard Wienkamp, operational managing director of Messe Düsseldorf. Thus, with support from Düsseldorf, everything will revolve around plastics and packaging in the halls of Corferias in Bogota from 26 to 30 September 2022.

COLOMBIAPLAST is the place to be for the plastics industry in Latin America.

Almost 43,000 visitors come to colombiaplast in the Colombian capital to find out about the plastics and petrochemicals industry – the latter accounts for 15 percent of the GPD in Colombia and is thus an important branch of the country’s economy. In the Corferias halls, interested visitors can obtain information and make new contacts from exhibitors from 172 nations on 4,900 square metres. An extra area will also be provided for networking so that companies can connect with each other and thus increase the competitiveness of the industry in the region.

In addition to networking, technology and techniques are of course of central interest to the industry. Here, colomabiaplast offers a detailed overview of all segments. The main segments are:

  • Raw materials
  • Moulds
  • Machinery and equipment
  • Technical parts
  • Recycling and Circular Economy Solutions
  • Instrumentation and process control
  • Research and development
  • Services

In Bogota, however, the focus will not only be on the status quo of the industry, but also on the future: colombiaplast 2022 will be complemented by an academic programme presenting trends in innovation, productivity and efficiency as well as the most important technical and technological challenges for the industry – always with a view to the sustainability of the industry.

Erhard Wienkamp explains, “colombiaplast is not only a unique opportunity to learn about the plastics industry specifically in the Latin American market, but also the ideal “warm-up” for the industry’s leading trade fair, K 2022 in Düsseldorf, which takes place three weeks later.”

 

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“They Are Recyclables, Not Waste” – Recycling of Rigid Polyurethane Foams

Julie Fernandes
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“They Are Recyclables, Not Waste” – Recycling of Rigid Polyurethane Foams

Circular Economy is teamwork. Everyone can contribute, and every single step counts. Covestro is making its contribution – together with other partners such as Circularise – with the Circular Foam research project. This is about recycling rigid polyurethane foams that are used in the insulation of buildings or refrigeration appliances.

Dorota Pawlucka, Global Alliance Management Covestro AG & Project Coordinator CIRCULAR FOAM.

In an interview with K-MAG, Dorota Pawlucka talks about the need for such a project, why rigid polyurethane foams are so difficult to recycle, and why she believes a completely closed-loop recycling system is possible.

Ms Pawlucka, what is behind the Circular Foam project?

Dorota Pawlucka: The overall aim of the project is to strengthen sustainable business, especially the Circular Economy. We are concerned with developing old materials as an alternative resource. Our focus is on rigid polyurethane foams, which are used for example in refrigerators and freezers or as insulating materials in house construction.

With the help of chemical processes, we want to recover carbon from the foams and use it as a raw material for new materials. In addition to chemical technology, we are also looking at waste streams. This gives us access to the recyclable materials. I want to emphasise, they are recyclables, not waste. They are alternative resources.

To what extent did you see the need for such a project?

Pawlucka: The need is based on three major challenges that our planet is currently facing: climate change, finite resources or fossil raw materials and increasing amounts of waste.

Plastics play a major role in this context. For example, we can save energy with insulation materials, and we can produce and transmit renewable energies thanks to them. These are just two examples of many that show that we cannot imagine life without plastics.

And how do plastics now help us to become less dependent on fossil raw materials and solve the waste problem?

Pawlucka: The problem is that the resources on which plastics are based are finite and only about 14 percent of all plastics are recycled. Yet plastics themselves are an alternative resource at the end of their product life. So if we manage to recycle and use them, we can become less dependent on fossil raw materials and also reduce the amount of waste.

You have already mentioned that currently very little is recycled. This is especially true for rigid polyurethane foams. Why is that the case?

Pawlucka: The difficulty is that rigid foams based on polyurethanes cannot simply be melted down like many other plastics. Since they are not composites, it is relatively easy to separate them from different products, but chemical processes are needed to break down the rigid foams molecularly.

These chemical processes are currently under development, but the research effort here is still enormous.

Covestro

How do you meet these chemical challenges?

Pawlucka: At Covestro we rely on a triad: chemolysis, smart pyrolysis and enzymatic recycling are the three different technologies of our choice to be able to integrate waste streams into the cycle. In the circular foam project, we focus on chemolysis and smart pyrolysis. The advantage of such chemical processes is that we can produce equivalent materials. So we have no loss of quality.

Is a completely closed cycle of recyclable materials even possible?

