Auto EPCON Conference 2024 - Agenda

Summary

Polyethylene (PE) will breakdown when exposed to Ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This degradation of PE results in undesired effects such as cracking, chalking, color change, loss of gloss, and loss of mechanical properties. Consequently, in a significant amount of end applications, light stabilizers need to be added during compounded that extend the stability of polyolefins to match these service life requirements. Hydroxybenzoates (HB) type light stabilizers, such as SONGSORB® 2908 & SONGSORB® 7120 are special and can act as radical scavenger and UV-screener (UV-absorber (UVA)) to protect polyolefins. HB provides improved UV stabilization in combination with hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS) and is an alternative to overcome the limitation of classical light stabilization systems in specific applications.

This paper reviews the principal classes of stabilizers that improve the resistance of polyolefins against damaging UV radiation and the performance of various light stabilizer classes such as UVA and HALS in polyolefins. The synergistic effect between HB and a HALS was studied. Synergistic formulations with HB will be recommended in specific application where classic UV stabilizers have limitation.

About the Speaker

• Chemical Engineering — Specialized in Plastic Industries.
• B.Sc. Degree. Graduated in 1996 from Amman University for Applied Engineering.
• 27+ years of experience i n Plastics Industry & Plastics.
• Start Carrier as Process Engineer at XLPE Polymers for Cables 4 Years.
• QA Engineer at PET beverages Injection Molding 1 Year.
• Technical/ Business Development Manager at Chemtura (Formal Great Lakes) for Additives and Pre blends 12 Years.
• Technical & Sales Manager at SONGWON 10 years … till date.

Summary

Can plastics become a permanent CO2 sink contributing to the decarbonization of the plastic industry? The answer is YES. At carbonauten polymers, we make it happen by manufacturing NET Materials® (Negative Emission Technology) compounds and masterbatches for a wide range of applications such as construction, infrastructure, packaging, automotive, agriculture and furniture. Our business model, from bio waste-to-value, empowers countries, companies, and communities to utilize wood waste lying on forests, fields and dumps, as a valuable resource, to create the next generation plastic products that can play an important role in the decarbonization of the plastic industry and the planet. Using the carbonauten patented disruptive technology we produce biocarbon from pyrolyzed wood biomass, each tonne of carbonauten biocarbon permanently stores up to 3.3 tonnes of CO2. The polymer carrier for our NET Materials® is Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene (PE), Polycarbonate (PC), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polyamide (PA6, PA66, PA12), Polylactic Acid (PLA), Polybutylene succinate (PBS) and others. Beside achieving the CO2 neutrality in the final plastic products the plastic convertors and brand owners will benefit from additional advantages such as: • High stiffness • Excellent UV resistance • Improved dimensional stability • Weigh reduction • Cost reduction • Temperature resistance • Natural matt black pigments • Replacement of fossil fuel based polymers up to 60% with cheaper natural biocarbons • Recyclability If not now, then when?

About the Speaker

Cristian Hedesiu is a polymers expert with more than 20 years diversified international experience in the plastic industry. Over the past years, Cristian has been combining his extensive expertise in R&D and innovation of polymers, his knowledge of the global polymers market and value chain to develop and implement global marketing strategies for international corporates.

Currently, he is the Chief technology Officer in Carbonauten polymers, aiming to develop, manufacture and market minus CO2 compounds and masterbatches for a broad range of plastic applications. 

