Latest - Plastics and Elastomers R&D Highlights

Top experts review the latest patents they read and the latest papers and lectures they attended at conferences; they then make a selection of the most promising technologies and summarize in a few lines what the substance you should take away with you.

Latest

Sep 08, 2010 - Extrusion Coated Article - Patent
An extrusion coating process is used to apply a thin layer of polymer to a substrate such as paper, metal foil, or another resin to provide certain...

Sep 07, 2010 - Polystyrene with improved flow and heat resistance - Patent
This invention talks of polystyrene resins with an improved balance of flow, strength, and heat resistance. The improved resins have a melt flow index...

Sep 06, 2010 - Nanoporous PE membranes - Technical Paper
Porous polyolefin membranes play an integral role in lithium-ion battery technology as the barrier preventing direct anode and cathode contact. Block...

Sep 03, 2010 - Optimization method microinjection for molding - Technical Paper
A back light module is a key product for providing sufficient light source for a liquid crystal display (LCD). The light guide plate (LGP), used to...

Sep 02, 2010 - EPS having low expansion ratio for molded articles - Patent
This invention describes the manufacture of EPS for low-ratio expansion molding. The EPS composition contains 0.02 to 2.5 wt% of a fatty acid amide,...

Sep 01, 2010 - Renewable Butadiene - Patent
In recent years there has been considerable interest in developiing biorenewable sources for the manufacture of plastics. Butadiene is a basic...

Aug 31, 2010 - Ultrasonic welding of composite materials - Technical Paper
Ultrasonic welding is considered as one of the most promising welding techniques for continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites....

Aug 30, 2010 - Toughening Polypropylene and its Nanocomposites with Submicrometer Voids - Technical Paper
This paper deals with a novel concept of induction of well-distributed submicrometer voids in polypropylene and PP/CaCO₃...

Aug 27, 2010 - Improved PE using new catalyst technology - Technical Paper
A ternary blend of transition metal complexes was supported on mesoporous silica to produce novel multiple single-site catalysts and polyethylene... (1 Member Reaction)

Aug 26, 2010 - Cellulose-fiber-filled polyacetal composites - Technical Paper
This article investigates the mechanical and physical characteristics of composites composed of polyacetal [alternatively called polyoxymethylene...

Aug 25, 2010 - Fabrication and properties of glass-fiber-reinforced PP nanocomposites - Technical Paper
Polypropylene (PP) is widely used in many fields, such as automobiles, medical devices, office equipment, pipe, and architecture. However, its high...

Aug 24, 2010 - Improved method for manufacture of vehicle seats - Patent
The purpose of the invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the known art, by devising a manufacturing method of a seat element made of expanded...

Aug 23, 2010 - Nanocomposite Fluoropolymer Coatings - Patent
This invention is a fluoropolymer coating that includes nanoparticles for providing the coating with improved release characteristics together with...

Aug 20, 2010 - Eliminating surface defects from elastomer modifed PP - Technical Paper
A premium appearance is essential for many theroplastic products and for this reason surface defects associated with the manufacturing process, e.g....

Aug 19, 2010 - Biobased nanocomposites with improved mechanical properties - Technical Paper
Biobased nanocomposites were manufactured through the melt intercalation of nanoclays and starch esters. Starch acetates (SAs) and starch propionates...

Aug 18, 2010 - Optimization of injection molding of PP - Technical Paper
To obtain accurate prediction of service performance and service life of polymers and to optimize the processing parameters, a modified online...

Aug 17, 2010 - PE films with enhanced environmental degradability - Technical Paper
This article describes the preparation of novel photodegradable PE-TiO₂ nanocomposite films. The films were preapred by...

Aug 16, 2010 - Effect of long-term aging on UHMWPE medical implants - Technical Paper
The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of natural aging for up to 6 years in air on the thermal, mechanical, and viscoelastic properties...

