Low-cost CO2 Recovery, and more...

Low-cost CO2 Recovery Scientists from the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute at the University of Southern California have developed a material with polyethylenimine that removes the highest concentration of CO2 ever recorded. The material captures carbon dioxide from moist air — the most challenging environment from which to collect it — then contains it for later removal or use. The low-cost polymer can then be reused and recycled over and over without losing its collection capacity. The researchers envision using it for smokestacks, car exhausts, or in the atmosphere itself, possibly removing half of the emissions created on earth.   Safe Flame Retardant for Plastics Plastics Color Corporation Pultruded Profiles for Marine Industry Creative Pultrusions, Inc. PCC's FlamaSol FR™, a protected proprietary technology, contains no decabromodiphenyl oxide (decabrome), nor antimony trioxide, common ingredients in most flame retardant packages. Produces superb extinguishing performance without the use of these hazardous chemicals. Products made with FlamaSol FR will self-extinguish, protecting surroundings, and personnel from fire hazards. SuperLoc™ Composite Sheet Pile system was designed for adverse environments and is ideal for marine retaining walls. SuperPilewas designed to take excessive compression and transverse loads and is ideal for house foundation pilings, navy style bulkheads, dock pilings, fender piling, bearing piles, navigation markers, and mooring piles. Need Peek Performance from Your Pipes?  Victrex plc. Perforated Plastics McKey Perforating Company, Inc. Increasing demands for long-term reliability, weight and cost reduction, and improved performance in the oil and gas, industrial, and aerospace markets are creating the need for innovative solutions. VICTREX Pipes™, durable, lightweight pipes and tubes extruded from VICTREX® PEEK polymer, open up new opportunities to meet these demands. Successful perforated plastics demand superior expertise, and nobody knows this better than the perforating professionals at McKey Perforating. End users gain the corrosion resistance, lightness, and cost-effectiveness of perforated PVC, polypropylene and other plastics, while avoiding the pitfalls that the perforated plastics process can bring. Learn more...

Materials . . . Learn More Distinguished Gamma Rays A team from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has developed a scintillator that can discern thedifference between neutrons and gamma rays. Using a polyvinyltoluene polymer matrix, the material changes color when exposed to nuclear substances like plutonium and uranium. Their hope is to pave the way for large- and small-scale neutron detectors. Quantum Possibilities Furthering the possibility of quantum computing, researchers from the University of New South Wales, Melbourne University, and Purdue University have created a silicon wirefour atoms wide and one atom tall. They placed thin layers of densely doped phosphorus in silicon and found the resulting wire had the same current capacity as copper. Composites . . . Learn More Complex Composites A Swiss team believes they canimprove composite materialstrength and mechanical properties by taking a hint from nature. Researchers at ETH Zurich were inspired by the complex structure of an abalone shell. Rather than stacking and laminating different materials, they've developed a technique to control spatial and orientational placement of components, mimicking the architecture of the shell. Home Made Thermoelectric A team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have taken on the challenge ofadvancing thermoelectric materials. Using a home microwave oven, they doped nanostructured thermoelectric materials with minute amounts of sulfur. Their low-cost, low-tech technique, as seen in this video, resulted in p- and n-type materials with a high ZT (a measure of how efficiently the material converts heat to electricity) that can easily be translated to large scale production.   Optimize Your Blow Molding Process Milliken & Company Enter the International Plastics Design Competition  SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association Milliken Hyperform HPN-20E. Nucleating agent for polyethylene featuring 20-50% barrier improvement, improved processing, and cost savings. Milliken Millad NX 8500E. The new standard in clear polypropylene featuring substantially better bottle aesthetics, less dependent on processing conditions, and tunable aesthetics. Co-located at NPE2012, April 1-5 in Orlando, FL Give your design the global exposure it deserves! Enter the second-everInternational Plastics Design Competition open to any product, any end-use, and any country. Participation gives your design unparalleled visibility at the world's largest plastics event, NPE2012. Enter online by February 29. Engineered Components . . . Learn More NIR Delivery System Engineered to break down within the body at near infrared (NIR) light, a new "smart plastic" developed at the University of California, San Diego has the potential to change the way drugs are delivered to the body. The material can enclose drugs that target tumors, for example, and be triggered to break down with NIR which does no damage to the body. Achieving Quantum Size Japanese researchers have developed a method to grow polymer nanowires using pulsed laser irradiation. The technique allows them to create the wires without a mold for building — enabling the wires to be grown at quantum size. There's no need for etching to remove them from the mold, which also has the potential to damage the wire. Green Plastics . . . Learn More Proactive Film Protection Cheese may not make you think plastic, but its rind was the inspiration for a thin film composite that Swiss researchers are dubbing a "living material." A blue cheese fungus, spread over the top of a film then covered with a porous plastic membrane keeps its contents safe and cleans itself of bacteria. Plant Bottle Plan Citing breakthrough technologies from Virent, Gevo, and Avantium, Coca Cola has announced partnerships to produce 100% plant-based plasticbottles. The company hopes to transition all of its packaging by 2020. The agreements with the three companies follow years of negotiation and testing and builds on the launch of their 30% plant-based plastic bottle.   Everything Hot Runners DME Company Hydlar Z Aramid Fibre Reinforced Nylon Ensinger, Inc. DME's been a leader in hot runners for four decades and offers the greatest cost-reduction and time-to-market advantages possible with their hot runner systems. Whether you need a total, off-the-shelf solution, or just a few nozzles, DME is here to support your hot runner success. Learn more. Ensinger's HYDLAR® Z nylon possesses a combination of physical properties that cannot be found in other commercially available engineered plastics. Hydlar Z is extremely wear resistant and more dimensionally stable than any unfilled nylon. It is suitable for many applications where high-strength, extreme wear resistance, and low abrasiveness are required. Careers & Commentary . . . Register Today! GlobalSpec's Quality, Test & Measurement — February 22, 2012 oin your peers and leading manufacturers for this free, informative, and interactive ONLINE conference and trade show — right from the convenience of your desktop. Participate in any or all of the educational sessions, network with peers, and meet with manufacturers eager to showcase their latest products, services, and new technology offerings. Learn more about the educational sessions offered to meet your information needs, and register today! Attend Current On-Demand Events:Water Quality & Water Reclamation Industrial Processing Power Generation & Distribution Equipment