NEWS
Asahi Kasei settles PFAS suit; EU moves on bans
Asahi Kasei Plastics North America has reached a settlement agreement with Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel that addresses historical releases of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) from its former facility near Brighton in Michigan, US. The Consent Decree requires Asahi Kasei to investigate PFAS released into soil, groundwater, and surface water from the former facility and, if concentrations that exceed state criteria are found, take additional steps to cut off harmful exposures. The company must submit its investigation and any proposed work plans to and gain approval from Michigan’s Department of
Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). It must also pay the state’s past and future oversight costs and costs of litigation. Asahi was one of 17 defendants named in Attorney General Nessel’s first lawsuit against PFAS manufacturers and is the first to reach settlement. Six other PFAS cases are pending in US state and fed- eral courts. PFAS are a large class of chemicals that, due to their strong fluorine bonds, resist degradation (hence the commonly-used reference as ‘forever chemicals’). They can disperse in to the environment, where their long lifetime means they can accumulate. One of many applications for PFAS
is in processing aids for plastics. Last year, the US EPA
proposed designating two of the most widely used PFAS — perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluo- rooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) — as hazardous substances within the CERCLA regulation. n Earlier this month the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published long-expected details of proposed restrictions on the use of some 10,000 PFASs. The proposal will be put
to ECHA’s Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) committees in March, with a six-month consultation likely to start on 22 March 2023.
Sirmax takes on weld lines
Italian engineered com- pounds group Sirmax is to commercialise an injection moulding technology designed to increase the strength of weld lines, particularly in fibre-rein- forced thermoplastic parts.
The company’s new
Smart Mold division is working with Prof Giovanni Lucchetta at the University of Padua in Italy on the process, which has been named Gas-Assisted Push-Pull (GAPP).
The technology allows dynamic packing of the mould using a single injection unit, with miniatur- ised gas injectors employed to manipulate the molten polymer in the cavity. �
www.sirmax.com
Orion to reduce air
emissions Carbon black supplier Orion Engineered Carbons says it will greatly reduce air emissions from its plant in Borger, Texas, US, as a result of a $60m upgrade project.
Newly installed control technology, including a circulating dry flue gas scrubber, will lead to a major improvement in air quality by eliminating 21 tonnes of nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions per day — a 90% reduction. The project also involved upgrading the site’s cogeneration system, which takes heat created by the carbon black production process and converts it to electricity for use in plant or for sale back to the power grid. Orion recently upgrad- ed emissions control technology at facilities in Ivanhoe, Louisiana, and Orange, Texas. The company plans to finish its final US emissions reduc- tion project at its site in Belpre, Ohio, later this year. �
https://orioncarbons.com
Biosol opens Korean bioplastics facility
CJ HDC Biosol, a joint venture estab- lished last year between CJ CheilJe- dang and HDC Hyundai EP estab- lished, has completed construction of a new bioplastic compounding plant at Jincheon in South Korea. The facility, which has a capacity of 11,000 tonnes/yr, will focus on develop-
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ment of sustainable materials using a variety of biopolymers, such as amor- phous PHA from CJ Biomaterials, as well as cellulose and polylactic acid (PLA). The new plant will help CJ CheilJe- dang to expand its business area beyond its PHA technology while also enabling HDC Hyundai EP to further
COMPOUNDING WORLD | February 2023
consolidate its compounding business. CJ Biomaterials, a subsidiary of CJ CheilJedang, is the leading producer of amorphous PHA. Softer and more rubbery than crystalline or semi-crystal- line forms, it is said to be a good modifier for other bioplastics. �
www.cjbio.net
www.compoundingworld.com
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