The shift from fossil-based to renewable bio-plastics requires new efficient methods. New technology developed at VTT enables the use of pectin-containing agricultural waste, such as citrus peel and sugar beet pulp, as raw material for bio-based PEF-plastics for replacing fossil-based PET. The carbon footprint of plastic bottles can be lowered by 50% when replacing their raw material of PET with PEF polymers, which also provides a better shelf life for food.
“In the near future, you may buy orange juice in bottles that are made out of orange peel. VTT’s novel technology provides a circular approach to using food waste streams for high-performance food packaging material, and at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” shares Professor of Practice Holger Pöhler from VTT”.
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and other polyesters are being widely used in food packaging, plastic bottles and textiles. The annual production of PET products is estimated at 30 million tonnes. Replacing fossil-based PET with plant-based PEF (polyethylene furanoate) polymers can lower the carbon footprint of the products by 50%.
Moreover, the barrier properties of PEF plastics are better than PETs, meaning that the food products have a longer shelf life. PEF is a fully recyclable and renewable high-performance plastic. Therefore, it opens up possibilities for the industries to reduce waste and to have positive impact on the environment.
VTT’s technology has significant advantages for making bio-based PEF plastics. The technology uses a stable intermediate for the production of FDCA (2,5-furandicarboxylic acid), one of the monomers of PEF, which enables a highly efficient process. In addition, utilising pectin-containing waste streams opens up new possibilities for the circular economy of plastics.
VTT’s unique scale-up infrastructure from laboratory to pilot scale ensures that this new technology will be brought to a technology readiness level that will allow polymer manufacturers’ easy transition to full scale.
https://www.vttresearch.com/
Plant-based and recyclable plastic bottles now enabled with VTT’s new FDCA technology using citrus peel as raw material
Gemco Updates Semelex Safetimeter and Provides Enhanced Protection For Factory Personnel
A new case design provides increased protection for the proven Gemco 1999 Semelex Safetimeter. The portable, multi-purpose, diagnostic system for press room automation and operator safety device analysis is now even easier to handle and transfer between locations.
The new 1999SEMC Semelex II Safetimeter test set is field-proven to accurately measure press stop time and safety distance to verify the equipment is in compliance with U.S. federal and state requirements. The device is designed for harsh industrial environments. It is portable, lightweight, battery-operated, easy to use, and incorporates new and improved features.
Manufacturers that work with stamping presses or other machinery equipped with light curtains, palm-buttons, E-stop buttons, or safety mats need to know where to position their personnel, in order to keep them safe from potential accidents that may occur as a result of contact with the moving machinery. The versatile 1999SEMC Semelex II Safetimeter can quickly calculate stopping time on machines with reciprocating or rotary motion and determine the minimum safe distance. Gemco’s Semelex Safetimeter is capable of measuring elapsed time and stop time (Ts) from 1-9999 milliseconds. It also calculates the minimum safety distance (Ds) based on the formulas created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
For more than two decades, the Gemco 1999 Safetimeter series has been recognized by its yellow steel case. The new version has been updated with an even stronger case made from a highly visible yellow plastic resin. The case is lightweight, waterproof (IP67), crushproof, dustproof, and has a die-cut foam insert for the auto-hand and position/velocity transducer. These tough cases are designed with an automatic purge valve, that equalizes air pressure, a watertight silicone O-ring lid, over-molded rubber handles, and stainless-steel hardware.
The Gemco 1999 Safetimeter series is designed for harsh industrial environments and is portable, lightweight, and easy to use. The stability and trustworthiness of Gemco Semelex I
Agilyx Signs Agreement with A.Eon
Agilyx Corporation (AGLX), a pioneer in the advanced recycling of post-use plastics, and A.Eon Holdings Pty Ltd, a market leader in the development of sustainable energy solutions, announced today the initiation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to evaluate the construction of a 50 ton per day commercial scale plastics to energy facility utilizing Agilyx technology. This announcement is further progress of Agilyx’s target of 260 tons per day of projects in development by year end 2020.
The planned facility will be located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and will convert mixed waste plastic to Agilyx Synthetic Crude Oil (“ASCO”) through Agilyx proprietary advanced plastics recycling technology. The output ASCO would be used by A.Eon to generate electricity for the Victorian State Government’s redeveloped Footscray Hospital project, local industry, as well as to supply peak energy demand. This initial 50 ton per day focus is a starting point, with an option for additional commercial scale facilities to be developed in Australia by A.Eon.
“We are delighted to be working with A.Eon on this truly impactful project,” said Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx. “Having an already proven track record in the U.S. converting mixed waste plastics to ASCO, we are looking forward to replicating this for A.Eon in Australia.”
