Polymers Made From Emissions: The Plastics Industry may Become a Carbon-Capture Leader, says IDTechEx
Toray Creates Ion-Conductive Polymer Membrane for Air Batteries - Contributing to the Safety and Longevity of Lithium-Air Batteries
3D Printing Materials: A $29.5 Billion Opportunity Ripe for Innovation, Says IDTechEx
Kordsa at JEC World 2022, featuring sustainable and new generation composite technologies
Toray Adds Legendary Van Gogh Works to Toraysee Masterpieces Series
Flame-retardant polyphthalamides for electronic components without corrosion
Toray Develops Super High Barrier Film Offering Dramatically Lower Costs
Manitoba Celebrates Snow Lake Lithium’s Study to Establish Strategically Crucial Plant in Province
Toray Expanding Color Range for Toraysee Reversible Cleaning Cloth
Toray Develops Eco-Friendly Textile Incorporating Toyoflon
-
FRX Polymers Receives TCO Certification, Providing a Major Industry Endorsement for Nofia
FRX Polymers (“FRX,” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce that the Company’s Nofia® branded polymeric phosphorus-based flame retardants, Nofia® Homopolymers and Copolymers, have been added to the TCO Certified Accepted Substance List. TCO is the most recognized and world-leading sustainability certification for additives in the electronics and information technology industries. Only flame retardants on the widely used TCO Certified Accepted Substance List may be used for TCO Certified Products. Marc Lebel, CEO of FRX Polymers, stated that, “This news from TCO confirms that Nofia flame retardants are ideally suited for use in electronics equipment to replace halogenated flame retardants that will no longer be allowed.” Lebel continued, “Once again, it is confirmed that OEMs, retailers, and the general public do not need to compromise on sustainability in order to be protected from the catastrophic risks of fire.” The European Court of Justice ruled on March 16, 2022, that a ban on halogenated flame retardants in enclosures and stands of TVs and monitors, is in conformity with European law. FRX has developed a line of patent protected products under its Nofia® brand that address the very real and significant problem around the use of certain harmful chemicals that are currently used as flame retardants in several industrial and consumer applications. FRX has been built on over $US120 million of investment and is positioned to be a leader in the transition to environmentally friendly solutions within the $US30 billion flame retardant plastics industry. The Company is in commercial production at its facility in Antwerp, Belgium.
-
Toray Develops Stretchable Device Film with Outstanding Shape Recovery, Thermal Performance, and Excellent Resistance Stability of Circuit Mounts
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has developed a stretchable film that builds on its REACTIS™ technology to deliver circuit mounts with exceptional resistance value stability. REACTIS™ is renowned for its excellent shape recovery and heat resistance. Diverse prospective applications for stretchable device circuit boards include biological and industrial sensors and robots. Toray has shipped samples to users, and will push ahead with research and development to start swiftly commercializing this film. Recent years have increased the potential for developing stretchable devices with the elasticity of smartwear, which incorporates built-in biometric sensors that manage health and monitor biometric information during exercise. These devices must be able to bend and handle all sorts of complex movements. Circuit boards must accordingly be very flexible and shape recoverable and function consistently after repeated use. Toray’s REACTIS™ stretchable film benefits industrial products in numerous ways because its proprietary polymer structure design and film-forming technique combines cross-linked and stretchable components. The film is very flexible. It recovers its shape between -20°C and 80°C. It also maintains heat resistance even after treatment at 200°C. The newly developed film is a new grade of REACTIS™, and resulted from bolstering Toray’s polymer and surface design technologies to ensure circuit mounting with excellent resistance stability, shape recovery, and heat resistance. Combining Toray’s new film with elastic conductive materials can accommodate the expansions, contractions, and torsional deformations of circuits and 3D curved surfaces, delivering half the resistance of conventional counterparts when circuits expand and contract. In test storage for 1,000 hours with a relative humidity of 85% at 85°C, the new film’s circuit shape was unchanged, while the resistance value remained stable. Applying Toray’s new film as a circuit board for stretchable devices should help enhance movement followability during mounting and ensure stable functionality for diverse temperature ranges and repeated usage. The film offers excellent potential in healthcare, medical, industrial, and other applications that improve the quality of life. These include stretch sensors for exercise analysis and tactile sensors for robotics. Toray will keep leveraging its core technologies of synthetic organic and polymer chemistry, biotechnology, and nanotechnology to research and develop advanced materials that transform societies in keeping with its commitment to innovating ideas, technologies, and products that deliver new value.
