The SPE Library contains thousands of papers, presentations, journal briefs and recorded webinars from the best minds in the Plastics Industry. Spanning almost two decades, this collection of published research and development work in polymer science and plastics technology is a wealth of knowledge and information for anyone involved in plastics.
Various topics related to sustainability in plastics, including bio-related, environmental issues, green, recycling, renewal, re-use and sustainability.
Leif Steuernagel, Dieter Meiners, Gerhard Ziegmann, Ahmed El-Sabbagh , Oliver Toepfer, January 2016
Aluminum trihydroxide can be used with compounded flax and polypropylene to increase flame retardance behavior, but without reducing mechanical properties.
Mechanical treatment, with the use of a Supermasscolloider, of sugar cane bagasse significantly improves the mechanical and thermal characteristics of composites made with this material.
Rafael Balart , David Garcia-Sanoguera, Maria Dolores Samper, Alfredo Carbonell, Daniel Garcia-Garcia, September 2015
Spent coffee ground particles are treated with a fatty acid derivative in a novel hydrophobic method that improves particle dispersion and impact properties.
The poly(L-lactide)-to-poly(D-lactide) block length ratio of star-shaped asymmetric stereoblock copolymers is a key control on the crystallization of stereocomplex crystallites.
Noureddine Atalla, Chul B. Park, Hani E. Naguib, Shahrzad Ghaffari Mosanenzadeh, July 2015
Tailoring the microstructure of biobased open-cell porous materials could enable the development of innovative, eco-friendly thermoplastic packages for acoustic applications.
Mehmet Dogan, Erdal Bayramli , Umit Tayfun, June 2015
Enhancing interfacial interactions between natural filler and polymer matrix by modifying the surface of rice straw results in stronger thermoplastic polyurethane-based eco-composites.
Papa-Birame Gning, Vincent Francois, Karim Bensalem, Lotfi Toubal, Jean-Christophe Cuilliere, May 2015
A non-Fickian model of moisture diffusion in a hemp/polypropylene composite allows better prediction of moisture uptake and its related effect on mechanical properties.
Prakash Hadimani, Padmanabhan B. Raman, Robert Roden, Sambhu Bhadra, Babu Padmanabhan, May 2015
Jute-filled polypropylene composites with a heat deflection temperature above150°C and improved mechanical and flow properties were developed on a high-performance co-rotating twin-screw compounder.
Grafting poly(vinyl acetate) from starch improves film formability, thermal stability, and toughness in biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/starch blends.
Masoud Allahkarami, Sudheer Bandla, Jay C. Hanan, May 2015
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) is the most used packaging material for water and carbonated soft drinks. Raw materials used in making PET are typically based on non-renewable resources and does not biodegrade at the end of their service life. Designing PET bottles to use less PET significantly reduces carbon emissions. This involves optimizing the part design and manufacture process which requires advancing accurate techniques for thickness and physical property measurements. The bottle base section is one of the locations that can often be modified in a mold. Due to the complex shape and curved surfaces, thickness measurement on the base section is difficult. Here, a micro X-ray tomography method was used for thickness measurement and visualization. Knowledge of the final thickness distribution at different locations of the bottle base is beneficial for both design and process optimization.
Abstract Polyamide imide [PAI] resin polymers are well-known thermally stable polymers that are used for many high performance coating applications due to their excellent adhesion, temperature resistance, and high strength. For the various coating uses, PAI resins are used in solvent-based formulations. However, ever-evolving regulations dictate the need to find a solution and replace the traditionally used n-methyl- and ethyl-pyrrolidone [NMP/NEP] solvents. NMP is the most-commonly used solvent in a variety of coating applications. In the 1980?s and 1990?s NMP was used to produce ?environmentally friendly? coatings, replacing cresol as the predominant solvent at that time. Now NMP and NEP have been classified as reprotoxic chemicals, based on the EU REACH regulations and, once again, PAI users face a similar threat which will close entire segments in Europe unless an alternative solvent can be found.
As a key sustainability initiative, Fujifilm Hunt has successfully developed a proprietary alternative solvent solution to the REACH-classified CMR (carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic) chemicals currently available for PAI coating applications.
Lignin and dried distillers? grains with solubles (DDGS) were utilized to prepare biobased adhesives at different DDGS-to-lignin ratios. The adhesion properties of the bioadhesives for bonding plywood were then evaluated. The adhesives prepared from the mixture of DDGS and lignin showed higher bonding strength than the adhesives prepared from DDGS and lignin alone. Analysis of the hot pressed adhesives showed that the DDGS extract and lignin had favorable interaction, which contributed to better performance of the hybrid adhesives.
Bonnie J. Bachman, Shikhar P. Acharya, Shristy Bashyal, Margaret H. Baumann, May 2015
Business corporations? emphasis on sustainability is ever increasing which is evident by the increase in sustainability spending. Each year, companies are spending more on sustainability. This research is an attempt to understand if the sustainability spending depends upon the size of the company as measured by its revenue. Moreover, the paper focuses on the relationship between sustainability spending and size of the company in plastic industry. The study is the second survey of its kind and is based on the global inquiry with the members of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). Based on the results of Chi-square test for independence, we found that there is no relationship between sustainability spending and the size of the company.
