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Ready-to-use Soft/Rigid Combo Materials Sustainably Accelerate Time to Market
Sabic and Lubrizol have pooled their resources to develop compatible material solutions suited for various applications in mobility and consumer electronics, among other sectors. The combination of soft and rigid materials can help end users advance their sustainability goals, enhance protection of ever-thinner and more vulnerable applications, and streamline manufacturing through part consolidation.
“Through our collaboration with Lubrizol, we provide [ready-to-use] material solutions with compatible chemistries that could accelerate time to market for our customers,†said Luc Govaerts, technology director, Sabic Polymers, Specialties BU. “This solution also enables our customers to develop more-sustainable applications, addressing an increasing trend across many industries.â€
Materials further thin-wall molding
The materials feature Sabic’s LNP specialty compounds and copolymers, which function as rigid substrates, and Lubrizol’s soft Estane Eco thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs), which are two-shot injection molded onto the substrates. The Sabic thermoplastics potentially enable thin-wall molding to reduce raw material consumption or deliver chemical resistance for durability. Further, Lubrizol’s Estane Eco TPUs are formulated with bio-based content and are manufactured at certified ISCC+ facilities.
Laptop application showcased
Potential applications for these complementary materials include laptops, cell phone cases, and other electronic devices where durability, drop protection, and a non-slip surface are needed. One potential application is a laptop case featuring glass-fiber-reinforced LNP Thermocomp compound as the rigid substrate and Estane Eco TPU as the soft, overmolded polymer.
The Sabic material provides high modulus, low warpage, ductility, and non-brominated/non-chlorinated flame retardance along with impact resistance and weatherability. The Lubrizol Estane Eco TPU offers chemical and abrasion resistance. These soft and rigid material combinations could also show promise for other industries where features such as ergonomics or enhanced haptics are needed.
“We recognized an industry need for soft and rigid thermoplastic combinations that provide high performance and good bonding strength,†said Jane Cai, senior business director APAC at Lubrizol. “But finding the right pairing can be time-consuming for customers. Lubrizol and Sabic combined our strengths and sustainable material portfolios to deliver proven compatible solutions that can help customers reduce their development time and costs and bring new designs and concepts to the market. With this approach, the possibilities are limitless.â€
Startup Creates Composite for Sustainable Flexible Packaging
By Rick Lingle, Senior Technical Editor
With a population of 9.8 million in 2023, Israel is a David among the global Goliaths in innovation related to startup companies. Known as "Startup Nation," Israel ranked third globally in the number of startup companies, according to recent reports.
Which is one of the reasons I jumped on the opportunity to interview Daniel Friedmann, the new corporate director and board member of Tel Aviv-based Solutum Technologies Ltd. It’s a new-to-me company that “offers packaging manufacturers a solution with a holistic end of life, minimizing the environmental impact of flexible plastic packaging.â€
As the new guy, Friedmann faces a daunting task: The global scaling of the company’s novel compound that produces sustainable packaging material.
He is eminently capable, having previously served as chairman and then also CEO of Carbon Engineering, a pioneering leader in direct air capture. His leadership culminated in the company’s largest investor acquiring additional company shares for $1.1 billion.
Back to packaging and according to the company, Solutum's compound works with conventional converter machinery and processes to produce a unique film. It can be composted in industrial composting or biodegrades in soil and water. The company claims the end-of-life has no impact on the environment.
The press release’s lack of detail further piqued my interest…and questions. Friedmann’s answers in our Q&A interview were edited for clarity and style. We start with an easy question…
Where does the name come from?
Friedmann: "Solutum" is derived from Latin, where "solutum" is a form of "solutus," which means "loosened," "dissolved," or "freed." In our case, it relates to our material being compostable and biodegradable in both water and soil, leaving no harm to the environment.
What can you tell us about the material?
Friedmann: Solutum has developed and patented a novel biodegradable compound, which can be used for packaging, one of the biggest plastic waste problems. Solutum is a composite material of readily available polymers, copolymers, and nonpolymeric materials.
These components combine and react to give Solutum its qualities of being soil and water biodegradable and compostable at its end of life. Additionally, the combination of compounds can be adapted to achieve specific mechanical properties, making it ideal for a broad range of flexible packaging applications.?
What’s the business case for Solutum’s solution?
Friedmann: More than 400 million tons of plastic are produced annually, of which approximately 40% is used for packaging. Flexible packaging, which makes up about 28% of all packaging, is very difficult to recycle. Only about 1% of flexible packaging gets recycled, while the vast majority goes to landfills, incineration, and at alarming rates?— especially in developing countries — ends up polluting the planet. These plastics take centuries to degrade, harming natural habitats, waterways, and the health and safety of humanity.
