Category Archives: Castor oil Polymers

Green and Eco Chemicals – A $100+ Billion Dollar Opportunity?

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The global chemicals market is worth about $4 trillion and the commodity chemicals is about 80% of this. That leaves 20% for non-commodity, specialty chemicals. (For those looking for a definition and explanation for specialty chemicals do have a look at this brief report) It is the specialty chemicals sector, which according to estimates is a $800 billion + market worldwide.  But what is really exciting is that there is a significant pressure on this sector to go green. Whether it is about specialty chemicals for construction, or for cosmetics, there is a significant movement towards making the supply chain, especially the raw materials, as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible.

The range for industrial specialty chemicals is quite wide, with some prominent sectors given below:

Agri   chemicals Polymers & resins
Construction chemicals Surfactants
Lubricants Industry specific chem – electronic, textile, oilfield…
Additives – Stabilizers, Plasticizers, Lubricant   Additives, Flame Retardants, Anti-oxidants, Corrosion   Inhibitors, Biocides, Emusifiers & Surfactants Color   Pigments & Dyes, Coatings

Low Hanging Opportunities – Consumer end user segments – In the short term, significant demand for eco-friendly consumer chemicals can be seen for the following sectors, and these will hence be the segments that see early growth:

  • Eco cosmetics – deodorants, perfumes, cosmetics
  • Eco detergents and Eco cleaning products
  • Food ingredients and additives
  • Consumer packaging – especially bioplastics

Companies in this Sector include Daimler, a leading supplier of green chemicals, q33offers Eco-Green Carpet Care & Upholstery Cleaner, a fast-acting, all-natural, cleaning formula that penetrates stains in carpets and upholstery using cutting edge green chemistry.

Companies such as Nike have   designed and implemented a more environmentally-friendly rubber for its footwear created with benign accelerators, vegetable oils, and modified processing chemicals and methods without compromising performance. Partnerships with manufacturers in their supply chain allowed Nike to address process changes required by the new rubber formula collaboratively.

Excerpts above have been adapted from EAI (www.eai.in). If you are an entrepreneur/company interested in exploring opportunities in this emerging segment, please follow this link – http://www.consult.eai.in/green-chemicals

Source: http://www.eai.in/blog/2014/02/green-and-eco-chemicals-a-100-billion-dollar-opportunity.html#sthash.k8u1exWx.dpuf

 

Toyota Develops Castor Derived PA11-based Plastic Alloy with High Impact Strength

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Toyota Boshoku Corporation, premier manufacturers of automotive interior systems, and Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc.,have developed an original technique to realize a bio-based plastic alloy with top-class impact strength. The bio-based plastic alloy (bio-alloy) is made from polyamide 11 (PA11), a 100% bio-based resin originating from plants and synthesized using castor oil extracted from Ricinus Communis (castor bean plant) as a raw material, and polypropylene (PP) derived from petroleum-based resin.

The performance of this high impact bio-alloy surpasses polycarbonate alloys.

The impact strength of the bio-alloy was achieved by controlling the phase structure of PP and PA11 at the nano level through a “salami structure*2” mixture (dispersion) resulting in the world’s first “salami in co-continuous phase structure*2”. To improve the chemical characteristics (affinity) of raw materials, a special reactive compatibilizer was added to the raw materials and a molten blended technology was carried out to lead to a chemical reaction. By utilizing this technology, Toyoto has achieved an impact strength bio-alloy that is 10 times greater than that of PP conventionally used in car interior decoration parts and 13 times greater than that of bio-based plastic (PP/PLA).

See more: http://bit.ly/1krmukZ

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DSM’s EcoPaXX polyamide 410 in Salomon’s Snowboard Bindings

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In Singapore, DSM announced another application for its EcoPaXX polyamide 410, with the adoption of this high performance bio-based engineering plastic for Salomon’s snowboard bindings made by Amer Sports. Next year, Amer Sports will debut a new range of high-end Salomon bindings for snowboards that for the first time are made from DSM’s EcoPaXX bio-based polyamide 410.

