Plastics & Additives

Packaging guidelines that mandate suppliers reduce the use of plastic in product packaging, encourage the switch to glass when possible, and limit acceptable packaging materials to those that are easily reused or recycled, and/or feature the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content became effective at retailer Whole Foods Market (Austin, TX) Sept. 1, 2010.

Keyuan Petrochemicals Inc. (Ningbo, China) began construction of its 70,000-tonnes/yr styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) production facility in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. With an estimated cost of $17.5 million, the facility, which is adjacent to an existing Keyuan operation, is expected to generate $110 million in sales in 2012. Trial runs for the new line are forecast to take place in 2011, running from October to November, with production to commence thereafter.

Overview: Spot market activity in resin picked up once again after a couple weeks of relative inactivity. Spot-trading platform, The Plastics Exchange (TPE), noted that while demand was good, many potential deals stalled when asking prices rose quickly in support of September price-increase initiatives. Average polyethylene (PE) prices were steady to $0.02/lb higher, with a variance seen amongst grades. For the second week running, polypropylene (PP) added $0.01/lb.

Processors attending the K 2010 tradeshow next month in Düsseldorf, Germany also have the possibility to register for the "Modern coatings for plastics" symposium, held at the  Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel just a few minutes away from the exhibition.

Whatever slowdown the sector might have experienced in 2009, China's plastics industry has accelerated past 2009's economic speed bump to double-digit gains in plastic and plastic products over the first half of 2010. The Research in China report shows that synthetic resin production rose 23.21% in the first half of 2010 over the year-earlier period to 21.07 million tons.

Lighting manufacturer Iwasaki Electric and plastics and chemicals supplier Teijin say they have developed the world's first outdoor LED lamp made 100% from plastics. Heat dissipation is handled by a carbon-fiber-filled polycarbonate, which replaces aluminum for the entire lamp's housing except for the bayonet cap.

Injection molding machine manufacturer Nissei Plastic Industrial Co. Ltd. has developed a range of presses especially for the processing of polylactic acid (PLA), a plastic derived from plant starch. The machines, with molds and processing technology supplied by a leading Japanese molding consultancy, are marketed especially for the processing of high-heat grades of PLA, which to now has been very problematic.

Specialty chemicals and polymer supplier Rhodia says it has signed a memo of understanding with Ecole Normale Superieure of Lyon, France, the French National Center for Scientific Research, and the East China Normal University of Shanghai to reinforce their collaborative research on "green" chemistry.

The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland, OH-based industry market research firm, rightly notes that the degradable plastic industry “has been on the verge of commercial success for decades.” However, limitations such as their expense, lack of availability in large quantities, and performance drawbacks kept them lagging behind petroleum-based resins and limited to niche markets. This situation began to change in the early 2000s, as OEMs, retailers, and consumer groups became more interested in environmentally friendly products.

The U.S. medical plastics market is expected to reach almost 3.5 billion lb of demand by the end of 2010 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 5%, consuming about 4.4 billion lb, by 2015. Those findings from BCC Research's new report "Medical Plastics", which focuses on medical plastics converted via injection molding, extrusion, film casting, solvent casting, blow molding, and thermoforming.