Tuesday, 29-Sep-09

Reliance said to be eyeing $3 billion LyondellBasell deal
ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (September 29, 2009) -- The Indian business media is abuzz with rumors that the country’s Reliance Industries Ltd. plans to purchase some or all of LyondellBasell Industries, currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The deal could be worth $3.25 billion.

Tuesday, 22-Sep-09

Tesla turns to metal for sedan

Dewhurst Photography photo

TROY, MICH. (September 22, 2009) —- When designers from Tesla Motors Inc. began planning the company’s all electric Roadster, they had to add up the 900-pound weight of its lithium-ion battery pack with the speed performance of a sports car and ultralow production volumes, and came up with a light-weight car-body equation of carbon-fiber panels.

Fuel economy rules encourage material changes
TROY, MICH. (September 22, 2009) -- One number is pushing innovation in the North American auto industry: 35.5. That’s the average number of miles per gallon that the passenger vehicle fleet will have to hit by 2016 according to new rules announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Envion opens plastics-to-oil recycling unit in U.S.
DERWOOD, MD. (September 22, 2009) -- Envion Inc. has launched itself into the plastics recycling world by opening a plastic-to-oil conversion unit in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, 15-Sep-09

Two executives resign at compounder Kingfa
GUANGZHOU, CHINA (September 15, 2009) -- China’s largest compounder, Kingfa Science and Technology Co. Ltd. of Guangzhou, announced that the company’s general manager Xia Shiyong and vice chairman Li Jianjun have both submitted resignation letters. The company told Chinese media that the main reasons include the two executives’ violation of stock trading policies.

Rice based composites to challenge WPCs
COLOGNE, GERMANY (September 15, 2009) -- German company Münchener Boulevard Möbel (MBM) claims its new rice-based composite may provide an environmentally-friendly and better performing alternative to wood plastic composites (WPC) in applications such as decking.

Power station ash for new cut price fillers
BRISTOL, UK (September 15, 2009) -- A new reprocessing technology that extracts high performance fillers from the waste ash produced by coal-fired power stations could slash the cost of manufacturing performance polymer compounds, according to process developer RockTron Engineers.

Chinese firm in talks with BorsodChem
YANTAI, CHINA (September 15, 2009) -- After weeks of speculation and rumor, Wanhua Industrial Group, whose Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Co. Ltd. subsidiary is the largest isocyanate producer in Asia-Pacific region, has confirmed that it is in discussion with BorsodChem RT’s majority owner, the private equity firm Permira, with a view to becoming a strategic investor in the Hungarian chemicals company.

Aviation industry sees potential in polymers

"Stingray" seats

HONG KONG (September 15, 2009) -- While problems with plastic composites have repeatedly delayed Boeing Co.’s next-generation 787 Dreamliner airplane, some aviation industry executives continue to see a role for polymers in helping airlines reduce weight and improve their environmental footprint.

Tuesday, 08-Sep-09

Japan's Tanaka and Teijin make bioplastic eyeglasses
TOKYO (September 8, 2009) -- Teijin Ltd. said a Japanese eyeglass frame maker has become the first in the world to make a frame entirely from bioplastic, as part of Teijin's push to improve performance and broaden markets for the material.

Biodegradable waste bags 'more damaging' than PE
HEIDELBERG, GERMANY (September 8, 2009) -- A detailed life cycle analysis study of plastics waste bags carried out by Heidelberg's Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU) has shown that traditional PE resins are less damaging in environmental terms than the biodegradable versions currently on the market in Europe.

UK firm researching power-generating plastic trees
LONDON (September 8, 2009) -- UK-based firm SolarBotanic hopes to revolutionise the green energy movement with its new power-generating plastic tree concept, which uses nanotechnology to convert solar energy to electricity.

Mitsubishi and Sinopec may delay start of China PC plant
BEIJING (September 8, 2009) -- Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. and China’s Sinopec held an opening ceremony Aug. 28 to kick off their planned joint venture polycarbonate and bisphenol-A manufacturing facility in Beijing.

Germany's IKV: Plasma-coated PLA could challenge PET
AACHEN, GERMANY (September 8, 2009) -- The Institut fĂĽr Kunststoffverarbeitung (IKV) plastics processing institute in Aachen believes that plasma coating -- a technique already used commercially to enhanced shelf-life performance of PET bottles -- could enable polypropylene and polylactic acid containers to meet demanding barrier-performance requirements.

Tuesday, 01-Sep-09

Sinochem Quanzhou licenses Unipol PP technology
QUANZHOU, CHINA (September 1, 2009) -- Sinochem Quanzhou Petrochemical Co. Ltd. has selected Dow Basic Plastics’ Unipol technology for its first polypropylene facility, which will become the sixth PP plant in China to license the Unipol technology.

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