-
Absortech Group announces new range of CO2 neutral container desiccants
The global leader in moisture damage prevention just announced their carbon neutral range of container desiccants: AbsorGel® CO2 Neutral! This line of desiccants replaces the previous AbsorGel® products and offer customers a broad choice of CO2 neutral desiccants. The new AbsorGel® container desiccants feature: CO2 neutral products, from cradle-to-gate, after offsetting Minimized use of packaging material Re-engineered components that use less, and recycled plastic Return-to-Reuse program available for certain products and parts Dual dose mixing – an in-house developed feeding system for precise mixing of calcium chloride and starch in an automated filling process Ergonomic installation accessories Maintained absorption capacity “In 2020, we launched the very first CO2 Neutral desiccant into the market – the Absorpole® CO2 Neutral. Now, we add a complete range of CO2 neutral container desiccants. We’re proud to have taken the sustainability leadership in our industry. Our offering, Peace of Moisture Mind®, coupled with the new CO2 neutral desiccant range will have a strong sustainability impact in supply chains, and we are prepared for fast commercial scaling”, says Rikard Kanmert, CEO Absortech Group. “The CO2 neutrality is definitely the main point in this launch, but we have also been working on improving other quality and environmental features. The Dual-dose-mixing system allows precise and automated filling of calcium chloride and starch into each desiccant. On top of that, we can now offer multiple packaging options to further reduce CO2 emissions due to the use of less plastic in the packaging material and accessories”, says Joakim Carlsson, COO Absortech Group. The only CO2 neutral desiccants on the market AbsorGel® container desiccants are, as far as we know, the only CO2 neutral desiccants available in the market. Their CO2 footprint has been third-party calculated by the independent Swedish Environmental Institute (IVL) and is available for each product. Our production is made based on a group-wide management system (ISO9001/14001) which guarantees quality and environmental responsibility for all products and services offered. Climate Compensation All unavoidable CO2 emissions related to the production and distribution of the new AbsorRange® have been calculated and compensated, an activity known as offsetting. Joakim Carlsson, COO at Absortech Group, explains the concept: “Even if our products are now optimized to have a lower carbon footprint, some CO2 is generated along the product journey. IVL has calculated the exact carbon footprint of each product so that we can compensate for every kilogram of CO2 generated in the sourcing and manufacturing process. This is done by supporting sustainable development projects.” Absortech has chosen to support “Climate+” Gold Standard projects. These are projects that deliver benefits for climate protection, local communities, and ecosystems. Which projects we support are listed on our website! Recycling and reusing parts – a circular economy solution Absortech has also developed the Return-to-Reuse program. A circular system that allows the reuse of desiccant components in a sustainable way. The program offers pick-up points where customers return the used components. From there, Absortech arranges transport back to the Falkenberg plant in Sweden, where they will be reused in the production of new products. Of course, these transports will be CO2 neutral. This pioneer concept allows companies to take part in a circular economy process and helps strengthen the sustainability of their supply chain and logistics process. Taking a continuous responsibility for the environment “We noticed that stakeholders, including consumers, are demanding companies to become sustainable, so we wanted to offer solutions that would help our customers achieve their sustainability goals. The CO2 neutral AbsorRange is an answer to that demand.” says Rikard Kanmert, CEO Absortech Group.
