Winter Olympics: Could Plastic “Ice” Help Overcome Bias toward Colder Countries?

via Scientific American

Scientists and sports enthusiasts alike have long been looking to level this frigid playing field via the development of plastics that can serve as synthetic ice to line backyard hockey and ice-skating rinks. But the type of polymer needed to coat a sloping two-kilometer track—one that can accommodate sleds traveling in excess of 125 kilometers per hour—has proved much more elusive. “Any synthetic track needs to offer a similar sliding and driving experience to ice and not create any concerns about athlete safety,” says Jan-Anders Månsson, director of Purdue University’s Composites Manufacturing and Simulation Center and a professor in materials and chemical engineering. “It also needs to be both durable and cost-effective.” Read the full story here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/winter-olympics-could-plastic-ldquo-ice-rdquo-help-overcome-bias-toward-colder-countries/

File:Olympic rings without rims.svg

 

Sustainability: Biodegradable Mardi Gras Beads

via LSU.edu

LSU Biology Sciences Professor Develops Biodegradable Mardi Gras Beads from Microalgae

BATON ROUGE – Tens of thousands of pounds of plastic Mardi Gras beads enter the environment every year. After the parades, most of the discarded beads end up in the landfill. Biologist Naohiro Kato at LSU is developing an innovative way to solve this problem by creating biodegradable Mardi Gras beads.

Read the full story here: http://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/news/2018/02/06bio_kato_beads.php

recycle plastic
Mardi Gras 2007 Trash Cleanup By William Gunn (originally posted to Flickr as Mardi Gras 2007) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

Growing Automotive Plastics Demand in Electric Vehicle Production

via Plastics News

Push for Electric Vehicles Means Plastics May Take Charge

Detroit — It should not be a shock to automotive suppliers that the plastics industry has an electric future.

By 2025, electric and hybrid electric vehicles could account for 33 percent of total vehicle production worldwide, according to data from IHS Markit Ltd., and suppliers are being tapped by OEMs to put different composites and materials into real-world vehicle applications.

Read the full story here: http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20180206/NEWS/180209933/push-for-electric-vehicles-means-plastics-may-take-charge

automotive plastic manufacturing
By Mariordo (Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz) (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

NPE2018 Official Mobile App Now Available

Attending NPE2018 in May? Be sure to download the official NPE2018 Mobile App.

Available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play, the app can help you enhance your experience at the event.

App users have access to:

  • floor plans,
  • exhibitor listings
  • educational conferences/sessions
  • My Show Planner
  • show info and announcements
  • social media

To download the official app visit: http://www.npe.org/mobile-app

 

Plastic for Sale – PVCF Regrind 40K lb

Recycled Plastic For Sale at Domino Plastics: PVCF RG CL 80A Tubing Regrind

recycled plastic for sale Now In-Stock: 40,000 lbs PVC flexible tubing regrind for sale.

Let us now the materials you need and the plastic scrap you’d like to sell.

Contact Joe@domplas.com. Call (631) 751-1995.

Extruder makers hopeful for strong 2018

via Plastics News

End market diversity is the blessing for manufacturers of extruders.

Extruders are used to make pipe and siding in the construction market, sheet and blown film in packaging and tubing for medical. Not to mention custom extrusion for everything from aerospace to writing instruments.

One slow market segment can be offset by another hot one, machinery officials said.

In construction, single-family housing starts were up 8 percent year to date through October, from the same period a year ago, on pace to hit an annual rate of 877,000 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Starts are beginning to get a boost from reconstruction activity from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Read the full story here: http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20171205/NEWS/171209960/extruder-makers-hopeful-for-strong-2018