Until now, Salomon snowboard bindings have been made in polyamide 6 or 66, but the new series has improved sustainability and equal or better performance, most importantly at low temperatures.

“The EcoPaXX bindings have been on test in real-life conditions at Salomon for a year, and have performed extremely well,” says Henri Rançon, Advanced R&D Manager for snowboard bindings and boots at Salomon. “They suffered no damage at all, so we are very confident EcoPaXX is the right material for the job”

More on the story: http://www.dsm.com/corporate/media/informationcenter-news/2013/11/2013-11-04-high-performance-at-low-temperatures-leads-ecopaxx-from-dsm-to-success-in-salomons-snowboard-binding.html

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Bioplastics in the Automotive Market

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The recent high cost of petro-based feedstock and polymers coupled with advances in new technologies like biotechnology, nanotechnology, green chemistry and material science have set the pace rolling for the revival of bio-based materials.Now, automotive companies are making a major effort to reintroduce plant-based plastics as a way of reducing their reliance on foreign oil and improving their environmental footprint.

Lightweighting’ is a hot topic for the automotive industry and the main reason why plastics have continuously been used to substitute heavier materials such as metals. Beyond the benefits of reduced weight, the future lies in choosing the most resource efficient plastics, i.e. bioplastics. Besides these evident advantages, e.g. biobased performance polymers (biobased polyesters/biobased polyamides) feature all the performance criteria important to high quality car components.

Prominent companies  and their efforts in bioplastic automotive car parts manufacturing

  • A front-runner in adopting bioplastics is Japanese car manufacturer Toyota which uses bioplastics such as biobased polyesters, biobased PET, and PLA-blends in its production process
  • Italian manufacturer Fiat is another major player in the automotive industry relying on biobased plastics. Fiat used castor oil-derived long chain polyamides to replace their fossil based equivalent in more than one million vehicles; the company plans to further increase this number.
  • Faurecia and Mitsubishi Chemical have announced a joint programme for developing a bioplastic based on biobased PBS that can be used in mass-production for automotive interior parts, such as door panels, trim and strip, structural instrument panels, air ducts, door panel and console inserts.
  • In 2011, BASF and Ford teamed up to develop a sustainable, plant-sourced castor oil-based foam product for the 2012 Ford Focus instrument panel

 

Read more : http://en.european-bioplastics.org/blog/2013/09/09/bioplastics-going-strong-in-automotive-sector/

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ARKEMA and Addiplast Joins to Develop New Polyamide Compounds

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As the world’s sole chemicals manufacturer to offer the entire long chain polyamides range, polyamide 12 as well as biosourced polyamides PA11and PA10 derived from castor oil, Arkema is the leading player in the production of specialty polyamides.

Addiplast has emerged both in France and in Europe as one of the leaders in the design of technical compounds and polymers derived from polyamides, polyolefins and polycarbonates. With its expertise in the design of these materials and related processes, Addiplast became a partner of Arkema in the early 2000s.

Through this strengthened partnership, Addiplast will develop from biosourced polyamides (Rilsan® PA 11 and Hiprolon® PA 6-10, PA 10-10, PA 10-12) and other specialty long chain polyamides (Rilsamid® PA12, Hiprolon® PA 6-12) supplied by Arkema, a new range of high-end materials and compounds for injection molding. These compounds are designed for high added value applications requiring specific performances.

Marketed under the trade names Addinyl® (polyamides of fossil origin) and Addibio® Renew (biosourced polymers), these solutions fulfil demanding specification requirements in terms of mechanical strength and/or chemical resistance. They will serve on the European market diversified segments, including automotive, electronics, sports and leisure, new energies and new technologies.

