The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a public health emergency exemption under Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act ("FIFRA") submitted by the Georgia, Utah, and Minnesota Departments of Agriculture for the deployment of Kraton’s BiaXam in specific applications.  The EPA exemption will allow Delta Air Lines to use BiaXam in specific applications in these states to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

SILICONE SURFACTANTS FOR LOW CONTENT OF ALDEHYDE AND AROMATIC EMISSIONS PU FOAM

With its 120 years of experience in manufacturing special waxes, Völpker Spezialprodukte GmbH is one of the longest-established wax producers in Europe. In recent years the company has expanded particularly in the field of additives for plastics. The wax additives of the Plastic series and the Plastic recycling series are widely used multi-functional additives. They serve for example as combination lubricants and dispersing aids, especially where the quality requirements are particularly high. Montan wax derivatives - for example Waradur E - are worldwide largely used as optimally effective no plate-out release agents for various high quality TPU applications. For standard requirements, Voelpker offers also the new release agent Cevo process J-3405.

Huntsman Building Solutions announced the launch of its new and improved Pour-in-Place Foams. According to the company, the family of foam solutions have recently been reformulated with an HFO-based technology that renders performance benefits, as well as dramatically minimizes impacts to the Earth. The foam products are offered in varying densities, providing thermal insulation and structural support, and are said to be ideal for use across a wide range of construction and maritime applications.

On 26 April 2021, Dow announced that it has launched low cyclic, low volatile Vorasurf Silicone Surfactants to help its customers address growing market interest in lightweight flexible foams.

Ingevity has presented its Capa caprolactone technology at Chinaplas 2021, which was held from 13 – 16 April 2021 in Shenzhen, China. At its exhibit space and in seminars, the company demonstrated the versatility of the Capa portfolio for a wide variety of polyurethane and bioplastics applications. In particular, the company highlighted its recently launched Capa S polyol technology that enables conventional production of soft thermoplastic polyurethanes without the use of plasticisers.

BASF now offers part of its plasticizer portfolio based on circular feedstocks. For this purpose, either renewable or chemically recycled feedstock is used at the beginning of the value chain instead of fossil resources. The alternative feedstock is allocated to the sales products according to a mass balance approach.

OCSiAl is introducing a new graphene nanotube product particularly developed for EPDM rubber. According to the company the new material provides materials with anti-static properties and improves tear strength, overcoming the standard drawbacks of carbon black, polymer additives, multi wall carbon nanotubes, and other conductive agents on the market.

Covestro worked with paints and coatings manufacturer AkzoNobel to develop a new type of waterborne coating system with adjustable haptics and a matt optics effect. One current example is the functional Smart Mirror from the Chinese manufacturer Mine Technologies.

On 16 April 2021, Lanxess announced that it has expanded its Trixene Aqua range of water-based blocked isocyanate dispersions. The product family now includes new grades, specifically designed to expand the application areas and meet more demanding customer needs.