The SPE Library contains thousands of papers, presentations, journal briefs and recorded webinars from the best minds in the Plastics Industry. Spanning almost two decades, this collection of published research and development work in polymer science and plastics technology is a wealth of knowledge and information for anyone involved in plastics.
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Various topics related to sustainability in plastics, including bio-related, environmental issues, green, recycling, renewal, re-use and sustainability.
This paper describes the blending and the thermoforming performance of a thermoplastic starch (TPS) and polylactic acid (PLA) compound. A twin screw extruder (TSE) was used for corn starch plasticizing and blending with the plasticized PLA. A single screw extruder was used to melt, functionalize and feed the plasticized PLA into the TSE. Extruded pellets were used to make sheets through extrusion calendering, which were ultimately thermoformed in a parallelepiped shape. Thermoformability of the sheets was evaluated by the area ratio, the maximum uniaxial deformation, and the thickness measurement in the machine direction (MD) and transversal direction (TD). The operating window was defined using DMA techniques. The compound showed good thermoformability characteristics.
Camila Fernanda D. Oliveira, Ticiane S. Valera, Nicole Demarquette, Natalia N. Fidalgo, May 2014
This work presents a systematic study about thermoplastic starches. Corn starch was mixed with 2 and 4 wt.% of carboxylic acid and 20 to 30 wt.% of water. The samples were prepared in an internal mixer coupled to a torque rheometer, and the torque values were monitored during mixing. The specimens for mechanical tests were calendered and cut with a knife. The mixtures were characterized by mechanical testing (tensile strength), scanning electron microscopy, and thermal analysis. The torque curves indicated that the samples with and without adipic acid addition suffer retrogradation. When the water content is increased, the glass transition temperature values decrease because water acts as a plasticizer for starch. The mechanical test results showed that samples with 2 wt.% acid content present the highest values of elastic modulus and tensile strength, and the lowest values of elongation at rupture.
Masoud Allahkarami, Reaj U. Ahmed, Sudheer Bandla, Jay C. Hanan, May 2014
The aim of lightweighting PET bottles is to reduce waste in material use by optimizing the design and manufacture process. Efficient lightweighting development requires adapting robust techniques for thickness measurements. Knowledge of the final thickness distribution at different locations of the bottle is essential for identifying critical locations that could be modified in the preform or mold. X-ray tomography, IR-based thickness measurements, and Hall Effect techniques have been demonstrated as nondestructive tools for thickness measurement. Some methods are slow or expensive. Here, a low cost method for thickness measurement of PET bottles based on cross section measurement also was demonstrated using an optical scanner.
Some trends in failure are due to errors of design or bad judgment (plastics) or unwise life conditions (human biopolymers). An encouraging trend for human biopolymers is synthetic polymers designed as replacements for damaged biopolymers (electrical polymers for nerves, and targeted drug delivery). Environmental, recycling and health effects on failure are a strong recent trend in polymer failure. Examples are bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalate plasticizers, both limited by bans for health reasons. PVC is also attacked for health reasons. Even if a plastic is very worthy, inexpensive and was accepted for years, it may be considered for banning (PE thin bags).
Nylon is widely used in many applications. At the 2013 ANTEC, our paper covered the results obtained with compounding primarily recycled nylon with the addition of small quantities of alternating copolymers of ethylene and maleic anhydride and specific property improvements for applications in injection molded compounds. The resulting compounds have performance that can match or exceed prime virgin nylon at 30-50% cost savings. This current paper will cover the unique chemistry of alternating copolymers of ethylene and maleic anhydride to provide several advantages for upgrading prime or virgin nylon. For example, this paper will cover results of increasing relative viscosity and the advantages that brings to various applications. Another set of results will cover the unique improvements obtained in impact-modified nylon-6 and nylon-6,6 by reducing the negative impact of traditional impact modifiers by offering synergistic set of properties.
Contour Print aka distortion printing or preprint is nothing new to the thermoforming industry. We believe every innovative thermoformer has tried registering print at one time or another. What’s different about Contour Print is how it came about and why we think it will become a preferred package for brands, consumers and recyclers. Contour print was developed after attending PackEx, Sustainability/LCA, Product Design & other packaging conferences. Contour print takes into consideration the needs of all parties involved in consumer packaging: brand owners, retailers, consumers, recyclers and converters. By taking prominent recycled material like RPET, standard roll fed thermoforming equipment and adding the distorted printing you get a consumer friendly pack that’s easy to recycle. With public concerns for recycling and consumer confusion, using one material for the entire package greatly reduces this problem. Contour Print also reduces weight by replacing flat printed components with printing that is applied directly to the formed plastic package.
Ruth Marlene Campomanes Santana, Ademir Jose Zattera, Matheus Poletto, April 2014
The boiling temperature and chain length of natural oils used as coupling agents strongly affect the interfacial adhesion and, consequently, the thermal stability of recycled polypropylene wood flour composites.
Post-molding annealing increases the degree of crystallinity in injection-molded poly(lactic acid) components and improves their mechanical and heat resistance performance.
Raffaele Corvino, Mario Malinconico, Maria Emanuela Errico, Maurizio Avella, Pierfrancesco Cerruti, March 2014
Recyclable thermoplastic composite materials, made of waste from dismantled aircraft and polystyrene loose-fill packaging, are capable of handling high weight loads.
Raghavendra Gujjala, Samir Kumar Acharya, Shakuntala Ojha, March 2014
Adding biodegradable shell particulates to an epoxy resin matrix yields superior thermal stability and mechanical properties while lowering fabrication cost.
Yijun Zhang, Guangjian He, Jun Luo, Xianwu Cao, Wei Wu, January 2014
The strength and modulus of poly(butylene succinate) can be increased with the addition of halloysite nanotubes, without a significant loss of ductility.
Michael Niaounakis, Panayiotis Georgiopoulos, Evagelia Kontou, January 2014
Polylactic acid nanocomposites with montmorillonite and silica nanofillers showed different thermomechanical property alterations over a six-month aging period.
A chitosan/titanium oxide composite exhibited high photocatalytic activity against harmful dyes as well as antibacterial properties, and it was easier to recover from the environment than titanium oxide alone.
Nivin Ahmed, Azza Ward, Magda Tawfik, November 2013
Addition of a treated kaolin filler improves the mechanical and electrical properties of polymer composites produced from unsaturated polyester derived from polyethylene terephthalate waste.
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Any article that is cited in another manuscript or other work is required to use the correct reference style. Below is an example of the reference style for SPE articles:
Brown, H. L. and Jones, D. H. 2016, May.
"Insert title of paper here in quotes,"
ANTEC 2016 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA May 23-25, 2016. [On-line].
Society of Plastics Engineers
Available: www.4spe.org.
Note: if there are more than three authors you may use the first author's name and et al. EG Brown, H. L. et al.
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