Page 53 - Plastics News December 2022

TECHNOLOGY

cobalt nanoparticles can selectively and the acid sites in the zeolite can Although today most cobalt comes
break down various plastic poly- break the chain at the same point. from in the Democratic Republic of
mer molecules and turn more than Román-Leshkov continued: “Once Congo. Some new production is be-
80 percent of them into propane. you have this one compound, pro- ing developed in Canada, Cuba, and

Although zeolites are riddled with pane, you lessen the burden on other places. The other material
tiny pores less than a nanometer downstream separations, That’s needed for the process is hydrogen.
wide (corresponding to the width the essence of why we think this The researchers tested their system
of the polymer chains), a logical as- is quite important. We’re not only on a real example of mixed recy-
sumption had been that there would breaking the bonds, but we’re cled plastic, producing ‘promising’
be little interaction at all between generating mainly a single prod- results. However, more testing will
the zeolite and the polymers. How- uct” that can be used for many dif- be needed on a greater variety of
ever, the opposite turned out to ferent products and processes. mixed waste streams to determine
be the case: Not only do the poly- The materials needed for the pro- how much fouling takes place from
mer chains enter the pores, but the cess, zeolites and cobalt, “are both various contaminants in the material.
synergistic work between cobalt quite cheap” and widely available”.

Template-based 3D Micro-Fabrication System Debuts

Template-based 3D micro-fabrication have a commercially viable solution.”
is described by Frölich as a mecha- Horizon specializes in the produc-
nism to leverage 3D-printed polymer tion of micro-scale conductive and
micro structures — i.e., the template environmentally resistant parts. To
— in unserved industrial applications introduce conductivity, the printed
by adding material and functional- part is entirely or selectively coated
ity to the microstructure, typically with a conductive layer. Horizon
emplate-based 3D micro-fabrica- by means of a coating process. “This said in the press release that it can
Ttion technology enables the pro- is a real game changer for industry,” even homogeneously coat difficult
duction of conductive miniature parts said Frölich in a prepared statement. areas, such as long, narrow chan-
at micrometer-scale precision. Hori- “The key enabling technology for our nels and undercuts. Applications in-
zon Microtechnologies demonstrat- processes is micro-AM, and today a clude electrodes, electrical sensor
ed the technology and announced number of commercially viable poly- heads, and ESD-safe components.
its commercial launch at Formnext mer-based micro-AM platforms exist
last month in Frankfurt, Germany. that can achieve exacting tolerances Micro-fabricated 3D templates can

Horizon CEO Andreas Frölich de- quickly, cost-effectively, and, above also be coated with metal-oxides
to make parts compatible with ag-
moed the technology alongside Bos- all, repeatably.” He noted, however, gressive chemical environments. In
ton Micro Fabrication at the additive that these platforms are almost ex- some cases, resistance to high tem-
manufacturing event. Frölich notably clusively restricted to printing parts peratures and mechanical stresses
showed attendees how the com- in resin or plastics. “Horizon Micro- can be significantly improved. This
pany’s post-build processes intro- technologies bridges the gap between enables the fabrication of nozzles and
duce the versatility of micro additive micro-AM and parts with enhanced micro-fluidic products for aggressive
manufacturing (micro-AM) to appli- functionality through the use of pro- solvents and certain acids while ben-
cations such as electrodes and elec- prietary post-build processes,” ex- efiting from the full design freedom of
trical contact pins, ESD-safe parts, plained Frölich. “This means that additive manufacturing. In some cas-
3D-printed microfluidics, micro- companies requiring the flexibility, es, it is also possible to make bulk ce-
electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), innovation, and agility that is driven ramic or glass objects, said Horizon.
and optics packaging for the first time. by AM for parts with conductive, ce-
ramic, heat-resistant, or other poly- Arbitrary electrode geometries
"A game-changer for industry"
mer-incompatible functionalities now For electrodes and electrical con-

December 2022 PLASTICS NEWS 53