Page 47 - Plastics News April 2017
P. 47

PRODUCT NEWS



         Axion Polymers launches                                Lubrizol and Compounding

         100% recycled ABS grades for                           Solutions join for thermoplastic

         injection moulding applications                        PU compounding


             xion Polymers has launched a new range of strong and   ubrizol Corp.'s LifeSciences unit has added
          Adurable 100% recycled ABS grades suitable for a range  Lthermoplastic polyurethane compounding abilities
          of injection moulding applications - particularly in the   through  a  partnership  with  medical  compounder-
          construction and automotive sectors,  offering both cost   Compounding Solutions.  The medical compounder
          and carbon savings. Recovered from the non-metallic waste   operates 13 compounding lines, will provide
          fraction from end-of-life vehicles, the Axpoly® recycled   compounding  for Lubrizol's  Pellethane and Isoplast
          ABS resins deliver a carbon footprint saving of two-thirds   branded products for the medical device industry. The
                                            when compared       new service will allow Lubrizol to provide custom color
                                            wit h  virgin       matching, safe identification and aesthetics in medical
                                            ABS made from       device applications. The firm also offers radiopaque
                                            petrochemical       materials for X-ray identification. "It provides supply
                                            feedstocks. A       chain  simplification," Apur  Lathiya,  senior  business
                                            full LCA study      development manager, medical devices, said at the
                                            of Axion ’ s        recent MDM West show in Anaheim.
                                            mechanical          "Customers can now come to us and we can do the whole
                                            recycling  process   thing. They're working with one supplier now. "OEMs want
                                            shows a saving of   to do less of the manufacturing. They want to do more
          2.1 ton CO2 eq. for every ton of ABS we produce. That is   design, development, and sales and marketing. That
          equal to the CO2 impact of driving a 44 ton articulated   bodes well for Lubrizol LifeSciences because we should
          road haulage vehicle 1,800 miles. Axion Polymers high-  be benefiting from that trend. We also see the trend of
          quality 100% recycled Axpoly® plastics are mechanically   working with less contract manufacturers. The more you
          separated at its Shredder Waste Advanced Processing Plant   can offer your customer, the more valuable you are to that
          (SWAPP) in Manchester and then further refined at the   customer. That's what's driving a lot of our investments
          Salford polymer compounding site. All production batches   both on the thermoplastics side and the silicone side."
          are traceable back to the origin of the raw material as   Pellethane is a thermoplastic polyurethane available as
          part of an integrated, closed-loop, automotive materials   aromatic polyethers, known for its flexibility and range of
          resource recovery system.
                                                                hardness. Lubrizol said the compound works for medical
          “Their  traceability  enables manufacturers to  enhance   applications like tubing, catheters and other short-term
          the green credentials of products, such as building   uses. Isoplast, another TPU, is designed for rigid polymer
          products or automotive components, and produce        requirements because of their high tensile strength and
          them at a lower cost than using virgin polymers,” says   impact resistance. The firm said the compound can be
          Product Development Technologist Mark Keenan. “Our    used to replace polycarbonate when stress cracking is
          new  r-ABS  polymers  are  ideal  for  compression  load   an issue or coloring is difficult. Lubrizol also introduced
          applications and have recently been used to mould     a new non-softening thermoplastic elastomer. Branded
          load plates for reinforced steel beams as well as     Tecobax, the compound allows Lubrizol to go into
          strengtheners in the corners of windows.”Chemical     markets or applications where historically TPEs couldn't
          Engineer  Dr  Pasika  Chongcharoentaweesuk  adds:  “We   be used because of their softening nature. Lathiya said
          carried out a ‘bench-marking’ exercise to compare the   the material is very resilient with a strong coefficient
          physical properties of Axpoly  r-ABS  with  competitive
          products and also with hand-sorted ABS pieces recycled   of friction.
          from flat-panel TV displays.


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