BASF’s Coatings division has presented its new, most advanced refinish product line in its range of waterborne coatings solutions for the automotive industry. According to the company, by increasing the efficiency and significantly lowering the environmental impact, the products meet the highest expectations of modern body shops.

In the tire industry, cobalt salts and resorcinol resins are commonly part of mixtures for steel cord adhesion. However, regarding sustainability, work safety and environmental issues, these compounds have been increasingly considered as critical in recent years. Within the scope of a joint research cooperation, Brüggemann and Allnex developed a product that allows the elimination of both cobalt and resorcinol from steel cord adhesion mixtures.

In response to the new report “Biodegradable and compostable plastics – challenges and opportunities” by the European Environment Agency (EEA), European Bioplastics (EUBP) highlighted the need to acknowledge successful precedents in the deployment of these innovative materials in collaboration with a receptive community of consumers. Unfortunately, several media outlets made use of a biased interpretation of the report to draw a distorted picture of biodegradable and compostable plastics.

Huntsman Advanced Materials announced the launch of the Araldite 2000 Adhesive Core Range, designed to help businesses across virtually every industry to maximise productivity by covering up to 80 % of all bonding needs, from assembling products to making repairs in tough conditions.

According to Covestro Elastomers, the corona pandemic is putting pressure on manufacturers of packaging materials and corrugated board. The strong business growth of digital mail order in the wake of the crisis also requires extensive support from the packaging industry to ensure the dispatch of large quantities of goods. Covestro Elastomers said it contributes to this with polyurethane elastomers and optimised delivery logistics.

Toyochem Co., Ltd., a member of the Toyo Ink Group of Japan, has developed a new series of biodegradable pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs). Marketed under the Cyabine series of polyurethane PSAs, the product is said to be suitable for materials for the packaging, construction, agriculture and other industries where the use of biodegradable or recoverable materials are preferred.

Algenesis announced that its Soleic 52F bio-foam has proven to biodegrade in the natural environment and the results have been published in a peer-reviewed science paper. According to the company, as we continue to learn how widespread and harmful plastic pollution has become for the planet, scientists at Algenesis and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have been collaborating to develop a sustainable solution to the growing problem of plastic pollution. The recent study, published in “Bioresource Technology Reports”, highlights the team’s first success in creating a commercially deployable, fully biodegradable polyurethane product.

The Argentine footwear brand Maincal is partnering with BASF to launch the first safety shoe in South America made with Infinergy expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (E-TPU). Voran SportSafe, the new safety shoe series by Maincal, is said to enable safety footwear users to move and work in comfort with all day compression technology. According to BASF, the E-TPU enhances the safety shoe with superior responsiveness, comfort and durability.

Thanks to studies carried out in the R+D centre of Offanengo (CR), the Italian company Coim is successfully moving to the manufacture and distribution of the new Laripur RS TPUS which contain raw materials from bioderived, renewable sources. The grades have been developed ensuring the same performance, as seen with standard products, without having to change or modify the processing or equipment in the manufacturing environment, whilst maintaining recyclability and the same possibility of adding various types of masterbatch (colour, expanding agents, antistatic agents, 2D additives etc.).

The 2020 Ringier Technology Innovation Award – Plastics Industry in the Raw Material & Additives category – goes this year to the Kraton IMSS Technology.