Kickstart: Better boots with PU

Could the plastics industry create a better military combat boot?

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Lowell are looking at replacing standard rubber outsoles on combat boots with a polyurethane modified with a "self-healing" additive that would allow the boots to repair minor damage. That would extend the life cycle of the boot and mean that soldiers wouldn't have to endure broken-down boots while waiting for a replacement.

The work by James Reuter, an assistant professor of chemistry, and his lab group at UMass Lowell is funded by a $265,000 grant through the Harnessing Emerging Research Opportunities to Empower Soldiers, or HEROES, joint research program.

Material supplier BASF and polyurethane molder Polymer Laboratory Solutions LLC of Lewiston, Maine, are collaborating on the research.

In addition to lasting longer, a PU sole on combat boots is easier to break in than traditional materials and also can be recycled once the boots are ready to be retired.

"Our research is specifically being applied to combat boots, but because of the way we designed this chemistry, it can be broadly applied to all footwear and beyond," Reuther said in a news release from the university.

Negotiators for a global plastics treaty have scheduled some additional committee meetings this summer, but it seems increasingly unlikely they will be enough to produce an agreement by the end of 2024.

Plastics News' Steve Toloken writes that a top European Commission environment official sees a large gulf remaining between negotiators pushing for ambitious rules for plastics and those from oil-producing regions who are doing their best to delay the implementation of restrictions.

When talks began in 2022, overseen by the United Nations Environment Programme, officials hoped to have a treaty ready by the end of 2024. That's unlikely, though.

"At the current pace of negotiations, it will be very difficult to close the negotiations … in November," said Virginijus Sinkevičius of the European Commission.

A lifesaving robot made with a Kevlar composite hull will be on hand at more beaches this summer, ready to be deployed for swimmers in distress.

The Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard robots — called EMILY for short by Hydronalix, an Arizona-based maker of inspection systems for industrial, infrastructure and military end markets — are being deployed at two popular Lake Michigan beaches this summer. They have already been used throughout the U.S. since 2010.

The robots can travel at up to 23 mph and reach people far faster than lifeguards. They also can operate in high waves and rip currents, which are hazards even for strong swimmers. Each EMILY is outfitted with ropes and grab handles and is operated via remote control. They've been credited with saving lives at an Oregon beach.

At a cost of $12,000, though, they aren't easy for cash-strapped beach towns to buy. The new ones placed at municipal beaches in St. Joseph and New Buffalo, Mich., were donated by the families of two people who drowned at a nearby beach in 2022, MLive.com writes.