Aug 13, 2010 - Microcellular injection molding processes for personal and consumer care products and packaging - Patent
This invention talks of an injection molding method, which produces a microcellular material. In this method, a polymer is melted and blended with a... (1 Member Reaction)

Aug 12, 2010 - Metal resin composites - Patent
The present invention provides a composite material engineered from metal and resin and a production method of the composite material. The composite... (2 Member Reactions)

Aug 11, 2010 - Improved process for the manufacture of optical films - Patent
Polymer co-extrusion is a common technology and is utilized in many polymer film applications, such as optical films for use in active display...

Aug 10, 2010 - Improved blow molding process for thin-walled containers - Patent
There is currently great interest in making containers with thinner walls in order to conserve material. The challenge when making thin-walled...

Aug 09, 2010 - Improved composite mesh for hernia repair - Patent
A novel composite implantable device for treating a hernia has been described. The device is designed to promote tissue ingrowth. The device consists...

Aug 06, 2010 - Tamper-resistant Plastic Container - Patent
This invention provides an aesthetically appealing food container that is easy to use and that is both tamper resistant and tamper evident. In this... (1 Member Reaction)

Aug 05, 2010 - Improved HDPE Resins for use in Pressure Pipes - Patent
The invention talks of a bimodal HDPE resins in which the high molecular weight ethylene copolymer component typically has a relatively narrow...

Aug 04, 2010 - Oxidation-resistant Polymeric Materials for Medical Implants - Patent
UHMWPE is commonly used in load bearing medical implant applications. Wear of the UHMWPE components over the years is known to compromise the...

Aug 03, 2010 - New fire retardant/antimicrobial plastics for HVAC applications - Patent
Because moisture may build up at certain times within furnaces and other heating/cooling products, it is desirable to include some way of preventing... (2 Member Reactions)

Aug 02, 2010 - Improved Polyolefin Resins for Airbag Covers - Patent
The invention provides improved polyolefin polymer compositions which provide improved airbag covers for vehicles, wherein airbag covers are required... (1 Member Reaction)

Jul 30, 2010 - High Heat and Transparent Polyamide Films - Patent
Polyamide resins have excellent toughness, strength, and chemical resistance, which make them useful as engineering resins for a wide variety of... (1 Member Reaction)

Jul 29, 2010 - Floor Panels Containing Wood / Plastic Composite - Patent
This patent provide a new method of making wood fiber/plastic composite (WPC) floor panels. The invention also has as object to provide floor panels...

Jul 28, 2010 - Biorenewable PS - Patent
Common plastic material production draws on fossil (i.e. non-renewable) reserves thus contributing to the depletion of essential and increasingly...

Jul 27, 2010 - Transparent microwaveable expanding package - Patent
This invention is a transparent package assembly configured for expansion in a generally vertical direction between a collapsed state and an extended...

Jul 26, 2010 - Durable In-mold Decoration Laminates - Patent
This patent discloses durable In-Mold Decoration (IMD) laminates made by using semi-crystalline polymers as top films. The crystalline structure or...

Jul 23, 2010 - Biodegradable Food Containers - Patent
This invention provides biodegradable food containers having excellent water resistance and rigidity. The compositions contain 15% - 75% by wt. of... (1 Member Reaction)

Jul 22, 2010 - Biodegradable Polycarbonate - Patent
This patent application claims a polycarbonate resin composition made using at least one plant-derived component. The polycarbonate has improved...

Jul 21, 2010 - Migration of additives from polymer packaging to food simulants during microwave heating - Technical Paper
Three different polypropylene materials, PP homopolymer (PP), propylene-ethylene random copolymer (PP-R), and propylene-ethylene copolymer (PP-C) are...

Jul 20, 2010 - Natural Fiber Trim Panel for Automobiles - Patent
The use of multi-layer or laminate panels in automobile trim panels such as, for example, headliners, door panels, instrument panels, dashboards,... (1 Member Reaction)

Jul 19, 2010 - PP thermal degradation during processing - Technical Paper
The main drawback of rotational molding is a long stay (several dozens of minutes) of polymer in melt state at high temperature in atmospheric air. To...

Jul 16, 2010 - Hot-Fillable Plastic Container - Patent
Plastic containers often collapse during filling due to vacuum forces. This invention claims an improved package design that solves this problem. The...

