Blowmolding: Returnable PET 5-gal containers take the heat

(Plastics Today) -- Riding on the BPA debate, blowmolding machinery manufacturer Nissei ASB Machine Co. (Komoro, Japan) is promoting returnable 5-gal PET containers as an alternative.

Five-gallon PET returnable bottles have already been in use for several years with moderate success in some world markets, most notably Central America, according to the firm. Up to now, the major challenge has been control of shrinkage during the washing procedure, and major users may not want to adjust their washing temperatures and filling lines for a different material, it notes.

Advantages of PET include lower price≈typically one-quarter that of PC≈and better gas barrier, although its transparency, scuff resistance, impact resistance and heat resistance are inferior. Nissei ABS has come to the rescue for the heat resistance aspect by applying its "double-blow" heat-set technology to container molding. The result is that washing temperatures used for PC can also be applied to PET bottles with virtually zero shrinkage.

Tests have shown that overflow capacity of the double-blow PET container changes by less than 0.5% after 20 washes at 65?C versus more than 4% for a single blow PET container. At 75?C, the overflow capacity change is less than 1% whereas the single-blow PET container undergoes large deformation. A heat-set temperature of 180?C is used and container mass is as little as 650g. This is as much as 125g lighter than a PC 5-gal container and 50g lighter than a single-blow PET container. The material cost per bottle is approximately 21% of a similar PET bottle, says Nissei. Machine output is on a par with PC containers. To control scuffing, the company suggests adding a decorative shrink sleeve.

MRC

(plastemart) -- New Vectra G Series that features two new cost-competitive halogen-free liquid crystal polymer (LCP) grades has been introduced by Ticona Engineering Polymers. Vectra G141 and G441 are glass- and mineral-filled LCPs designed to help EE customers meet demanding lead-free soldering and halogen-free requirements, and steer clear of costly corrosion and maintenance issues. The series offers processing characteristics that avoid issues commonly encountered by electrical and electronic manufacturers that use flame-retardant, high-temperature nylons. The 35% glass-filled Vectra G141 and 35% mineral- and glass-filled Vectra G441 from Ticona are halogen-free, inherently flame resistant without additives, V-0 to 0.15 mm (UL listing expected May 2010), potential drop-in solutions for small FR, HT nylon parts.

Both grades target the electrical and electronic markets, which typically require excellent dimensional stability in thin-wall parts, even at higher temperatures - more than 260C-where existing flame-retardant (FR) polymers struggle. They are designed to outperform traditional FR, high-temperature (HT) polyamides (nylons) and thermoplastic polyesters (PBT) that require lead-free soldering resistance.

MRC

(Korea Times) -- LG Chem, Korea's top chemical firm by sales, said Tuesday it has clinched record quarterly sales during the first three months of this year mainly helped by an increased share of the global market for information technology products.

A market turnaround in the petrochemical sector has also lifted the demand for products in China, contributing to a strengthened cash balance sheet. Inspired by the strong results, LG Chem shares rose 2.08% to end at 245,000 won on the nation's main bourse, according to data from the Korea Exchange (KRX).

In a regulatory filing to the KRX, LG Chem said its first quarter net profit surged by 73% to 517.7 billion won year-on-year, while the quarterly operating profit also jumped 34.6% to 652.4 billion won during the same period.Sales reached a record 4.42 trillion won, an increase of 32% from a year ago, the company said.

MRC

(prw) -- Ashland Performance Materials has agreed with Boytek Resins of Istanbul, Turkey, to enter into a manufacturing and two-way distribution relationship. Boytek currently serves as a distributor for Ashland's high-performance Derakane epoxy vinyl ester resins in Turkey.

Under the proposed agreement, Boytek will produce Ashland's Aropol unsaturated polyester resins at its manufacturing facility in Cerkezkoy Tekirdag, Turkey. Boytek will also add Ashland's Maxguard gelcoats, Aropol pultrusion resins and Hetronfire retardant resins to its distribution portfolio in Turkey.

In return Ashland will offer Boytek resins in addition to its own extensive resin and gelcoat product portfolio to customers throughout Europe, with specific focus on Central Eastern Europe.

MRC

(plastemart) -- Taiwan's state-run CPC Corp plans to relocate equipment of its oil refinery and third naphtha cracker in Kaohsiung, Taiwan to set up a large-scale petrochemical complex in Indonesia. This step will better utilize the two plants' equipment after their expected closure, preventing them from being scrapped. Due to good maintenance, the equipment of Kaohsiung refinery and the naphtha cracker has at least another 10-20 years of life. The decision to shift the naphtha cracker will save the company 30-40% costs as construction costs of a new plant with similar capacity. In a move that will ensure a channel for output from the new complex, the state refiner also plans to mobilize mid-stream and downstream factories to make associated investments.
The projected capacities at the complex include 100,000-200,000 bpd of oil, 730,000 tpa of ethylene along with derivatives PE (polyethylene), SM (styrene monomer) and ACN (acrylonitrile). This will be the firm`s largest-ever overseas investment plan. With this, CPC targets to tap the fast expanding ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and face competition from its major domestic rival Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), as it gears up to set up a petrochemical complex in Vietnam.
If the project proceeds without a hitch, the company plans to start dismantling and exporting the equipment of the third naphtha cracking plant after its decommissioning in 2012, before doing the same for Kaohsiung refinery.

MRC