Summary

Current plastic recycling and sustainability goals are limited by the intrinsic incompatibility of many polymers and the negative effect of fillers and impurities on end-product properties thus requiring a high degree of expensive sorting, separating and cleaning. Another barrier is the melt processing of polymers causes chain scissoring resulting in recycle and regrind materials having inferior properties compared to virgin. Current compatibilizers offered to recyclers are based on co-polymers or maleic anhydride modified polymers. Co-polymer compatibilizers require extensive sorting to match up the polarities of the recycled materials and maleic anhydride depolymerizes condensation polymers such as PET and Nylon obviating their use in post-consumer recycle. MAH technology claims to be a coupling agent, which is true for rebuilding molecular weight – but, misnomered when applied to coupling filler and organic interfaces. Ziegler–Natta catalysts have been used in the commercial manufacture of various polyolefins since 1956. Ziegler showed a combination of TiCl4 and Al(C2H5)2Cl gave comparable activities for the production of polyethylene. Natta used crystalline α-TiCl3 in combination with Al(C2H5)3 to produce the first isotactic polypropylene. Kaminsky discovered that titanocene and related complexes emulated some aspects of these Ziegler-Natta catalysts but with low activity. He subsequently found that high activity could be achieved upon activation of these metallocenes with methylaluminoxane (MAO) −[O−Al(CH3)]n). Monte uses either a Monoalkoxy or Neoalkoxy Titanate in combination with Al2SIO5 mixed metal catalyst in Powder & Pellet forms for In Situ Macromolecular Repolymerization and Copolymerization in the melt – i.e. Polymer Compatibilization… AND … The Neoalkoxy Titanate proton coordinates with inorganic fillers and organic particulates to couple/compatibilize the dissimilar interfaces at the nano-atomic level thus reducing the need for expensive sorting of materials in Recycled Plastics.

About the Speaker

Salvatore J. Monte, President of Kenrich Petrochemicals, Inc.; Bachelor Civil Engineering-Structures, Manhattan College; M.S.-Polymeric Materials, NYU Tandon School of Engineering; Member Plastics Hall of Fame 2021; BOD-The Plastics Academy; Society Plastics Engineers Fellow & Honored Service Member; Licensed P.E.; S&E Innovative Technologies, LLC – Principal Member; Plastics Industry Association Recycle Subcommittee-Compatibilizers; Board of Governors, Plastics Pioneers Association-MTS Newsletter Chair; 32-U.S. Patents – most recent US Patent 2020/0071230 A1 dated Mar. 5, 2020; Lectured Worldwide on Titanate & Zirconate Coupling agents; 450-American Chemical Society CAS Abstracts of published “Works by S.J. Monte”; Classified Top Secret for Solid Rocket Fuel and Energetic Composites Patents for the Insensitive Munitions Program; Lifetime member of the National Defense Industrial Association; Lifetime Member of the BOD-SPE ThermoPlastics Materials & Foams Division – Annual Scholarship named: Salvatore J. Monte Thermoplastic Materials & Foams Division Scholarship; External Advisory Committee-UCF NanoScience Technology Center; former Chairman of the NYRG-ACS Rubber Division; former President of the SPE P-NJ Section; Testified several times before Congress on Trade and IP Protection; Business Man of the Year 2015-Bayonne Chamber of Commerce; Federated Society Coatings Technology C. Homer Flynn Award for Technical Excellence; Recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award; Rotary Paul Harris Fellow; UA Million Miler; Member PIA, ACMA,  SPE, ACS, ACS Rubber Division, ASCE, AIChE, SAMPE, the GRAPHENE COUNCIL, the Vinyl Sustainability Council. 

Summary

Plastics have become an indispensable part of modern life. Cars, computers, baby-bottles, telephone, clothing, packaging; no aspect of our society is untouched by plastics. Their versatility of physical properties and the unique formability have made them ubiquitous. These intrinsic physical properties made polymer eminently suited to recycling. Plastics have indeed been recycled in various ways ever since their introduction over decades ago. With increasing application and decreasing prices, plastics became the symbol of disposability in consumerism and hence an inevitable object of concern in the relatively recent heightened public awareness of environmental issues. Recycling is only sensible if the cost of processing the scrap at the end of its life is less than the value of the recyclate produced. Having been promoted to a positive the life cycle may be repeated in principle any number of times.