Solutum offers a solution to reduce plastic waste. It resembles traditional plastic in appearance and feel and is crafted from commonly available polymers. Its differentiator from plastic, however, is in its unique end-of-life benefits.
In managed settings, like industrial composting, Solutum can be composted, while in natural environments, including soil and water, it biodegrades, reducing the environmental impact of vast amounts of plastic waste that today end up in the environment.
Additionally, its mechanical properties are often superior to traditional plastics. This means that packaging manufacturers can reduce material required for packaging by using Solutum.? Solutum enables manufacturers to down-gauge packaging film, reducing the amount of material used and minimizing waste.
[Note: We then asked about "ingredient" sourcing, but Friedmann declined citing proprietary reasons.]
What’s the film’s status?
Friedmann: The company is now in the market entry phase after refining our material and demonstrating its effectiveness across various applications and geographies using automated machinery including major convertors, machine manufacturers, and brands in the US.
We have validated the material with several large players, including machinery partners and global packaging players. We are working with partners to get it out by the end of the year. More details on these partnerships will be forthcoming.
What plastic processes and end markets are appropriate?
Friedmann: Solutum compound is made in existing compounding machines by (outsourced) compounders. The compound can be converted to finished film or products (packages) by existing converters using their existing machines. Solutum’s sustainable packaging has high tensile strength, inherent anti-static properties, and a good oxygen and oil barrier, making it a versatile material for a broad range of packaging applications across pharma, electronics and food and beverage applications.
What do you see as likely initial applications?
Friedmann: Our primary focus is on food packaging that requires strong oxygen and oil barriers, along with robust mechanical properties, including both flexible plastic packaging and paper-laminated options. Additionally, we provide a solution for end-of-line packaging, particularly advantageous for the pharmaceutical sector, where multiple primary packages need to be securely bundled together.
What can it replace? And is it cost-competitive?
Friedmann: Solutum replaces polyethylene in packaging films as well as barrier applications, which today are primarily made with polyamides or ethylene vinyl alcohol. Solutum can also replace the plastic laminate layer in laminated paper packaging while maintaining the recyclability of paper.
While on a per kilo basis Solutum is more expensive than “normal†plastics, it is very strong in terms of its mechanical properties, allowing manufacturers to use less material for most applications and thereby making it competitive with normal plastics.? Other material characteristics that provide value include a strong oxygen and oil barrier ideal for food packing.
From the sustainability perspective, Solutum helps companies meet several end-of-life requirements for plastic films and laminated paper.
In making the shift to more sustainable materials, manufacturers often incur costs based on required capital expenditures for machinery or to adapt processes. Because Solutum is compatible with current machinery and processes, manufacturers can seamlessly shift to sustainable packaging.
Are there any other advantages to point out?
Friedmann: Regardless of where Solutum ends up, when used as a film it returns to the environment without any impact. When Solutum is used as a lamination barrier film for paper packaging, it acts as a recycling enabler. Today laminated paper packaging is difficult and costly to recycle. Solutum enables currently unrecyclable laminated paper to be easily recyclable to comply with regulations.
New Cosmetics Bottle is a Beautiful Breakthrough in Sustainability
Alpla and zerooo create the first reusable PET bottle for cosmetic, beauty, and personal care products that launches in September in Germany.
By Rick Lingle, Senior Technical Editor
A challenging market for sustainability, cosmetic and beauty products, is undergoing a packaging makeover. Exemplifying the eco-driven movement is a new reusable PET bottle for those markets and for personal care. It was developed by reusable bottle system provider zerooo, which is helping enable a real-world circular economy.
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Zerooo along with packaging and recycling specialist Alpla and zerooo initiator Sea Me GmbH developed the 300-mL PET bottle as a standardized reusable packaging solution.
In September in Germany, the first brands will launch shampoo, shower gel, detergent, body lotion, and dental care products at retail in the reusable bottles.
The initiative will then spread to other countries starting with Austria in October.
In addition to Sea Me’s own brand, other brands that include sodasan, i+m Naturkosmetik, Speick, Denttabs, Aveo from Müller, and 4 People Who Care will participate in the program.
The reusable bottles are available in clear, milky white, and brown versions (shown below), and additional formats are planned. They're compatible with standard caps.
Empties can be returned to the approximately one thousand collection points of zerooo retail partners for a deposit of €0.50, the equivalent of $0.56.
Reusable PET bottle boosts plastic circularity.
As a globally active packaging manufacturer and recycling specialist, Alpla is promoting closed “bottle-to-bottle†cycles with its own plants. The zerooo reusable PET bottle was developed with the Sea Me team at Alpla’s in-house STUDIOa design center at the company’s headquarters in Hard, Germany.
