Compounding
Recycled PET/PE Alloys Show Promise In Monofilament, Pallets, Pipe
Alloys of polyethylene and recycled PET were the highlight of the annual SPE Global Plastics Environmental Conference (GPEC) in Detroit in February.
Read MoreThey've Been Working on the Railroad
Composite RR ties could finally be on their way to becoming the next big thing in plastic lumber. They are attracting interest from makers of marine pilings, another category of structural wood replacements.
Read MoreAutomotive Innovation Trend-Setting Technologies Garner SPE Awards
Paintless in-mold film decorating and carbon-fiber composites are making inroads in appearance and structural parts. Blow molding is finding new interior applications. And long-fiber thermoplastics are cutting weight and cost on the inside and outside of new passenger vehicles.
Read MoreAdditive Masterbatches Make Polyolefins Degrade
Two masterbatch suppliers claim to have found effective ways to make polyethylene and polypropylene products degrade like paper or wood while remaining cost-competitive with conventional LDPE or PP.
Read MorePVDF Latex Foam CompositesProvide High Flame Resistance
A new patent-pending technology developed by AtoFina Chemicals in Philadelphia creates highly flame-resistant foams of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fluoropolymer without the use of blowing agents or melt processing.
Read MorePOE Alloys Replace Liquid Plasticizers In High-Performance Flexible PVC
Flexible PVC doesn't have many friends these days.
Read MoreNew Clarifiers & Nucleators: They Make Polypropylene Run Clearer and Faster
New packaging opportunities are opening up for PP, thanks to a new crop of additives that boost clarity, stiffness, HDT, and processing rates.
Read MoreLong-Glass PP Makes InroadsIn Automotive Front Ends
Injection molded, long-glass-reinforced polypropylene appears to be the staple of new automotive front-end systems (FES) designed with a high degree of parts integration.
Read MoreCut the 'Chatter' in Window Profile Extrusion
A new class of heat stabilizer and an unusual lubricant are said to allow high-speed extrusion of rigid PVC window profiles without such common problems as "chatter" lines, die plateout, and frictional heat build-up in the calibrator.
Read MoreLong-Glass Leader-How Faurecia Helped Put TP Composites In the Driver's Seat
Europe's third largest automotive molder, Faurecia, uses five different long-glass thermoplastic molding processes, more than any other molder in the world. It invented half of them, including the world's first in-line compounding- and-injection process.
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