In this study a series of samples were prepared by mixing virgin HDPE resin with recycled HDPE (from bottle crates) at different ratios. These samples were further blended with thermal and oxidative stabilizers at different ratios. Two important parameters i.e. processing stability and light stability were investigated to evaluate the potential of the recyclate to be used in the original application. A multiple extrusion cycles procedure was performed for monitoring the processing stability of the restabilized and non-restabilized material. Also, the samples were exposed to natural weather for six months followed by withdrawal of samples after each three months. The samples were characterized using FTIR, GPC, and mechanical testing methods. It was observed that a sample with 50/50 virgin and recycled material underwent rapid thermo-oxidative degradation after third extrusion cycle. On the contrary it was observed that a sample with virgin HDPE (without any additive) showed maximum degradation as compared to stabilized and recycled materials. Therefore, better process-ability can only be achieved with appropriate percentage of processing stabilizers and with limited number of extrusion cycles. A correlation between molecular weight variation and thermal and mechanical properties is developed to find some trend of degradation.

About the Speaker

Neaz Ahmed works as Manager (Product Application), in National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NATPET).

Graduated from NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan, in Mechanical Engineering, 1984. After graduation Joined Karachi Shipyard and engineering works Ltd, as a Design Engineer and served the organization in accomplishing different National and International Projects till 1989.

Joined KFUPM as a Research Assistant and Master student in 1990. Acquired Master degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1993 and Joined Research Institute of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals as a Research Engineer and worked on different funded research projects – degradation study of plastics, Degradation and stabilization of polymers, Catalyst synthesis, Catalyst evaluation, Polymerization process development, characterization of polymers, Multipurpose soil/ sand stabilizer ( out of those research works three innovative research works were patented through USA patent office in the name of RI, KFUPM and ample number of research papers presented in conferences and published in journals.)

Joined NATPET in January 2007, as Product specialist. Working as Manager Product Application Department under marketing and Sales. Developed different grades of PP for speciality application particularly medical use.

Summary

The Complex Inorganic Color Pigment (CICP) product class historically have provided durable color for a wide range of plastics. Recent advances have improved on the color space covered by these pigments. Beyond the visible color properties, these pigment chemistries also have useful IR properties along with other capabilities. This paper will cover the standard and improved grades of CICPs and their application in differentiated, value-add, sustainable, and impactful plastics.

About the Speaker

Mark Ryan is the Marketing Manager for the Shepherd Color Company. Mark is responsible for market and product development for key technologies such as Arctic IR reflective pigments, the NTP Yellow and RTZ Orange high-performance pigments, along with Shepherd Color’s highly-durable and heat-stable standard pigments. Mark has spoken and been published around the world on the use of these problem-solving pigments for paints, coatings, plastics and other materials. He has been quoted in Bloomberg and the Harvard Business Review and he was profiled by the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. Mark has twice won the SPE-CAD RETEC Best Paper Award. He has been in the involved in high performance materials with various technical, sales and marketing roles for over 25 years and has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Saint Louis University and an MBA from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. His favorite color is blue.

Recycled PLA and its Effect on the Plastic Manufacturing Industry

Summary

3d printing has become an important form of creating rapid prototypes for aerospace and automotive industries. Most 3d printers use a plastic such as PLA, PETG, TPU, and ABS which are low cost and are readily available. However, most of these materials produce excess waste, and are not recycled. This is where we come in, CSU, Chico has developed a reliable and efficient plastic recycling process, where we are able to recycle failed 3d prints and old plastic material. Over the Summer, we are going to expand upon this system and will continue to develop this process with more readily available plastic waste such as Plastic Bottles (PET) and Bottle Caps (PP). We have worked with many colors and additives that create brilliant colors that are unique to recycled plastics. This process is beneficial to the Manufacturing Industry as a whole by saving manufacturers money on material cost, time expense, and waste management costs. This also has a positive impact on the local environment by reducing the amount of plastic waste being introduced into local streams, rivers and eventually the ocean.