Read more from :http://www.4-traders.com/ARKEMA-17031/news/ARKEMA–and-Addiplast-join-forces-to-develop-new-polyamide-compounds-17381566/

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Castor Oil Based Biodegradable Foam Plastics

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This work – http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bm7009152, explains a approach  for preparing biodegradable plastic foams with a high content of castor oil. Castor oil is reacted with maleic anhydride to produce maleated castor oil (MACO) without the aid of any catalyst. Then plastic foams were synthesized through free radical initiated copolymerization between MACO and diluent monomer styrene. With changes in MACO/St ratio and species of curing initiator, mechanical properties of MACO foams can be easily adjusted. In this way, biofoams with comparable compressive stress at 25% strain as commercial polyurethane (PU) foams were prepared, while the content of castor oil can be as high as 61 wt %. The soil burial tests further proved that the castor oil based foams kept the biodegradability of renewable resources despite the fact that some petrol-based components were introduced.

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BASF Now Offers Bio-based Nylon for Textiles

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German chemical giant BASF has said it will now offer its bio-based nylon, which is derived from castor oil, in a version suitable for monofilament applications that can be used for textile fibres. Castor oil based sebacic acid is used to produce the company’s Ultramid® S Balance.

The high performance polyamide 6.10, partly based on renewable resources, is available in various viscosities. In compounded and glass-fiber reinforced versions, BASF has already introduced the material in different commercial applications, e.g. in a design lamp or automotive quick connectors.

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Castor Based Polymer Induces Bone Formation by Expressing MMP2 genes

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The study evaluated the modulation of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and −9 (MMP-9)  expression in newly formed bone tissue at the interface between implants derived from castor oil (Ricinus communis) polymer and the tibia medullary canal.

Results showed that the castor based polymers  induces bone formation by the expression of MMPs. The MMPs play an important role in tissue remodeling associated with various physiological and pathological processes such as morphogenesis, angiogenesis, tissue repair, cirrhosis, arthritis, and metastasis.

Forty-four rabbits were assigned to either Group 1 (n = 12; control) or Group 2 (n = 30), which had the tibial medullary canals reamed bilaterally and filled with polymer. CT scans showed no space between the material surface and the bone at the implant/bone marrow interface, and the density of the tissues at this interface was similar to the density measured of other regions of the bone. At 90 days post implantation, the interface with the polymer presented a thick layer of newly formed bone tissue rich in osteocytes. This tissue exhibited ongoing maturation at 120 and 150 days post implantation.

Overall, bone remodeling process was accompanied by positive modulation of MMP-2 and low MMP-9 expression. Differently, in control group, the internal surface close to the medullary canal was lined by osteoblasts, followed by a bone tissue zone with few lacunae filled with osteocytes. Maturation of the tissue of the medullary internal surface occurred in the inner region, with the bone being nonlamellar.

India – Researchers Develop Polyurethane Foams Using Castor Oil Polyols

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Researchers at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology,Hyderabad has developed the polyurethane–clay nanocomposite foams by replacing part of the synthetic polyol with castor oil derivatives. Hydroxylated castor oil was converted into diethanol amide by transamidation and the resulting polyol was formulated into water-blown foams. Modified montmorillonite clay was used as nanofiller in different amounts viz. 0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%, and 5.0% by total weight of the foam formulation. Rheological measurements on the polyol–clay mixtures indicated that up to 1% clay loading there is no significant change in the viscosity with shear rate and beyond 2%, shear thinning occurred. X-ray diffraction studies further substantiated these results. The effect of the modified clay on the density, mechanical properties such as compression strength, compression modulus, and microstructure of the foams were investigated. The filler thus added had a reinforcing effect on the foam as observed in the density and compression strength measurements. Differential scanning calorimetric studies on Tg and dynamic mechanical analyses on the modulus clearly indicated that 1% clay loading and above led to exfoliation and plasticizing effect. Exfoliated nanocomposites in compositions containing 1% clay and more yielded a much higher nucleation rate than intercalated ones leading to reduced cell size as observed by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Thus, castor oil, which is readily available, relatively inexpensive, and environmentally benign nonedible oil, has been successfully used to prepare filled semirigid foams which can find application in insulation and packing.

Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pc.22543/abstract