-
Toray Launching TBW-HR Series of Ultralow-Pressure Reverse Osmosis Membrane Elements that Enhance Neutral Molecule Rejection
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it will begin marketing the TBW-HR series of ultralow-pressure reverse osmosis (RO) membrane elements in April 2022. The new offerings dramatically improve the rejection of silica, boron, and other neutral molecules from untreated water by controlling RO membrane micropore sizes and membrane structures. Impurity rejection with the TBW-HR series exceeds that of existing ultralow pressure RO membrane elements. A key prospective benefit is purification of higher-quality and higher-purity water. The resulting ultrapure water would enable the production of semiconductors with finer wires. Internal and external evaluations verified the outstanding performance of the new series, which Toray looks to target initially at water engineering firms providing ultrapure water production equipment. Toray also plans to broaden applications to include wastewater reuse. Demand for even purer water has risen in the electronics industry in recent years in view of finer wiring production. This is particularly important in manufacturing increasingly compact and complex semiconductors. Ultrapure water production conventionally entails undertaking additional electrodeionization and other processes for water treated with RO membrane elements. Boosting purity necessitates removing silica and boron, which are electrically neutral and have small particles, as well as organic matter with low molecular weights. It is hard to achieve this with electrodeionization. For its new series, Toray accordingly developed an RO membrane element with double the neutral molecular component rejection capacity of the company’s conventional offerings. It achieved this by maintaining low operating pressures and high solute rejection by precisely controlling RO membrane micropore sizes and enhancing the membrane fold structure. As well as contributing to electronic component miniaturization in semiconductor production processes, the TBW-HR series should also help reduce manufacturing costs. This is because higher purity water from using the series should cut the number of water treatment stages using RO membrane elements and simplify electrodeionization and other subsequent steps through improved membrane performance. Improved membrane chemical resistance offers potential with wastewater reuse applications entailing frequent cleaning with these substances. The diverse applications of RO membrane elements in water treatment membrane products including seawater desalination to make drinking water, industrial water production, and wastewater reuse. As well as providing RO membrane elements, Toray offers an array of water treatment membranes and technical services. Noteworthy examples are ultrafiltration membrane modules for water purification and membrane bioreactor modules for wastewater treatment. The company will continue to develop and commercialize advanced materials that contribute to sustainable economic progress.
-
Toray Develops New Analysis Technology for Multi-Material Structures Using UD Tape
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has developed a new analysis technology for multi-material structures consist of both UD tape (unidirectional continuous fiber-reinforced tape) and injection molding materials. This breakthrough makes it possible to more precisely predict the properties of parts made up of multiple materials and more swiftly develop high-performance components. The company looks to supply UD tape, injection molding resins, and other materials, as well as structural design, molding support, and other services while providing total solutions that incorporate its new technology. Toray will leverage the technology to expand the adoption of its materials in the urban air mobility, electric vehicle, and other advanced mobility fields and in regular industrial sectors, thereby helping manufacturers create lighter, more energy-efficient products. UD tapes are intermediate base materials in tape shape that are made by embedding fibers such as carbon fibers in unidirectionally aligned fibers of such thermoplastic resins as polyamide 6 and polyphenylene sulfide. Continuous fibers provide excellent rigidity and strength, and enable welding to other thermoplastics. Taking advantage of these features and optimally arranging UD tapes in injection-molded products makes it possible to create multi-material structures that maximize weight savings while constraining costs. The downside to all this is that laying UD tapes on injection-molded products makes it hard to accurately analyze strength and impact properties, which is vital for multi-material structures. Toray thus set about developing its new analysis technology by improving 3D TIMON® to accurately reflect jointing strength between materials and materials fracture behavior. Subsidiary Toray Engineering D solutions Co., Ltd., developed TIMON, a three-dimensional injection molding computer-aided engineering system. Toray also created a coupled analysis technology for resin flow and impact properties that factors in the fiber orientation of injection molding materials. That technology combines analyses of various phenomena and calculates their interactions. This work resulted in the company’s accurate new analysis technology, which helps to accelerate the structural design of multi-material structures. Toray will strive to help reduce weight and energy consumption by deploying this technology in diverse advanced mobility and regular industrial applications. Under the Toray Group Sustainability Vision, the company aims to help the international community pursue sustainable development by accelerating measures to tackle climate change and enable the world to attain net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Toray will continue to provide innovative technologies and advanced materials to transform societies in keeping with its commitment to innovating ideas, technologies, and products that deliver new value.