Pawlucka: We have to believe in it, and we firmly do. We are moving more and more in the direction of the Circular Economy, but it takes time. After all, we as a society have been operating in a linear fashion for almost 180 years. This contrasts with our goal of being climate-neutral in the EU in 2050.

There are countless recyclable materials for which cycles must be closed. Mechanical recycling is already in use for some and works. Chemical processes are still under development. But the cycle also includes the use of all alternative raw materials, for example biomass.

All in all, Circular Economy covers an incredibly large spectrum that needs to be tapped. At circular foam, we are working with our 22 partners on a solution for rigid foams and developing a holistic approach. In parallel to the technology development, we are also doing regional work, preparing the implementation of the recycling processes on the ground. Every single contribution is important to move closer to the goal of a sustainable economy and with circular foam we are making our small contribution.

 

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Augmented Reality in the Plastics Industry: Individualized Instructions for the Entire Product Life Cycle

Julie Fernandes
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Augmented Reality in the Plastics Industry: Individualized Instructions for the Entire Product Life Cycle

Individualization is the trend. In the plastics industry, too, more and more individualized machines are coming onto the market. Of course, these machines also require individualized manuals with instructions tailored specifically to them. However, this is not yet a reality today. The AdaptAR project wants to change that – with the help of Augmented Reality and an app.

You’re operating a machine, suddenly a problem arises, and you naturally look directly in the manual – but you just can’t find the right answer to your question. Does that sound familiar? This could be because the manual is not tailored to your specific product type, or because your manual is only available in paper form, making it much more difficult to look up specific information.

Fraunhofer IPT

AdaptAR solves contradiction between need and reality

Today, user manuals are still often published in paper form. For the most part, they are created manually – at the beginning of the product lifecycle. Subsequent changes to the product can no longer be taken into account. As a result, the information is not geared to the actual needs of users.

 

This is precisely where the AdaptAR project comes in. Karl Lossie from the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT – coordinator of the joint project – explains the thinking behind it.

Concept for the provision of adaptive and context-specific instructions throughout the entire product life cycle : Fraunhofer IPT

Maintenance, documentation & Co. – AdaptAR in practice

To achieve these goals, the Fraunhofer IPT is supported by a total of 12 project partners – including DEGUMA-SCHÜTZ GmbH. This company manufactures rolling mills for rubber processing.

User companies such as DEGUMA-SCHÜTZ can use the planned software in various use cases throughout the entire product life cycle.

Fraunhofer IPT

In addition to maintenance, the software can also support the assembly of the company’s own products, commissioning and operation at customers’ sites, and finally even the reconditioning of plants. Companies thus not only save costs for skilled personnel and travel, but also time.

Overcoming barriers thanks to AR

In addition, fewer downtimes and accidents occur due to improper operation of the equipment – on the one hand due to the availability of instructions that are precisely tailored to the product type, and on the other hand due to user-friendliness and specificity.

Fraunhofer IPT

For example, certain steps in the app may have an AR representation, while other steps may not – depending on the user’s preference or experience. As soon as a process is completed, any changed data is also stored in the Digital Twin. Based on the history, it is always possible to see exactly what people who previously worked on the system did or changed.

AdaptAR also aims to overcome any language barriers thanks to its translation function. This should eliminate another source of errors when operating plants.

 

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Silgan Dispensing launches automatic dosing closure, MeaSURE

Julie Fernandes
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Silgan Dispensing launches automatic dosing closure, MeaSURE

Silgan Dispensing, a global leader in the design, development and distribution of highly engineered pumps and sprayers in the beauty, home, healthcare, and garden markets, today announces the launch of its new dosing solution, MeaSURE.

MeaSURE is an innovative closure with a built-in chamber that delivers convenient, controlled dosing with the use of one hand. When inverted, the closure dispenses the exact amount needed for the intended application and reloads within seconds. With MeaSURE, consumers get a solution that removes the mess and the hassle of measuring cups in an easy-to-use, compact dispenser.

Designed with e-commerce and sustainability in mind, MeaSURE meets Amazon’s ISTA-6A compliance, showing no signs of damage or leaking during the rigorous testing process. The closure is also ideal for concentrated formulas, which use less packaging and save on both raw materials and shipping. The closure is ideal for laundry, lawn & garden, automotive, cleaning and personal care applications.

“MeaSURE delivers on several key needs for our customers, including the need for omni-channel solutions, consumer driven innovation and sustainability,” said Lee Luo, Senior Manager of Category Development for Silgan Dispensing. “The continued rise in online shopping, the need for an improved dispensing experience, and the increase in usage of concentrates among consumers have all led to the creation of MeaSURE. The smart design of this closure addresses all of those factors at once.”

 

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