LORD offers adhesive solutions that effectively bond plastics to substrates directly in an injection molding process. A specially designed injection mold was created to evaluate adhesive technologies and their effectiveness in bonding various thermoplastics, such as nylon, polycarbonate, PC/ABS, and TPU?s, to substrates such as aluminum and glass. This paper focuses on in-mold bonding of PC, PC/ABS, and nylon 66 to aluminum. Molded assemblies were tested for adhesion directly after molding and after environmental exposures (thermal cycling, heat and humidity, and anodizing). This process and product technology offers a number of design and cost benefits, such as light weighting, design freedoms, and manufacturing efficiencies.
Selective laser melting is a well-established manufacturing technique in prototype construction. In recent years a tendency to rapid manufacturing applications and the production of ready to use components with this technology can be observed. If components made by laser melting are desired to be applied in technical series products, their achievable properties play a major role. The high process temperatures in combination with long build times during laser melting process lead to chemical and physical aging mechanisms on the polymeric feed material. The unmolten partcake material, which acts as a supporting structure, can be removed after each building process and reused for further processes. To achieve part properties which endure the necessary mechanical loads, refreshing of partcake powder with 30 up to 50 % by weight virgin material is necessary. However, constant refreshing strategies will lead to varying component properties due to an undefined aging state of the basic partcake material. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of the correlation between the feed material aging state and resulting mechanical properties is alienable. This paper deals with the analysis of the relationship between the aging state of the feed material focused on rheological behavior, mechanical part properties and deformation behavior. Therefore, polyamide 12 powder is used for at least five processing cycles without refreshing. Before and after each build process, bulk and material characteristics like bulk density, hausner ratio, viscosity number, melt volume rate and average molecular weight were determined. Tensile tests were conducted in order to study the mechanical material and deformation behavior. Finally, mechanical behavior as a function of feed material can be evaluated. On this basis, powder life cycles in dependency of mechanical properties can be derived.
Jake Behrens, Jay-Lin Jane, David Grewell, James Schrader, Ines K??hnert, May 2015
Corn protein based polymer composites were developed for use in different agricultural consumer products. Addition of corn protein to polymer matrices increased thermal degradation, water absorption, and generally showed a slight decrease in mechanical properties. Thus, these composites are well suited for short-lived or controlled-degradation applications. For example, used as crop containers, the composites outperformed their petroleum-based counterparts in terms of enhancing plant growth.
Kim McLoughlin Senior Research Engineer, Global Materials Science Braskem
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Kim drives technology programs at Braskem to develop advanced polyolefins with improved recyclability and sustainability. As Principal Investigator on a REMADE-funded collaboration, Kim leads a diverse industry-academic team that is developing a process to recycle elastomers as secondary feedstock. Kim has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cornell. She is an inventor on more than 25 patents and applications for novel polyolefin technologies. Kim is on the Board of Directors of SPE’s Thermoplastic Materials & Foams Division, where she has served as Education Chair and Councilor.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Gamini has a BS and PhD from Purdue University in Materials Engineering and Sustainability. He joined Penn State as a Post Doctorate Scholar in 2020 prior to his professorship appointment. He works closely with PA plastics manufacturers to implement sustainability programs in their plants.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Tom Giovannetti holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Tulsa and for the last 26 years has worked for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. Tom started his plastics career by designing various injection molded products for the chemical industry including explosion proof plugs and receptacles, panel boards and detonation arrestors for 24 inch pipelines. Tom also holds a patent for design of a polyphenylene sulfide sleeve in a nylon coolant cross-over of an air intake manifold and is a Certified Plastic Technologist through the Society of Plastic Engineers. Tom serves on the Oklahoma Section Board as Councilor, is also the past president of the local Oklahoma SPE Section, and as well serves on the SPE Injection Molding Division board.
Joseph Lawrence, Ph.D. Senior Director and Research Professor University of Toledo
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Dr. Joseph Lawrence is a Research Professor and Senior Director of the Polymer Institute and the Center for Materials and Sensor Characterization at the University of Toledo. He is a Chemical Engineer by training and after working in the process industry, he has been engaged in polymers and composites research for 18+ years. In the Polymer Institute he leads research on renewably sourced polymers, plastics recycling, and additive manufacturing. He is also the lead investigator of the Polyesters and Barrier Materials Research Consortium funded by industry. Dr. Lawrence has advised 20 graduate students, mentored 8 staff scientists and several undergraduate students. He is a peer reviewer in several journals, has authored 30+ peer-reviewed publications and serves on the board of the Injection Molding Division of SPE.
Matt Hammernik Northeast Account Manager Hasco America
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Matt Hammernik serves as Hasco America’s Northeast Area Account Manager covering the states Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. He started with Hasco America at the beginning of March 2022. Matt started in the Injection Mold Industry roughly 10 years ago as an estimator quoting injection mold base steel, components and machining. He advanced into outside sales and has been serving molders, mold builders and mold makers for about 7 years.
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How to reference articles from the SPE Library:
Any article that is cited in another manuscript or other work is required to use the correct reference style. Below is an example of the reference style for SPE articles:
Brown, H. L. and Jones, D. H. 2016, May.
"Insert title of paper here in quotes,"
ANTEC 2016 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA May 23-25, 2016. [On-line].
Society of Plastics Engineers, ISBN: 123-0-1234567-8-9, pp. 000-000.
Available: www.4spe.org.
Note: if there are more than three authors you may use the first author's name and et al. EG Brown, H. L. et al.
