May 28, 2001 | Article
Organic acid-based filler surface treatment systems are essential additives for the production of filled polymers. Demand for fatty acids is expected to increase, as the requirement for highly...
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May 21, 2001 | Article
Stainless steel fibres can provide good EMI shielding and antistatic properties in plastics, write Arie Hochberg and Johan Versieck of Bekaert Fibre Technologies. Due to the low weight percentage...
May 14, 2001 | Article
As with UV light, heat tends to oxidize polymers. The symptoms are embrittlement, melt flow instability, loss of tensile properties and discolouration. The mechanism of stabilization is therefore to...
Apr 23, 2001 | Article
There is no avoiding it: additives can be hazardous and, at the very least, they are often difficult to handle. Even something as innocuous as carbon black, if it gets out of the package, can cause...
Apr 17, 2001 | Article
Recent developments in polymer stabilization are always a core element of Rapra Technology's annual plastics additives conference Addcon, held recently in Basel, Switzerland. This article reports on...
Apr 11, 2001 | Article
Although it consumes only about 5-7% of plastics, the electrical and electronics market sector exercises large demands on additives, which will certainly grow in volume and value. Covering both...
Mar 19, 2001 | Article
The recent global battle between the plastics industry and the legislators over the past few years regarding the use of phthalate plasticizers in PVC has reminded the industry (if it needed...
Mar 12, 2001 | Article
Nanocomposites have been somewhat 'hyped' during the past year, with talk of improved mechanical properties, better stiffness, high barrier properties and even inherent flame-retardancy - all coming...
Mar 5, 2001 | Article
High Performance Pigments '99, organized by Intertech and held in Miami Beach, USA recently, brought together specialists from around the world to discuss colorants. Mark Holmes reports on some of...
Feb 26, 2001 | Article
Used as topical lubricants for over 40 years, perfluoropolyether oils have only recently been introduced as additives for polymers. Bruce Ulissi of DuPont explains how they can provide a number of...