-
Toray Creates High Polymeric Separation Hydrogen Permeation Membrane Module
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has developed a polymeric separation membrane module that can selectively and efficiently permeate hydrogen from mixed gases containing that chemical element. This module more than halves the carbon dioxide emissions of hydrogen purification processes and the number of modules. Toray will accelerate research and technical development to help create a hydrogen economy. Hydrogen attracts growing attention for its potential as an energy source in the drive to attain carbon neutrality. It is accordingly vital to establish energy-saving and highly efficient hydrogen recovery and purification technologies to cater to swift hydrogen demand growth in coming years. Membrane separation offers considerable potential. That is because this process can secure high-purity hydrogen by removing impurities during hydrogen production and usage, saving energy and space by employing pressure differences and enabling separation without phase changes. Polymeric separation membrane modules experience low performance degradation from water vapor and are light. There are issues, however, with hydrogen permeation purity and amounts. Toray accordingly developed a separation membrane in 2018 that precisely controls pore structures. The company recently used a technology that it cultivated with reverse osmosis membranes to develop a separation membrane with a highly controlled pore structure by deploying a material with a high hydrogen affinity. Toray used this membrane to attain a hydrogen permeation purity of 98%, which is unmatched anywhere. This technology can boost permeated hydrogen purity with a single separation instead of the several required with regular modules and cuts initial investment expenditure. It also reduces energy consumption and can cut the carbon dioxide emissions of conventional separation membrane modules (Figure 1) by more than 50%. When modularizing, Toray optimally designed the channel materials of key components to reduce flow resistance. The membrane thus has double the area of conventional separation membrane modules. This improves the hydrogen permeability of a module (Figure 2) and more than halves the number of module elements needed for the hydrogen purification process. Combining the Toray-developed separation membranes can reduce the number of module elements by more than 75%, representing a tremendous space saving. The company will partner with engineering companies in Japan and abroad while drawing on process technologies from water treatment to establish mass production techniques. Toray will keep leveraging its core technologies of synthetic organic and polymer chemistry, biotechnology, and nanotechnology in keeping with its commitment to innovating ideas, technologies, and products that deliver new value to create advanced materials and innovative technologies that contribute to social progress. The company plans to exhibit polymer separation membrane modules based on this technology at nano tech 2022, an international nanotechnology exhibition and conference at Tokyo Big Sight from January 26 through 28, 2022. ### Figure 1: Toray-calculated* carbon dioxide reduction * Calculation assumptions Same module dimensions Constant hydrogen purification (feed stream composition: 80% hydrogen and 20% nitrogen + saturated water vapor) Figure 2 Membrane module performance
-
Toray Membrane (Foshan) Commemorates Debut Shipment
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that Toray Membrane (Foshan) Co., Ltd., held a ceremony on January 17 to commemorate its first shipment of reverse osmosis membranes. Toray established that water treatment membrane subsidiary in 2019. The 68 attendees at the ceremony included Xia Zehong, director of the Economic Promotion Bureau of Nanhai District, and Deputy Chief Zijian Zhou, Jiujiang People’s Government, Nanhai District. Also attending were water treatment customers and Toray Group executives. Among them were Kazuhiko Shuto, chairman and president of Toray Industries (China) Co., Ltd., and Gao Zhiwen, vice president of that company. Demand for water treatment membranes has surged in China in recent years, particularly for seawater desalination, industrial wastewater treatment, and ultra-pure water production. Toray has helped improve aquatic environments and resolve water shortages in that nation by supplying an array of water treatment membranes through two key local companies. One is Toray Bluestar Membrane Co., Ltd., a Beijing-based reverse osmosis membrane manufacturing joint venture and distributor of water treatment products. The other is Toray WBD Membrane Technology (JS) Co., Ltd., which manufactures membrane bioreactors in the Yancheng Environmental Protection District of Jiangsu Province. Toray Membrane (Foshan) has lifted Toray’s reverse osmosis membrane production capacity in China. It will accelerate the expansion of Toray’s water treatment business in that nation by collaborating extensively with Toray Bluestar Membrane. Providing access to clean water is pivotal to The Toray Group Sustainability Vision, representing a roadmap to the World as Envisioned by Toray Group in 2050 and embodying Toray Vision 2030, through which the Group seeks to achieve sound, sustainable growth. The Group will continue to develop its water treatment business