Jul 15, 2010 - Delivery of Microparticles to Body Tissues - Patent
This invention provides improved polymeric compositions for tissue augmentation. The inventive compositions consists of a polymeric material having a...

Jul 14, 2010 - Biodegradable block copolymers and articles made using them - Patent
This invention claims novel block copolymers having one or more polyisobutylene segments and one or more biodegradable linkages that hold the...

Jul 13, 2010 - Optical information media containing encapsulated data - Patent
There is a need to preserve and protect data over very long periods of time. Unfortunately most plastic materials utilized for optical storage media...

Jul 12, 2010 - Plastic solid waste: Recycling, energy recovery, and chemical recovery - Technical Paper
The goal of this article is to provide the reader with an in depth analysis regarding the recovery, treatment and recycling routes of plastic solid...

Jul 09, 2010 - Composite muffler system with integrated crash management - Patent
This invention claims a composite muffler system formed of a long fiber thermoplastic. Long fiber thermoplastic technology allows the fibers, to...

Jul 08, 2010 - High strength composites containing volcanic ash - Patent
This invention claims compositions and methods for producing high strength composites by compounding thermoplastics with a naturally-occurring...

Jul 07, 2010 - PCL/phosphate glass composites for medical applications - Technical Paper
Phosphate-based glasses and their composites are of interest as bone repair and tissue engineering scaffolds due to the totally degradable nature of...

Jul 06, 2010 - Wood plastic composites based on blends of HDPE/PET - Technical Paper
PET was successfully introduced into wood plastic composites through a two-step reactive extrusion technology. Wood flour was added into pre-prepared...

Jul 05, 2010 - A simple route towards PC–silica nanocomposite - Technical Paper
This article reports the preparation of PC–silica nanocomposites by simple one-step injection moulding process. Silica nanopowder was first...

Jun 25, 2010 - Additive for improving the separation of PET and PE - Patent
This invention provides an additive for helping the separation of PET and PE during recycling operations. The additive is added to the tanks where the... (1 Member Reaction)

Jun 24, 2010 - Fabrication of nanocomposites - Technical Paper
This article summarizes recent progress in the fabrication methodologies of nanocomposites. On the basis of the techniques of nanocomposites synthesis... (2 Member Reactions)

Jun 23, 2010 - Materials, design and manufacturing for lightweight vehicles - Technical Paper
This new book provides a comprehensive analysis of the materials being used for the manufacture of lightweight vehicles whilst comparing...

Jun 22, 2010 - Beverage container with enhanced gas barrier properties - Patent
Coca Cola researchers have discovered an additive for PET which improves the gas barrier resistance of PET. The additive is blended into PET during...

Jun 21, 2010 - Effect of processing on PLA crystallization - Technical Paper
PLA is an emerging material mainly because it can be synthesized from renewable resources and is thus environmentally and ecologically safe. The...

Jun 18, 2010 - Plastic foams having improved strength and rigidity - Patent
This invention consists of a procedure for manufacturing foams having improved mechanical strength and rigidity. PE foams often suffer from lack of...

Jun 17, 2010 - Mixing device for filled polyurethane resins - Patent
This invention is a device for high-pressure mixing of polyurethane components, in which one of the polyurethane components is pre-mixed with a filler...

Jun 16, 2010 - PMMA/nanoTiO2: An exciting nanocomposite - Technical Paper
This article describes the results of research conducted to investigate the matrix properties by introducing nanosize TiO₂ (5...

Jun 15, 2010 - Improved compositions for laser engraving - Patent
This invention provides a composition having excellent laser engraving properties. The composition contains a host material and a laser enhancing...

Jun 14, 2010 - Dramatic Improvements in Mechanical Properties of Poly(L-lactide)/Silica Nanocomposites - Technical Paper
Biodegradable PLA/silica nanocomposites have poor mechanical properties due to the lack of compatibility of PLA with silica nanoparticles. The authors... (1 Member Reaction)

Jun 11, 2010 - Improved mold release compounds and process - Patent
The quality of molded parts and the molding speed can be greatly improved by improving the releasability of plastic parts from stainless steel molds....

