news Study backs brominated FRs
High-impact polystyrene containing a brominated flame retardant has a lower carbon footprint than PC/ABS with a non-halogen flame retardant according to a study commis- sioned by ICL Industrial Products and conducted by the global consultancy Sinclair Knight Merz. The study looked at
materials for the back-hous- ings of LCD TVs, including HIPS flame-retarded with ICL’s FR-245 brominated flame retardant. This was found to have significantly lower carbon emissions than PC/ABS flame-retarded with non-halo- gen BDP. The HIPS compound was calculated to create 12.9 kgCO2e per housing compared 21.7 kgCO2e for the PC/ABS formulation.
The study’s second best
option for manufacturing LCD TVs, from a greenhouse gas emissions point of view, was the combination of ABS flame-retarded by a bromi- nated epoxy polymer such as ICL-IP’s F-2100. This was calculated to create 16.5
kgCO2e per housing. It is estimated that more than 150 million LCD television housings are produced each year, consuming more than 300,000 tonnes of plastics. Due to strong pressure by environ- mental organisations, manufacturers have begun
moving from brominated FRs to non-halogenated formula- tions. ICL says that companies making such substitutions have not considered the related cost in terms of increased greenhouse gas emissions. ICL’s FR-245 is a melt-
More than 300,000 tonnes of plastics are used to manufacture the housings of 150 million TVs per year
Solvay progresses with Chinese compounding plant investment
Solvay Specialty Polymers
has announced that its new €21 million compounding plant in Changshu, China, will be completed this summer, ahead of schedule. The new plant will be used
to produce high-performance engineering plastics, such as aromatic and fluorinated polymers. These compounds will be targeted at China’s fast growing markets for electrical and electronics, wire and cable, automotive, consumer and industrial applications. Solvay is also building a
new €120 million production plant for fluorinated polymers
12
in Changshu. This is scheduled to be operational in early 2014. It will meet the growing demand from markets such as automotive, photovoltaic, Li-ion batteries, membranes for water purification and oil and gas applications. In addition, Solvay is
merging its R&D facilities in nearby Shanghai with those of Rhodia to create one world- class R&D centre located at Rhodia’s campus in the Xinzhuang industrial zone. The move follows Solvay’s acquisi- tion of Rhodia last year. A new €4 million building will be added to the existing
COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2012
Rhodia research centre with two full floors dedicated to polymer formulation and processing. It will also include an injection moulding facility for customer trials. There will be several
state-of-the-art fully equipped laboratories focusing on chemical formulation, mechanical measurements, ageing and flame retardancy. In addition, design and simulation capabilities will be included to help customers reduce their time-to-market for new plastics products. ❙
www.solvay.com ❙
www.rhodia.com
blendable flame retardant that combines favourable impact properties with UV stability. The company says that it is a bulky molecule that is not susceptible to migration from styrenic polymer matrices, even under severe thermal conditions. New FR-245 based systems have been recently introduced to allow the production of flame-retarded styrenic copolymers without the use of antimony trioxide. ❙
www.icl-ip.com
B&P named exporter of the year
B&P Process Equipment’s president and CEO, Laurence Slovin has been recognised as the Michigan and Midwest Regional Exporter of the Year by the US Small Business Adminis- tration. The award was presented on 3 May. The company makes a
range of process equipment including twin-screw extruders, kneaders and mixers. It generates more than 60% of its sales outside of the USA. For a video about the award visit:
http://bit.ly/BandPaward
www.compoundingworld.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60