worldwide and help resolve water resource issues as a leading comprehensive water treatment membrane manufacturer. [Profile of Toray Membrane (Foshan) Co., Ltd.] 1. Business: Manufacturing water treatment membranes and products, developing related technologies, and providing technical services 2. Location: Nanhai District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province, China [Summaries of Debut Shipment Ceremony Remarks from Senior Toray Group Executives] Speech by Kazuhiko Shuto, Chairman and President of Toray Industries (China) Co., Ltd. Toray has contributed much to social and economic development since its establishment in 1926 by innovating advanced materials that generate new value. The Toray Group Sustainability Vision, formulated in 2018, represents a commitment to helping restore the environment by enabling everyone to access clean water and air by 2050. The Toray Group will prepare for that time, when water shortages and water pollution will be global issues. It will do so by focusing on developing world-leading technologies for seawater desalination and wastewater treatment applications to secure access to clean water, resolve water shortages, and alleviate environmental impacts. In China, Toray Bluestar Membrane was established in Beijing in 2009 to manufacture and distribute water treatment membranes. That subsidiary has since maintained a high share of the local water treatment market. Toray Membrane (Foshan) was set up in 2019 in response to rapid rollouts of environmental regulations in the Chinese market at that time. We expect that subsidiary to cater to diversifying demand for water treatment membranes and play an important role in the nation’s pursuit of sustainable economic development. While the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the global economy since 2020, I expect demand for water treatment membranes to keep expanding over the medium through long terms. That said, market competition will likely intensify. We will accordingly draw on close collaboration between our water treatment membrane production and distribution units in Beijing and Foshan City and cocreation efforts with customers, business partners, and other stakeholders in China to build a robust supply chain. Videogram from Hiroshi Otani, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Water Treatment & Environment Division, Toray Industries, Inc. Toray has cultivated its Chinese water treatment business since establishing Toray Bluestar Membrane in 2009 by producing world-class reverse osmosis membranes there. We are honored to cater to China’s fast growing water demand as its industrialization progresses and to be able to help conserve energy and cut carbon dioxide emissions there. Toray established Toray Membrane (Foshan) in June 2019 as its second Chinese water treatment membrane production unit to accommodate fast-rising demand for those products and help improve that nation’s environment. The efforts of all involved resulted in the satisfactory completion of plant construction and the initial shipment that we commemorate today. Toray Membrane (Foshan) will keep helping China to improve its environment and become carbon-neutral by providing water treatment membrane products based on Toray’s advanced technology to local customers. Toray has supplied water treatment membranes to numerous projects to bolster water treatment in China. I would like to express my great gratitude to the many Chinese companies, including the customer to which Toray Membrane (Foshan) is making its first shipment today, for believing in the technical capabilities and reliability of Toray’s water treatment membranes. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with you to help improve the environment. Website : https://www.water.toray/
-
Toray Commercializes Ecodear N510, a 100% Plant-based Nylon Fiber
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has developed a nylon 510 (N510) fiber that incorporates 100% ‘biobased synthetic polymer content’ as defined under section 3.1.5 of ISO 16620-1: 2015, the international standard for the biobased content of plastics. Ecodear™ N510, will be the first 100% plant-based nylon fiber in Toray’s Ecodear™ lineup. The company has created diverse potential applications for Ecodear™ N510 as a sustainable offering for high-end markets. While primarily for sports and outdoor fabrics they extend to lightweights, cut-and-sew fabrics through innerwear lace materials. Toray plans to begin Ecodear™ N510 textiles sales for fall/winter 2023. Initial production volume to be 200,000m by the end of March 2023 and growing to 600,000m in March 2026. Ecodear™ N510 fiber sales are targeted for fall/winter 2024 with an expectation of a monthly supply of 3 metric tons monthly in the year ending March 2024. Nylon originated in the United States. In the early 1950s, Toray became the first Japanese company to manufacture nylon. Apparel and other wide-ranging applications over the years have reflected nylon’s excellent flexibility, durability, wrinkle resistance, and washability. Nylon is typically made from petroleum. In light of rising demand in recent years for environment-conscious products to address such global environmental issues as resource depletion and global warming and address a growing awareness of the need to build a sustainable society. Toray already offers partially plant-based