About the Speaker

TBA

Summary

Clariant’s Metallocene Maleic Anhydride Grafted PE waxes are unique and formulated to bring forth various process benefits namely pearlescent pigment dispersions as well as enhancement of properties in polyolefin compounding like wood -filled composites & high filler loading applications. Pearlescent Pigments are a popular color option. Among the suppliers of dispersion aids for these materials, is Clariant Corp., whose fine-grain Licocene maleic anhydride (MAH)-grafted metallocene polyethylene waxes are a preferred choice. Pearlescent pigments provide a special, sparkling, visual effect, which is seen as luxurious and more finished than non-reflective pigments in articles such as bottles, cosmetics, and automotive components. However, these special effects pigments are often challenging to process consistently and economically as they can be difficult to wet out, which causes clumping, thus limiting process efficiency, the intended aesthetic effect and ultimately, the physical integrity of finished articles. To properly disperse these pigments and still attain the desired effect masterbatch producers and compounders add an excess of the pigments and easily volatile dispersants, then inadvertently impart excess shear with high rpm and aggressive screw designs. Another common practice is to oversize the pigment (pearlescent come in various flake sizes) before compounding, with the goal of hitting the target particle size needed to maintain desired appearance. These techniques often result in batch-to-batch inconsistency, reduced economics, and reductions of the desired surface gloss of finished articles, due to exudation of the dispersants, haze and reduced pearlescent particle size. Clariant’s Advanced Surface Solutions Team has developed MAH-grafted metallocene polymers, namely Licocene PE MA 4221 and PE MA 4351, which improve dispersion, reduce shear and extrusion pressure and increase output rates without dulling the surface. These achievements are explained and quantified via filter pressure value (FPV) testing, decreased speck counts (film analyses), increased color and gloss development and optimization of pigment addition levels. This is possible from the following inherent traits of the Licocene metallocene: » High strand/tensile melt strength due to high molecular weight when compared with common olefin dispersants » High percentages of MAH grafting and » Narrow molecular weight distribution courtesy of the metallocene catalyst used to control the syntheses Thus, Licocene PE Maleic Anhydride grafted metallocene waxes due to its’ exclusive chemical moiety, provides benefits in terms of superior dispersion for pigments namely pearlescent; act as an excellent coupling agent for polyolefin based highly filled applications like WPC and others. In a nutshell, adds customer benefits, superior application performance and excellent physical properties.

About the Speaker

Souvik Sengupta, employed in Clariant in BU-Additives since Year 2014 and presently as Technical Business Development handling the entire waxes (known as Advanced Surface Solutions) portfolio for plastics applications in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Prior to Clariant, had worked in various capacities for esteemed organizations namely, Fine Organics, SABIC, Reliance Industries, and few more. Has completed 26 years of service life in plastics/polymers including a fair period in the Middle East. Possess vast experience in various polymer manufacturing, processing, and additive industry.

He is a B.Sc. (Chemistry – Hons) graduate and studied B. Tech in Polymer Science & Technology (that includes both Plastics and Rubber).

Souvik had the opportunity to present papers in various conferences & forums and feel honoured to be associated with SPE.

Summary

Carbon Black (CB) is known to be the perfect and most economical solution to prevent photo degradation of polyethylene for items designed for direct sunlight exposure. The efficiency of CB with respect to preventing the photo degradation of polyethylene from sunlight depends on the CB type, particle size, concentration, dispersion and distribution. In this presentation, we explain how distribution of carbon black in polymer matrix as an additive for UV degradation, effects the short term and long term mechanical integrity of products designed for load bearing applications.

About the Speaker

Suleyman Deveci works for Borouge Pte., a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Austria based Borealis AG., as the manager of Infrastructure Centre of Excellence. He has 15+ years of research experience in polymer processing and testing, focusing on polymer structure, property and processing relationships, test method development and failure analysis in the field of polyolefin applications. He is an active member of several ISO technical committee groups regarding plastic pipes and testing standardization, a member of research board at The Welding Institute (TWI, UK), a member of organizing committee at Plastic Pipes Conference Association (PPCA), a member of Society of Plastic Engineer (SPE) Middle East Section. He holds a number of international patents and is author of several scientific articles.