“With ‘Design for Recycling’, we are setting the course early on for optimum recycling and the longest possible service life,†says Alexander Tr?nkle, industrial designer, Alpla. “Every detail counts when it comes to shape, color, and material. The reusable system extends the life cycle of the plastic bottle, saves material, and reduces the carbon footprint.â€
“With a wealth of knowledge, the Alpla development team provided us with significant support in implementing the brand and reusable packaging requirements,†explains Mirko Waraszik, director of supply chain and zerooo co-founder at Sea Me. “We are proud to have succeeded in integrating the individual serialization of bottles directly into the production process for the first time. This innovation enables groundbreaking data applications for packaging in the context of reuse.â€
Every zerooo reusable PET bottle is unique. A laser-engraved 2D data matrix code— the “zerooo ID†— provides information about the content and circulation history.
“The digital labelling enables transparency and ensures the quality of the bottles,†says J?rg Schw?rzler, senior technology manager, Alpla. “By combining it with the information from the label, it can also be complemented with further product data. The reusable PET bottle is compatible with all automatic return systems. At the end of their life cycle, the bottles and caps are sorted and recycled.â€
The Troubleshooter: Standardization Is Key to Consistent Injection Molding Processes
Many companies struggle at replicating injection molding processes in between runs. Scrap events at startup can kill profits before a production run even starts. It is easy to point fingers in an attempt to escape blame, but in many cases it is the equipment itself that leads to process inconsistency. This article will outline many of the primary causes of poor startup events. It will also offer solutions to common failures that lead to large scrap amounts.
Setup
The most common culprit in poor startups is the machine setup itself. Molds must be watered the same way every time. Process setup must be verified. Barrel and mold temperatures must match prior setups, and actuals should be verified. The same applies to hot-runner temperatures and actuals. Are water gallons-per-minute (GPM) the same as the last run? Has the robot program been loaded correctly, and is the end-of-arm tool in the same state/condition as on the last run, when it performed well?
Machine
The state of your machine is also a key critical parameter in measuring process repeatability. Has clamp parallelism been checked and verified regularly? Has mold protect been set up properly? Even more important, did you review process monitoring variables as you started the press to ensure that variables matched the previous run? Fill time, screw recovery, and peak pressure and cushion are all important inspection points as the new run begins. Melt temperature should be verified to replicate the previous event. Normal preventive maintenance events on your machinery are essential to machine and process consistency.
Thermolator
Temperature control units should be standardized throughout your plant and repeatability thermolators should be married to the press. All thermolators do not perform in the same way, which makes it important to keep each unit stationary with a machine to ensure process repeatability. GPM, pressure to and from, and setpoint vs. actual performance are keys to process inspection.
Hot runner
It is also important to keep the same hot runner in place at each press. Hot runner setpoints and actuals should be within 2°F, with no more than a 2° swing. Record hot drop melt temperatures for comparison. These measurements can be taken after a press has run consistently for one hour to ensure proper heat soak. Examining heater performance is important. Manifold temperatures tend to rise slower than short leg and drop temperatures. Watch for slow rising zones because these can help to identify heater bands that are wearing out prior to failure.
Tooling
Mold care is a primary consideration when defining repeatability. Processors must take great care in shutting down a tool. Molds should be properly greased, cleaned, and inspected prior to startup. Parts should not be run until a mold has been meticulously inspected for cleanliness, function, and damage. Close and open speeds should be set for both cycle optimization and mold protection. Poor inspection leads to scrap and damage, which results in down time and missed production results.
Material
Material performance is crucial to a consistent startup and process. Material in hot runners must be fresh and clean. The press must be proficiently purged and free of cross contamination. If regrind is used, virgin-to-regrind ratios must be consistent and base-material friendly. Verify that materials are at the correct dryness, but not over dry. Consult the safety data sheet to ensure that temperatures and dry time meet the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Profitability in plastics processing demands repeatability and consistency. Understanding the variables that have the biggest effect on a plant’s ability to replicate production runs through consistent shut downs, setups, and startups is the difference between success and failure. Thorough inspections and procedures ensure repeatability and company profits.
Got a problem with this, that, or the other thing? You might find answers in some previous "Troubleshooter" columns:
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Plastic Injection Molding Process Engineer
6 个月Great report! Wondering what ingredients are in Solutum that make polymers, copolymers, and nonpolymeric materials biodegradable? I also wonder if that is enough incentive for the return of reusable cosmetic PET bottles? Seems like the aluminum can return incentives that some states within the US already use, so hopefully it is a start. Troubleshooting tips as always, a great end to the article!