polyester, nylon, and other polymers. It developed Ecodear™ N510 by polymerizing Sebacic acid from castor-oil plant and Pentamethylenediamine from corn and spinning. Unlike other wholly plant-based nylons, Ecodear™ N510 has a high melting point and outstanding dimensional stability. It is as strong and heat-resistant as Nylon 6. Companies can thus create products that are sustainable without compromising performance. Toray looks to combine various proprietary technologies to drive further fiber advances. These would include making fibers thinner and lighter or adding functionality by changing cross-sectional shapes. The company will develop an array of apparel and other materials applications to help building a sustainable society. Under its sustainability vision, Toray has pledged to offer innovative technologies and advanced materials that provide real solutions to the international community’s myriad challenges in balancing development and sustainability. Ecodear™ N510 represents part of the Toray Group’s efforts to help attain carbon neutrality by 2050, and should contribute to resolving environmental issues all over the world. Through its endeavors, Toray will keep serving increasingly diverse lifestyles while contributing to affluent living and sustainability. [Ecodear™ N510 summary] 1. Product features and technology overview (1) 100% plant-based nylon fiber Made from Sebacic acid from castor-oil plant and Pentamethylenediamine from corn (2) Similar to nylon fibers High melting point and as strong and heat-resistant as nylon 6 (3) Excellent dimensional stability under humid conditions (4) Combining with elemental fiber technologies adds more functions Including greater lightness from finer fibers and functionality from using irregular cross sections 2. Launch dates (1) Textiles: Fall/winter 2023 (2) Fiber: Fall/winter 2024 3. Sales targets (1) Textile A. Quantity: 200,000 meters in in year ending 2023 and 600,000 meters in year ending 2026 B. Applications: Outdoors and outerwear (2) Fiber A. Quantity: 3 metric tons monthly in year ending March 2024 B. Applications: Outdoor, innerwear lace, and materials
-
Toray Creates Negative Photosensitive Polyimide Material that Could Drive Ultrafast Communications
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has developed a negative photosensitive polyimide material (see glossary note 1). This new offering maintains the characteristic thermal resistance, mechanical properties, and adhesiveness of polyimides while increasing resolutions and enabling high-definition pattern formation on 100-micrometer and other thick films. The number of electronic components in smartphones and other mobile devices will increase to accommodate the greater speeds and capacities of 5G, 6G, and subsequent broadband cellular networks. These devices will need more miniaturized electronic components and higher density mountings. Finer fabrication processes for polyimide materials will thus be necessary for the insulating layers of electronic components. To date, these layers have often employed negative photosensitive polyimide materials delivering outstanding chemical resistance and reliability. The downside is low light transmittance. Photosensitivity deteriorates when thicknesses exceed 50 micrometers, preventing fine processing. Other issues are high thermal stresses after curing and significant warping, reducing reliability during processing. Toray developed a negative photosensitive polyimide material that is 100 micrometers thick and can fabricate vias (glossary note 2) with 10 micrometer diameters. The company achieved this by leveraging the functional polyimide design technology it has amassed over the years to enhance light transmittance and control photoreactions. Toray additionally made it possible to cut thermal stress to less than half that of regular polyimide materials and thus reduce warping by controlling polyimide resin cross-linking density from photoreactions during exposure and lowering curing shrinkage. This material should make it possible to miniaturize electronic components and semiconductor package wiring and enhance reliability. Toray is shipping prototypes with a view to commercializing the material as a varnish and sheet. The company aims to augment its lineup with grades with low thermal expansion coefficients and dielectric levels and small dielectric losses, offering them for semiconductor devices and electronic components that can drive ultrafast communication technologies. Toray plans to deliver a presentation on its breakthrough at Wafer Level Package Symposium 2022, which starts on February 15, 2022. Toray will continue leveraging its core technologies of synthetic organic and polymer chemistry, biotechnology, and nanotechnology to research and develop advanced materials that transform societies in keeping with its commitment to innovating ideas, technologies, and products that deliver new value. ### [Glossary] 1. Negative photosensitive polyimide : A cross-linked structure forms on exposed areas from a light-curing reaction in response to photoirradiation. While the exposed areas become insoluble in aqueous alkali, organic solvents, and other developing solutions, unexposed areas dissolve in developing solutions to enable the formation of via, lines, and other patterns. 2. Via : Hole for wiring to wiring connections between layers of multilayer boards and other devices.
