news PolyOne adds new line for LFTs
PolyOne is expanding capacity for its OnForce LFT long-fibre thermoplastics with the addition of a new production line at its manufacturing facility at Avon Lake, Ohio, USA. It will be fully operational by the end of February 2015. The company says that its LFT formula- tions based on glass and carbon fibres offer high stiffness and impact strength while retaining good surface finish. They are used in metal replacement and structural parts. “Demand continues to increase for lighter
weight materials and the products made from them,” said Craig Nikrant, president, global specialty engineered materials, PolyOne. “This investment is aligned with current megatrends to better serve our
Citadel
opens plant in China
Citadel Plastics officially opened its new plant in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, China on 20 January. The facility, which is part of a joint venture with EMEI Group, is initially producing bulk moulding compound, but can be expanded to compound thermoplastics. “The new Changshu site is a prime opportunity for Citadel to continue our successful partnership with EMEI, provide improved local customer support and response, and expand our engineered composites footprint in China,” said Mike Huff, Citadel’s CEO. Citadel operates 20
plants worldwide including another Chinese facility in Dongguan. ❙
www.citadelplastics.com
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customers in North America across several industries, including industrial, transporta- tion, oil and gas, and shooting sports.” l One recent application of PolyOne’s OnForce LFT is in the award-winning Vela table made by Resinas Olot of Girona, Spain. The reinforced plastic has been selected to replace aluminium in the table’s legs. Resinas Olot is part of the Resol furniture company, which markets the table via its design-focused Barcelona Dd brand. Awards for the Vela table include the German Design Council’s Interior Innovation Award 2014, and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Best of Category award in its 2014 Product Design Competition. ❙
www.polyone.com
PolyOne is increasing capacity for its OnForce LFT as used in this Vela table from Resol
Fullerenes shown to protect plastics insulation in cables
Researchers from Borealis and the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have demonstrated the use of fullerenes to protect plastics insulation in high- voltage cables. They say that the nanometre-sized carbon balls enable polyethylene to withstand a 26% higher voltage, which could increase the efficiency of power grids in the future. The research work involved the addition of very small amounts of different variants of the C60
carbon ball, a
nanomaterial in the fullerene molecular group that is also known as a buckminsterfuller- ene or bucky-ball. Such materials have already been tested in the conductive parts of high-voltage cables, but it is
COMPOUNDING WORLD | February 2015
Fullerenes can help to prevent the formation of
electrical trees in high-voltage cable insulation
believed that this is the first time that it has
been shown they can bring benefits to the insulation material.
The Chalmers researchers say that fullerenes are the best voltage stabilizers identified for insulation plastics thus far. They help to capture electrons, preventing them from destroying other molecules and forming electrical trees
within the plastic. A paper on the initial
research, entitled “A new application area for fullerenes: voltage stabilizers for power cable insulation”, has recently been published in the Advanced Materials journal. The next stage of the project will involve testing the technology on a large scale in complete high-voltage cables with both alternating current and direct current. ❙
www.chalmers.se
www.compoundingworld.com
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