Jun 10, 2010 - Biomedical nanocomposites - Technical Paper
Biomedical polymer-silicate nanocomposites have potential to become critically important to the development of biomedical applications, ranging from...

Jun 09, 2010 - Transparent PC nanocomposites - Technical Paper
Transparent nanocomposite PC films were fabricated by blending a concentrated nanocomposite formed by preparation of PC in the presence of alumina... (1 Member Reaction)

Jun 08, 2010 - Remote controlled biomaterials - Technical Paper
In recent years, there has been much interest in the development and applications of nanocomposites as biomaterials. In some cases, the nanoparticles...

Jun 07, 2010 - PC nanocomposites with improved mechanical and thermal properties - Technical Paper
PC/nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending followed by injection molding. The effect of clay types on the mechanical, morphological, and thermal... (1 Member Reaction)

Jun 04, 2010 - Polypropylene/Polyolefin Elastomer Blends - Technical Paper
Many applications require improved impact strength over pure PP. This article explores the addition of polyolefin elastomer (POE) to improve the...

Jun 03, 2010 - Anticorrosive nanocomposite material - Patent
The invention relates to an anticorrosive nanocomposite material that comprises polyurea, organophilic clay and suitable additives, and is useful for...

Jun 02, 2010 - Biodegradable biomaterials - Technical Paper
In recent years, polymer science has made enormous advances leading to a new era of polymers especially biodegradable polymers. Today a number of...

Jun 01, 2010 - Starch based bio-nanocomposites - Technical Paper
Starch is a natural, renewable, and biodegradable polymer produced by many plants as a source of stored energy. It is the second most abundant biomass...

May 31, 2010 - PHAs - the future green materials of choice - Technical Paper
PHAs have recently been the focus of attention as a biodegradable and biocompatible substitute for conventional non-degradable plastics. The cost of...

May 28, 2010 - Nanocomposite material for optical data storage - Patent
This invention provides an improved material for construction of optical information media. The data storage disks made using this invention have a...

May 27, 2010 - Mar resistant articles - Patent
This invention talks about new additives that improve the specular gloss retention and mar resistance of articles made from amorphous and...

May 26, 2010 - Migration of additives from nanocomposite food packaging - Technical Paper
The development of improved food packaging films through the incorporation of nanoparticles, and the effect of the nanoparticles on the process of...

May 25, 2010 - Sterilizable PP resins for medical devices - Patent
This invention provides new polymer compositions that are resistant to heat and radiation. The compositions include a random propylene copolymer and a... (1 Member Reaction)

May 24, 2010 - Heat-stable Nano-composite molding materials - Patent
This invention talks of a nanocomposite composition having improved heat stability. It is well known that the polymer oxidation involves free radicals... (1 Member Reaction)

May 21, 2010 - Trends for fuel cell membrane development - Technical Paper
Fuel cells are considered to be a promising energy conversion technology of the future owing to the inherent advantages of electrochemical conversion...

May 20, 2010 - Starch Nanoparticles - Technical Paper
Starch is a natural, renewable, and biodegradable polymer produced by many plants as a source of stored energy. It is the second most abundant biomass... (1 Member Reaction)

May 19, 2010 - Polymers with low dielectric constant - Technical Paper
One of the exciting and promising developments in material science today is the design and synthesis of novel low-dielectric-constant polymer...

May 18, 2010 - Polyvinylamine, at last! - Technical Paper
A sustained effort to develop and commercialize a practical route to amine functional polymers (AFPs) resulted, after almost 20 years, in the... (1 Member Reaction)

May 17, 2010 - Plastics with improved surface characteristics - Patent
Many surface modifying additives end up distributed throughout molded and extruded parts rather than ending up entirely on the surface of the parts...

May 14, 2010 - Agrofillers in polypropylene composites - Technical Paper
One of the most interesting properties of agrofilled polymer composites is their light weight. PP composites containing six different agrofillers were... (1 Member Reaction)

May 13, 2010 - Biaxially-oriented shrinkable biodegradable film - Patent
A bidirection-shrinkable biodegradable film comprising PLA- based resin containing at least 80% by weight of the L-lactic acid repeating unit, wherein... (1 Member Reaction)