-
Toray Develops Advanced Total Heat Exchange Element Sheets
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has de-veloped a heat exchange sheet that delivers advanced heat transfer, moisture permeabil-ity, gas shielding, and water and anti-viral resistance performance. This new offering could significantly enhance the energy savings, comfort, and ventilation hygiene of total heat exchange ventilation systems. The company aims to commercialize this sheet in 2022 for elements in total heat exchange ventilation systems, for which demand is rising in view of intensifying measures worldwide to combat COVID-19 infections. A total heat exchange ventilation system saves energy by exchanging temperature (sensi-ble heat) and humidity (latent heat) between air from outdoors and interior exhaust air, reducing room temperature and humidity changes during ventilation. This lowers air con-ditioning system loads and improves comfort. Heat exchange sheets are inside system el-ements, so heat transfer properties and moisture permeability are necessary for the sheets to transfer temperature and humidity. Gas shielding is vital to keep carbon dioxide and odors in exhaust air out of supplied air. Generally, heat exchange sheets employ paper membranes. However, it was difficult to completely shield gas with porous paper, as well as to clean and remove dirt accumulating on elements after long-term use. Toray responded to this situation by creating a new heat exchange sheet comprising a unique thin porous film laminated with a functional resin layer that only lets humidity through. The sheet is about one-fifth the thickness of conventional paper counterparts and has excellent heat transfer properties. It is around 1.2 times more moisture permeable and delivers more than 20-fold better gas shielding, retaining that performance even after cleaning with water or a neutral detergent. Used in total heat exchange systems, the sheet delivers a total heat exchange efficiency (see Glossary note 1) of at least 80% and an effective ventilation rate (Glossary note 2) of 99% or more, even after cleaning. These results are from a Toray assessment in accord-ance with JIS B8628, with an air volume of 150 cubic meters per hour. Also, tests for anti-bacterial (JISZ2801:2010), antifungal (JISZ2911:2018), and virus barrier (ASTM F1671) per-formance demonstrated the solid performance of Toray’s sheet. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance worldwide of good ventilation. Toray will continue striving to help materialize comfortable, safe, and secure lifestyles by offering high-quality materials in keeping with its corporate philosophy of contributing to society by creating new value. ### [Glossary] 1. The total heat exchange efficiency is the rate at which all heat in the air, including temperature (sensible heat) and humidity (latent heat) are exchanged. 2. The effective ventilation rate is the proportion of outside (fresh) air pumped indoors.
-
PulPac continues to spearhead innovation and expand global IP for Dry Molded Fiber
PulPac today announces further patent grants for its pioneering cellulose forming technology that makes it possible to replace single-use plastics with competitive fiber-based alternatives. The company's most general patent, that already has been granted in big parts of the world, is now also granted in Colombia. Furthermore, a new patent comprising hole punching of Dry Molded Fiber products has been granted in Sweden. The granted patent in Colombia fortifies PulPac’s global ownership of the core technology of Dry Molded Fiber (DMF). The patent relates to a method, apparatus, and product where air-formed cellulose is pressed in a forming mould within given temperature and pressure intervals and has already been granted on important markets such as China, Europe, USA, Japan, and Russia. Compared to traditional fiber forming methods the DMF technology consumes less energy and water in addition to significantly lowering CO2, while enabling high-speed production of fiber-based packaging. It can be used for forming cellulose products in a wide variety of shapes, at costs that are competitive with plastics. “The world needs to move away from plastics, and we will continue to spearhead innovation and grow the DMF patent portfolio to support the urgent transition to fiber-based packaging. With strong and global IP, we advance our licensee’s position and the incentive to drive change for a better future" says Peter Ekwall, IP Manager at PulPac. PulPac has also been granted a patent in Sweden relating to a system and a method for dry forming a three-dimensional cellulose product using PulPac’s unique DMF technology. The patent is especially directed towards a moulding feature allowing for punching one or more holes in the product already in the forming mould. This is advantageous when manufacturing lids for hot or cold drinks but can also be used in other applications.
