PlasticsWorld

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The new May 2024 issue of Compounding World has articles about innovations in bio-based fibres and fillers, compounds for 3D printing, wire and cable developments and new compatibilisers. Plus a preview of #NPE2024. Read the magazine: https://lnkd.in/egup9XFd

#PPWR #Plastics #Recycling #Packaging

We've just published our first 2024 edition of Compounding World magazine. The January/February issue takes a look at film additives, pelletisers, and electrically conductive compounds. Read on for more detail: Film Additives - The global trend to greater recycled and bio-based content is proving to be a key driver behind innovation in additive solutions for production of performance films. Pelletising technology - Today’s pelletising systems have to offer more than just cut quality. System developers are increasingly targeting energy efficiency, waste reduction, and downtime savings. Electrically Conductive Compounds - Increasing penetration of electronic technology and sensors in sectors such as automotive is underpinning the growing interest in electrically conductive plastic compounds. This issue also carries our usual selection of global compounding industry news as well as our annual update on the fast moving chemical recycling sector. Follow the link to read it all for free https://lnkd.in/eiEhnZWS

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There are few things that seem to cause more confusion about plastics today than the difference between biodegradable plastics, compostable plastics and bioplastics. So we've put this simple explainer together. Biodegradable plastics are simply plastics that can be decomposed by microorganisms. However, the term is not qualified - it does not define how long the plastic will take to decompose or how far it will degrade. And it doesn't consider how degradation will be affected by environmental conditions - in some environments a biodegradable plastic may never degrade. That's the same for any material, which is why archeologists find 4,000 year-old samples of biodegradable linen. Compostable plastics can also be degraded by microorganisms but this is a qualified term. International standards exist that lay out how quickly and how far a compostable plastic part - note this is testing on parts - must degrade in specific environmental conditions. Standards such as EN13432, for example, require disintegration in 12 weeks and a 90% mass reduction to CO2 and H2O within 90 days under conditions that simulate commercial composting. Specifications also exist for home composting. In the wrong environment, a compostable plastic can still last for many years. The terms biodegradable and compostable reveal nothing about a plastic's sourcing. For example, polyamide (nylon) 11 is a high performance plastic made from plant material but it is not biodegradable. BASF's Ecoflex PBAT (polybutylene adipate terephthalate) polymer is made from fossil-based feedstock but is fully compostable. The term bioplastic brings in more confusion. Several industry associations consider it to mean a biodegradable and/or bio-based plastic. That suits their membership but is less helpful for the rest of us. At PlasticsWorld we prefer to use the bioplastics term only to refer to bio-based plastics. Non-biodegradable fossil-based plastics such as polythylene (PE) can be made degradable using oxodegradable additives. These break the polymer chains via a chemical reaction driven by the presence of oxygen/UV and results in a reduction in molecular weight (MW). Opponents of oxodegradable technology say it results in the creation of microplastics; proponents say once the molecular weight has reached a certain critical level microorganisms will be able to completely biodegrade the residual polymer. We've not seen convincing evidence that so-called oxo-biodegradation will take place in typical real world environmental conditions but we've also not seen evidence that it can't. The ASTM 6954 standard lays down test procedures for measuring oxo-biodegradation but there are no qualifying limits - it is not a pass/fail standard. Another standard sometimes associated with additive-type technologies is ASTM D5511. However, this measures plastic degradation in commercial anaerobic digestion plant so is not particularly relevant for most plastic waste.

Plastics Europe announces plans for Plastics Transition