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June/July 2009
NASA technology that was developed for an aerospace high-speed research program is now part of an implantable device for heart failure patients. NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, USA, created an advanced aerospace resin, named Langley Research Center’s Soluble Imide, or LaRC-SI. It is highly flexible, resistant to chemicals, and withstands extreme hot and cold temperatures. The “super plastic” was determined to be biologically inert, making it suitable for medical use, including implantable devices.
“One of the advantages of this material is that it lends itself to a variety of diverse applications, from mechanical parts and composites to electrical insulation and adhesive bonding,” said Rob Bryant, a NASA Langley senior researcher and inventor of the material. In July 2004, NASA licensed the patented insulation technology to Medtronic Inc., a Minneapolis-based medical technology company. Medtronic Inc. incorporated the material into its Attain Ability left-heart lead, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved.
The use of this NASA-developed material in a medical implant is the latest in a long line of medical applications that have benefited from NASA technology. “Langley Research Center’s Soluble Imide is an excellent example of how taxpayer investment in NASA materials research has resulted in a direct benefit beyond the aerospace sector by extending the quality of life through medical technology,” Bryant said.
Bioplastics are not only environmentally friendly, but they can also be economically advantageous. “Despite the financial crisis, manufacturers of biodegradeable plastics were able to demonstrate moderate growth in this past year,” explains Oliver Kutsch, president of Ceresana Research.
Expectations for bioplastics are high: a better image for plastics, independence from petroleum products, solutions for waste problems, contributions to environmental protection, as well as a new source of income for the agricultural sector. Plastics made from renewable materials and biodegradable polymers are rapidly catching up. Bioplastics are already unbeatable in special applications — for example, medical implants which dissolve in the body or compostable mulch films for agriculture.
During the past eight years alone, consumption of biodegradable plastics based on starch, sugar and cellulose has increased by 600 percent. Starch-based plastics currently dominate in Europe, and polylactic acid is considered to be particularly promising.
Plastics processors and suppliers alike are understandably concerned about the current business climate. But an independent study recently conducted by Townsend Solutions and Plastics Technology (PT) indicated that things perhaps aren’t quite as bleak as they seem.
The joint study was conducted using the databases of Townsend Solutions, a Houston-based market research company, and PT, which is part of Gardner Publications Inc. The Society of the Plastics Industry also assisted by contributing names of its processor members. The purpose of the study was to measure how the global recession is impacting the capital-investment plans of plastics processors, and to find out where processors are in terms of their plans to invest in the near future.
Responses from 490 processors indicated while more than 61 percent have held off spending so far this year, that same percentage said they’d be ready to pull the trigger on investing as soon as business conditions improved.
The $64,000 question: when do processors expect that to happen? Based on the Townsend/PT study, the answer is not too far off. Nearly 18 percent said they expect to buy new primary or auxiliary equipment in the next three months, another 33 percent said they'd be buying within the next 4-6 months, and 54 percent of the survey respondents said they expect to buy in the next 7-12 months.
More than 46 percent of those polled indicated that they plan on purchasing molds/tooling before the end of 2009, which could suggest that new-product launches delayed by the current economic crisis may be freeing up in the near future. About 43 percent said they expected to invest in auxiliary equipment or software this year; more than a third said they plan to buy new primary processing equipment this year.
For complete methodology and analysis, you may go to www.ptonline.com and link to the survey results.
U.S. demand for fluoropolymers will rise 4.5 percent per year to $1.7 billion in 2013. Gains will represent an acceleration from the pace of the 2003-2008 period, during which the fluoropolymer market was hampered by weakness in the manufacturing sector. Fluoropolymer demand will be driven by a turnaround in key markets such as motor vehicles and wire and cable, and the growing need for high-performance materials in chemical processing applications. Rising demand in emerging, fast-growing markets such as photovoltaic modules will also support fluoropolymer market gains. However, gains in fluoropolymer demand will be limited by a downturn in nonresidential construction activity and by market maturity in a number of applications. These and other trends are presented in Fluoropolymers, a study from The Freedonia Group, Inc. (www.freedoniagroup.com).
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), the first commercial fluoropolymer, will continue to account for the largest portion of demand in 2013. Advances for PTFE will be driven by growing opportunities in applications such as chemical processing and industrial filtration. However, the most rapid gains will be seen in fluoroelastomers, fueled by a strong rebound in motor vehicle production from a low 2008 base. Demand for fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) resins will rise at a more moderate pace, limited by a drop in nonresidential construction activity.
Robust gains will also be found in smaller-volume fluoropolymer products, which include a number of high value materials used in emerging markets. Double-digit growth in solar energy products will fuel gains for polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) films used in the production of photovoltaic modules. Demand for perfluorosulfonic acid polymers will be driven by the rapid rise in fuel cell production.
Industrial markets will remain the largest outlet for fluoropolymers in 2013, accounting for about one-third of demand by value.
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