Texon announced the launch of Texon Vulcan, a product that can provide extra shape and enhanced levels of support in vulcanised shoes, and contains up to 50 % recycled fibre content. According to the company, the product is a non-woven polyester felt with strong performance properties that can be used as an alternative to traditional rubber heel reinforcements.

Covestro announced that two research projects have succeeded in making elastic textile fibres based on CO2 and so partly replacing crude oil as a raw material. The company and its partners, foremost the Institute of Textile Technology at RWTH Aachen University and various textile manufacturers, are developing the production process on an industrial scale and aim to make the fibres ready for the market. They can be used for stockings and medical textiles, for example, and might replace conventional elastic fibres based on crude oil, said Covestro.

Lanxess announced that it is well prepared for the planned EU restriction on diisocyanates: With its Low Free (LF) technology, polyurethane prepolymers can be produced that contain less than 0.1 wt% of free isocyanate monomer. LF prepolymers are therefore not affected by the upcoming European restriction proposal for diisocyanates and can be used without new restrictions as before, said the company.

Covestro announced that power generation from renewable sources is a key part of its sustainability concept and underlines its commitment to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular goal number 7 for renewable energy (UN-SDG 7). This applies above all to wind power, which is one of the most promising renewable energy sources due to its global availability and the technical progress already made, said the company.

Lubrizol Engineered Polymers announced that its portfolio of thermoplastic polyurethane for footwear applications is designed to meet the growing demands of footwear producers. The company said that the increasing demands include having the ability to streamline the shoe manufacturing process, producing less material waste and using a more sustainable material option that still meets performance needs.

Perstorp announced that it will investigate the potential production of recycled methanol, using carbon dioxide and residual streams, at its Swedish facility in Stenungsund. The Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) will partly finance this feasibility study.

A new research project at the Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences in the Technical University of Cologne is investigating how the properties of aqueous polymer dispersions can be further improved. These are used as liquid raw materials in paints and coatings, adhesives and other everyday products. The project entitled “Applied Research on Disperse Colloidal Polymers” (DisCoPol for short) is being funded over a period of three years by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The total project volume is around EUR 600,000 (funding code: 13FH142PX6).

Sellados Industriales based in Alicante, Spain, is using dispensing technology from Rampf Production Systems for contract manufacturing in the automotive, electronics, energy, household, medical technology, and packaging industries.

Rampf Tooling Solutions is showcasing epoxy and polyurethane materials for pattern and mould making at Gifa 2019 (hall 15, stand 15C25) from 25 – 29 June 2019 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The company has been developing and producing epoxy and PU systems for the casting industry since 2006. The products under the Raku Tool brand are used to manufacture initial samples and in both small- and large-scale series production.

Covestro announced that it has delivered its first commercial order of polyurethane raw materials for wind blades to China. According to the World Wind Energy Association, China is the world’s largest wind power market with 221 GW of installed capacity at the end of 2018.