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Cork May Replace Synthetic Materials for Energy Absorbing Applications in Cars

Crash-test dummies could soon be facing vehicle collision tests in cars padded with cork rather than traditional materials such as polymer foams or porous aluminium metal, according to Portuguese engineers writing in the...

15 Mar 2010

Discovery Could Lead to New Kinds of Biodegradable, Biocompatible Polymers

In a paper published in the American Chemical Society journal, Macromolecules, scientists from IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Stanford University detail discoveries that could lead to the development of new types of biodegradable, biocompatible plastics. The result of a multi-year research effort, the breakthrough also could lead to a new recycling process that has the potential to significantly increase the ability to recycle and reuse common PET and plant-based plastics in the future.

15 Mar 2010

Compliant Systems - Materials that Change Shape and Bend without Needing Joints

Flavio Campanile, head of a research group in Empa’s Mechanics for Modeling and Simulation Laboratory, is convinced that aircraft can be made which move more elegantly and, above all, more economically through the air. “Sooner or later it will be possible to make wings without ailerons, flaps and thousands of individual parts. They will have in principle only one component, which continually changes shape.”

12 Mar 2010

Porvair Sciences Catalogue Includes Many Polystyrene and Polypropylene Products

The Porvair Sciences Product Catalogue for 2010 is packed with vital information on the company's wide range of microplates, plate sealers and microplate evaporators to help you get the best from your separations, as...

From Porvair Filtration Group 11 Mar 2010

Manufacturer of High Performance Sintered Porous Plastic Materials Opens Class 100000 Clean Room Facility

Porvair Filtration Group, a leading developer and manufacturer of novel, high performance sintered porous plastic materials and products for life science applications, has opened a new Class 100000 (ISO Class 8) clean room facility at its Wrexham, UK site.

From Porvair Filtration Group 11 Mar 2010

BASF Reaches Milestones with Modern Styrene-Butadiene (SB) Block Copolymers

The innovative field of styrene-butadiene (SB) block copolymers is still in its infancy in comparison to other plastics. And yet, BASF already has two milestones to commemorate in this realm.

From BASF Corporation 10 Mar 2010

Irving Oil to get Illuminated Signage made from Mustang Copolyester

Eastman Chemical Company and Plaskolite, Inc., announced today that their customer Transworld Signs has introduced illuminated, rigid, thermoformed signs made with Mustang copolyester sheet. The signs will be used at Irv...

10 Mar 2010

Arkema Collaborate to Develop a Green Acrylic Acid Derivative

The Lorraine Regional Council has joined forces with Arkema and two university laboratories to back a research program into "biobased acrylics", the challenge of the project being to offer new "green"...

8 Mar 2010

Competition for Young Plastic Designers

This competition has been created to provide a platform for young British design talent to demonstrate their skill and innovation.

8 Mar 2010

Polyethylene Made to Conduct Heat Like a Metal but Remains an Electrical Insulator

Most polymers — materials made of long, chain-like molecules — are very good insulators for both heat and electricity. But an MIT team has found a way to transform the most widely used polymer, polyethylene, into a material that conducts heat just as well as most metals, yet remains an electrical insulator.

7 Mar 2010

Editorial Highlights