DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY — A new material debut from Dow Chemical Co. is featured in this week's Material Insights video from K 2013 in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Intune is the name of the new olefin block copolymer from Midland, Mich.-based Dow. The material combines the performance of polyethylene and polypropylene and is being aimed at several markets, including packaging and consumer durables, officials said at a press conference at the show. It's expected to be commercially available in early 2014.
A new plant opening and new sustainability goals also are featured in this week's video. FRX Polymers Inc. will open its first commercial-scale plant making halogen-free polyphosphonate flame retardant by the end of November. The plant will be located in Antwerp, Belgium. The sustainability goals are being set by Bayer AG, which by 2020 wants to reduce some types of carbon-dioxide emissions by 40 percent and increase energy efficiency by 30 percent. Both of those totals will be compared to 2005 levels.
The video wraps up with news of a new range of bio-based polymeric modifiers for PVC compounds from Metabolix Inc. Officials said the firm developed the PHA materials because it felt there was a gap in the market. The new modifiers can be used with semi-rigid and flexible PVC compounds.