“An exciting start to a great partnership,” said Andrew Lawson, A.Eon’s Managing Director. “A.Eon is pleased to be working with Agilyx. We look forward to seeing this project come to fruition, which will see up to 20,000 tons of waste plastic diverted from landfill and converted into more than 60,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year.”
https://www.agilyx.com/
Solvay and PrinterPrezz are collaborating to develop 3D printing selective laser sintering solutions
PrinterPrezz is a trailblazer in combining polymer and metal 3D printing, nanotechnologies and surgical expertise to design and manufacture next generation medical devices.
“Solvay works with companies across the additive manufacturing (AM) ecosystem to offer production-ready high-performance 3D printing solutions to the healthcare industry,” said Christophe Schramm, AM Business Manager for Solvay Specialty Polymers global business unit. “This partnership will allow us to combine our expertise in materials with PrinterPrezz’s unique offering for qualification of medical devices to accelerate the adoption of 3D printed implants and medical devices using Solvay’s latest AM powder technology for SLS.”
Solvay has over 30 years of experience supplying high-performance polymers to the healthcare industry. The company’s Solviva® biomaterials provide optimal performance and meet the requirements for prolonged or permanent exposure to bodily fluids and tissue in the human body. Solvay is leveraging this experience to jointly optimize materials, processing, design and testing for the manufacturing of high-performance 3D printed medical devices.
In addition to the collaboration, Solvay’s venture capital fund, Solvay Ventures, participated in PrinterPrezz’s recent $16 million equity financing round. The funding will support collaborative development efforts in specialized materials for medical equipment. “By partnering together, Solvay and PrinterPrezz will accelerate the advancement of 3D printed medical devices, providing better patient outcomes through breakthrough technology as a part of our efforts to create sustainable shared value for all,” said Thomas Canova, head of Solvay Ventures.
“3D printing is evolving rapidly and is revolutionizing and the development of advanced health care applications from concept to manufacturing,” said Shri Shetty, CEO of PrinterPrezz. “The range of services offered by PrinterPrezz which includes engineering, clinical and regulatory guidance as well as access to 3D simulation software and state-of-the-art 3D printers provides Solvay a gateway for the development and optimization of their high-performance polymeric AM powders to advance the manufacturing of next generation implants and medical devices.”
https://www.solvay.com/
www.printerprezz.com
Stratasys to Acquire Origin, Bringing New Additive Manufacturing Platform to Polymer Production
Under the terms of the agreement, the total consideration for the transaction is comprised of $60 million paid on closing ($6 million of which is subject to the founders’ retention over 3 years) and $40 million that is subject to performance-based earnouts over 3 years. The acquisition will be paid using a combination of stock of approximately $45 million and cash of approximately $55 million at closing and throughout the earnout period. Approximately $32 million of the cash expenditure will be at closing. The acquisition is expected to accelerate Stratasys’ growth rate and be slightly dilutive to non-GAAP earnings per share in 2021, and accretive to Stratasys’ non-GAAP earnings per share by 2023. The Origin team will join Stratasys and lead the development of its technology and product platform, with a full global launch via the Stratasys go-to-market organization towards mid-2021.
“Our customers are looking for additive manufacturing solutions that enable use of industrial-grade resins for mass production parts with process and quality control,” said Stratasys CEO Yoav Zeif. “We believe Origin’s software-driven Origin One system is the best in the industry by combining high throughput with incredible accuracy. When combined with Origin’s extensive materials ecosystem and our industry-leading go-to-market capabilities, we believe we will be able to capture a wide range of in-demand production applications on a global scale. Together with our intended entry into powder bed fusion technology, the acquisition of Origin reflects another step in fulfilling our objective to lead in polymer additive manufacturing by offering comprehensive, best-in-class technologies and solutions to create a fully digital additive value chain, designed for Industry 4.0 integration.”
According to an internal Stratasys market analysis, manufacturing applications show the most potential for significant growth in the 3D printing industry, reaching approximately $25 billion by 2025. Stratasys anticipates that production-oriented resin-based solutions can address a significant part of the total market for polymer additive manufacturing. In fact, it is estimated that resin polymer-based additive systems will grow at a 20% annual rate from 2020 to 2025.
Origin’s P3 technology, an advancement on Digital Light Processing (DLP) principles, cures liquid photopolymer resin with light. The company’s first manufacturing-grade 3D printer, Origin One, precisely controls light, heat, and force, among other parameters, via Origin’s closed-loop feedback software. This new technology enables customers to build parts with industry-leading accuracy, consistency, size and detail, while using a wide range of commercial-grade, durable resins.
