Chicken feathers can be turned into biodegradable thermoplastics

(Plastemart) -- A technique whereby chicken feathers can be turned into biodegradable thermoplastics has been developed by researchers at the Institute of Agriculture & Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. The new research purports to have found a way to create durable thermoplastics from chicken feathers. The new technique is an advancement over previous efforts in that it performs well when wet. ⌠Using this technique, we believe we're the first to demonstrate that we can make chicken-feather-based thermoplastics stable in water while still maintaining mechanical properties. says Yiqi Yang, Ph.D., the study's leader.

Chicken feathers are an excellent prospect because they are inexpensive and abundant. Few shoppers think about it, but every shrink-wrapped broiler in the supermarket cooler leaves behind a few ounces of feathers. Annually there are more than 3 bln lbs of waste chicken feathers in the United States alone.

The team has tried to turn the feathers into thermoplastic, so it can also be used as the matrix material for composites, instead of using polyethylene or polypropylene. A chemical called methyl acrylate is added to the keratin, making it undergo polymerisation, the process which makes molecules link into long chains. This creates a film, which Dr Yang's group calls 'feather-g-poly(methyl acrylate)' plastic.

MRC

(BASF) -- BASF's designfabrik is offering a new tool to designers and development engineers working in automotive design. The ⌠Material Kit is an attractively designed sample case that displays a large proportion of BASF's know-how in materials: Organized on the basis of feel, appearance and function, the Material Kit presents more than 30 different BASF products in the form of 4 x 6 cm samples that can be touched and felt.

As a result, designers can get a real feel for the BASF products they are considering for their automobile interior design concepts. In addition, text cards provide brief yet precise information on the materials' properties and specific uses. The materials can be examined, touched and compared, be they satin- or leather-like finishes, rigid or flexible polyurethane surfaces, foams, coatings, pigments, ceramic powders for injection molding or high-performance thermoplastic resins. As an application-oriented instrument, the Material Kit gives designers a feeling for the material from the very beginning of the creative development process.

BASF introduced the Material Kit to initial customers at the end of 2009. In October 2010, the innovative kit was honored by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE Europe, 10th Automotive Award) with its ⌠Grand Innovation Award in the Image / Product Brochure category for its novel approach and high-quality execution.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Czech producer Unipetrol is set to record a strong petrochemical performance for the first quarter after margins returned to growth, investment bank Wood & Company said on Tuesday. After suffering a dip last December on sharply rising feedstock costs, Unipetrol's integrated petrochemical margin rose in each of the following three months, delivering an average of EUR 626/t (USD 894/t) for the first quarter of 2011, according to the bank. This was up 17% on both the previous quarter and the first quarter of 2010, Prague-based Wood & Company added.

For the first quarter of 2011, Unipetrol's model monomer margin rose to EUR 345/t from EUR 255/t in the fourth quarter of 2010 and EUR 278/t in the first quarter of 2010, the bank said.

The company's model polymer margin for the first quarter of this year edged up to EUR 281/t from EUR 278/t in the previous quarter and EUR 257/t in the first quarter of 2010.

MRC

(LANXESS) -- German specialty chemicals group Lanxess is expanding its global presence and has founded a dedicated company for the Middle East. The office of Lanxess Middle East GmbH is located in Dubai. ⌠The markets of the Middle East offer Lanxess interesting prospects, both in terms of raw material supply and because of the increasing demand there for quality products. Through an increased presence we would like to more effectively evaluate and exploit this strategic potential, said Werner Breuers, a member of the Lanxess AG Board of Management, adding: ⌠Dubai is an ideal location in this regard.

Lanxess currently supplies customers in the Middle East primarily with specialty chemicals, color pigments for the construction industry and high-tech plastics and rubbers.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.1 bln in 2010 and currently around 14.850 employees in 24 countries. The company is represented at 45 production sites worldwide. The core business is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.

MRC

(Reuters) - Japan's Maruzen Petrochemical Co Ltd said on Monday it began restarting its 480 KTa naphtha cracker in Chiba, east of Tokyo, earlier in the day, nearly a month after it was shut down following the magnitude 9.0 quake on March 11. The restart means only two crackers remain shut due to the quake. They are operated by Mitsubishi Chemical Corp at its Kashima plant, northeast of Tokyo, and have a total capacity of 828 KTa.

Mitsubishi Chemical, a unit of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings , said in late March that the restart of the crackers would take at least two months.

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, an oil refining unit of JX Holdings, was also forced to shut a 404 KTa cracker in Kawasaki after the quake, but it resumed operations on March 29.

Japan has a combined ethylene making capacity of 7.3 million tonnes a year, and nearly 17 percent of that capacity is currently off line due to the closure of the Kashima plants and a maintenance shutdown of Idemitsu Kosan Co's 374 KTa cracker at Chiba.

MRC