Origin works with a network of material partners such as Henkel, BASF and DSM to develop resins for its system. “We partnered and developed materials with Origin before Origin One was launched because we believed in their technology and vision for the future of photopolymers in additive manufacturing,” said François Minec, Managing Director at BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH. “Now, as part of Stratasys, we’re confident that together we can take on the broader manufacturing ecosystem.”
Origin One systems have been successfully deployed across a variety of industries, including shoe manufacturer ECCO. “We’re pleased to continue our cooperation with the Origin team as an exclusive partner within the area of the footwear industry categorized as Direct Injection Production, now also by leveraging Stratasys’ global infrastructure,” said Jakob Møller Hansen, Vice President Research & Development, ECCO.
The COVID-19 pandemic further illustrated Origin’s technology fit for production applications, including hundreds of thousands of clinically validated nasopharyngeal swabs, thousands of PPE face shields, and ventilator splitters for hospitals.
“We founded Origin to create a whole new additive manufacturing platform that enables mass production of end-use parts with incredible accuracy, consistency, and throughput along with a wide range of available materials,” said Origin CEO and co-founder Christopher Prucha. “Stratasys is the best company for us to join to achieve our vision, giving us an unparalleled opportunity to significantly expand market reach and enable us to bring our P3 technology to a larger audience.”
www.stratasys.com/
BPS HIGH-VOLUME TWIN-SCREW FEEDER DELIVERS PRECISE BATCH SIZE AND WEIGHT
The Model TSF twin-screw feeder from Best Process Solutions (BPS) is designed for precise batching and weighing applications. The feeder’s dual-helix design combines fast, high-volume filling with accurate dribble flow at the end of the cycle. Its compact design is ideal when limited space prohibits multiple individual screw units.
Two helixes—1½” and 4” in diameter—are mounted on an 18”x22” hopper. They are rated at 17 cu. ft. and 283 cu. ft. per hour, respectively, at maximum RPM with 100%-efficient conveyable product and no slippage.
TSF is ideal for batching to weigh-hoppers; low loss-in-weight scale-monitored flow; low loss-of-weight batch applications with scales; drum and pail packout lines; and recipe-type batching by multiple computer-controlled units. Many options are available.
GRAHAM ENGINEERING CORPORATION APPOINTS LARRY ALPERT AS MEDICAL EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER
KIMBERLY MEDFORD NAMED PRESIDENT OF ENTEK MANUFACTURING
ENTEK has named Kimberly Medford as its new President of its extruders division. The announcement was made by Larry Keith, ENTEK’s CEO. Larry Keith has been serving as interim President of ENTEK Extruders since the retirement of President Dr. Kirk Hanawalt earlier this year.
“I am excited to announce that Kim has accepted our offer to be the next President of ENTEK Manufacturing,” said Keith. “As our VP & General Counsel, she has been an instrumental part of our management team which together is leading our growth and success. She has been deeply involved in our global growth through mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as directly involved with various customer and supplier relationships to help ensure that we continue to uphold the ENTEK standard of being the best supplier to our customers, and the best customer to our suppliers. Kim transitions into her new role from leading our global legal, HR, and EH&S departments.”
Kim Medford joined ENTEK in 2012 as the company’s VP & General Counsel, and for the past eight years has been part of the company’s executive management team. Prior to that she represented ENTEK as outside counsel while working at the law firm of Troutman Sanders LLP. She is a graduate of Willamette University.
“ENTEK Manufacturing is a very special part of the ENTEK family of companies, and I am honored to take on this new role as its President,” said Medford. “It’s an exciting time at ENTEK, as we grow and expand to meet the needs of our customers. The future is incredibly bright for our Extruders business, with great opportunities to help our customers grow in increasingly important areas such as recycling and bioplastics. Going forward ENTEK will be at the forefront of plastics recycling and environmental solutions.”
While 2020 has been a challenging year especially due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Medford said many positive things have taken place at ENTEK. “We have worked to better integrate our three business units (lead-acid battery separators, lithium-ion battery separators, and equipment manufacturing) and we now have internal cross-functional teams supporting each other more closely than ever,” she said. “This helps us both produce a better overall team and is further investment in our core value of innovation. We are well-positioned for the future and I look forward to leading our equipment manufacturing business into 2021 and beyond.”
http://entek.com/
Nova Chemicals and Revolution team up to meet demand for recycled plastic
New Supply of PCR for Flexible Packaging Available January 2021
NOVA Chemicals Corporation (“NOVA Chemicals”) and Revolution announced an agreement for NOVA Chemicals to sell recycled low / linear low-density polyethylene (r(L)LDPE) produced by Revolution. The agreement marks Revolution’s exclusive partnership with a resin manufacturer and builds NOVA Chemicals’ portfolio of post-consumer resin (PCR) offerings for its customers.
Revolution manufactures plastic films for a variety of consumer and industrial products and packaging, which they recapture after use to recycle and reuse in new products. This agreement will utilize a portion of this “closed-loop” plastic. NOVA Chemicals will begin to provide these resins in January 2021.
“Working with Revolution, a company that shares our passion for advancing the circular economy, we will further widen our product offerings for recycled plastics,” said Luis Sierra, president and CEO, NOVA Chemicals. “Together we will offer a portfolio of PCR that is available immediately to enable our customers and brand owners to meet their sustainability goals.”
Per the New Plastics Economy Global Commitments 2019 Progress Report, demand for PCR is expected to increase fivefold by 2025 (from a 2018 baseline) as brand owners work to reach ambitious goals for recycled content in packaging. NOVA Chemicals will be offering a number of r(L)LDPE grades from Revolution with different melt indexes and densities to help bridge the gap. The grades are ideal for use in flexible packaging applications such as heavy duty sack, shrink and stretch wrap, agricultural film, poly mailers and pouches, as well as a range of molded goods.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with NOVA Chemicals to help more customers looking for high quality post-consumer recycled content,” said Sean Whiteley, CEO, Revolution. “Creating a circular economy for plastics is at the core our company’s mission. For more than 20 years, we’ve been putting high quality PCR back into new flexible packaging, and we are excited to expand the positive sustainability impact to more applications with NOVA Chemicals”
In addition to recycled resins, NOVA Chemicals also offers technical support to help customers incorporate PCR into applications while meeting rigorous performance requirements. NOVA Chemicals’ dedicated PCR team has extensive PCR expertise coupled with technical facilities at the company’s Innovation Centres which are equipped with industry-leading production, conversion and test equipment.
“The relationship we’ve built with Revolution will have a significant impact on the market for recycled plastics,” said Greg DeKunder, vice president, polyethylene marketing, NOVA Chemicals. “Joining forces enables NOVA Chemicals to be a one-stop shop for our customers’ PCR needs, and to provide the peace of mind that comes with buying from NOVA Chemicals.”
GPCA Announces Special Editionof Annual Forum to Take Place inFebruary 2021
The forum will address the theme ‘Leadership in the New Reality Catalyzing Sustainable Growth in the Chemical Industry’
Association (GPCA), the voice of the chemical industry in the Arabian Gulf, today announces
that a special edition of the 15 th Annual GPCA Forum will take place on 10-11 February 2021 at
the Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, addressing the theme ‘Leadership in the New Reality – Catalyzing
Sustainable Growth in the Chemical Industry’.
The forum’s agenda will include four main sessions which will be addressed by CEOs of leading
chemical companies and key players from the Arabian Gulf region and globally. They will
discuss opportunities for the new era beyond COVID-19. The forum is set to attract senior
industry executives from over 50 countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to plunging petrochemical prices, eroding margins, and depressed
demand during the first two quarters of 2020. The regional chemical industry started to bounce
back in Q3 but has not recovered fully yet. Despite earnings being negative, the third quarter of
this year closed with net income growth for the majority of listed GCC chemical producers,
which posted an average net income growth of 78%.
As the chemical industry emerges from the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic,
leadership in the new reality will become front and center to companies’ journey towards
success in 2021 and beyond. The Annual GPCA Forum will provide renewed perspectives from
across the world on key issues that remain top of mind for industry leaders today including
leveraging technology post crisis, what value creation will look like in a changing landscape, the
need to upskill the workforce of the future, build supply chain resilience and drive positive
sustainability results.
anticipated downstream industry event, and promises to deliver a compelling program with an
impressive line-up of speakers who will descend from all over the region and the world. Some of
the speakers and panelists confirmed so far include:
Ilham Kadri, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Solvay
Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO, Covestro and President, PlasticsEurope
Dominic Waughray, Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Ahmed Saleh Al Jahdhami, CEO Downstream, OQ
Dr. Faisal Al-Faqeer, CEO, Sadara Chemical Company
Mosaed Al Ohali, CEO, Ma’aden
Dr. Ahmed Ali Attiga, CEO, APICORP
Rayan Fayez, MD and CEO, Banque Saudi Fransi
has presented unimaginable challenges to the chemical industry the world over and redefined
the priorities, business strategies and metrics for success for today’s organizations. How can
chemical companies safeguard their competitiveness in 2021 and beyond? How can Arabian
Gulf producers remain in the driving seat of innovation and global market leadership? What is
the recipe for success on sustainability, digitalization, workforce development and value creation
for shareholders with long term returns? The Annual GPCA Forum will provide a platform to
debate and answer these key questions and more, and share lessons learned from the region
and the world as we come together to navigate through the new reality in the post pandemic era
and build a more resilient future for our industry, society and planet.”