-
Toray Develop MicroLED Display Materials
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has de-veloped a laser transfer release material to swiftly arrange light-emitting diode (LED) chips, a material that simplifies bonding between LEDs and wiring, and a substrate side wire material that helps enlarge displays, in collaboration with its subsidiary Toray Engi-neering Co., Ltd. The new materials are vital for creating microLED displays and enhanc-ing their performance. The Toray Group looks to contribute to microLED display progress and mass production by offering total solutions for the diverse material and equipment for the fabrication and in-spection. MicroLED displays offer tremendous potential for their outstanding performance and small environmental footprints. That is because these advanced devices offer exceptional brightness, color gamut, contrast, and reliability. Another benefit is that their power con-sumption is low because of the high luminous efficiency of their LEDs. The challenge has been to come up with technology to swiftly achieve regular arrange-ments of numerous microLED chips and reduce fabrication costs sufficiently to drive their widespread adoption. The new laser transfer material enables fast placement of numer-ous LED chips in any position on a substrate in the display manufacturing process. The new laser transfer material enables fast placement of numerous LED chips in any po-sition on a substrate in the display fabrication process. Using this material with Toray Engi-neering’s laser transfer and inspection equipment can accelerate microLED production. It is also possible to create displays free of color irregularities through selective placement that reflects the color tone of each LED chip. The new bonding and substrate side wire materials are the fruit of further work on RAYBRID®, a proprietary photosensitive conductive material. The material that connects LED chip electrodes to metal trace on the substrate enables faster joint formation at lower temperatures and lower bonding force compared to the conventional connection methods. It is accordingly easier to replace defective LED chips, which has been a challenge to date, and helps improve yields during manufacturing. The substrate side wire material transmits signals from the surface to the back of a sub-strate. This simplifies the wiring formation process and makes it possible to seamlessly line up and enlarge multiple displays. Toray has already mass-fabricated microLED display materials. They include dielectric ma-terials for wiring LED chips, black materials for enhancing display blackness to achieve high contrast, and temporary bonding and de-bonding materials for thinning or peeling off LED chip substrates. It aims to augment its lineup with bank materials for more colors and exceptional brightness. Toray accordingly seeks to broaden its lineup of materials for microLED displays and com-bine them with Toray Engineering’s fabrication and inspection equipment. This is to offer total solutions for microLED display manufacturing and contribute to mass fabrication of microLED displays. Toray will continue leveraging its core technologies of synthetic organic and polymer chemistry, biotechnology, and nanotechnology to research and develop advanced materi-als that transform societies in keeping with its commitment to innovating ideas, technolo-gies, and products that deliver new value. Toray Electronics and Information Materials https://www.electronics.toray/en/
-
Toray Employs Materials Informatics to Swiftly Develop CFRP Offering Excellent Flame Retardance and Mechanical Performance
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has developed a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) for advanced aerospace applications. The company leveraged materials informatics technology (see glossary note 1) to swiftly achieve exceptional flame retardance and mechanical performance for this material. The company will push forward with demonstration testing to broaden CFRP applications and demand to encompass aircraft, automobiles, and general industrial usage. CFRP is reliable because it delivers a high specific strength and specific modulus of elasticity and offers excellent fatigue and environmental resistance. Aerospace applications are ex-panding. Although mechanically superior to metals, CFRP does have some functional drawbacks. They include flame retardance and electrical conductivity. Additional materials and pro-cesses are accordingly necessary to cover that shortfall. Improving fire resistance is partic-ularly desirable. The challenge has been that engineering and optimizing different flame retardance and mechanical properties entails huge amount of experimental data. It has accordingly been hard to slash development lead times. As a part of its digital transformation initiatives, which draw on data and digital technolo-gies to become more competitive, Toray deployed materials informatics in CFRP engineer-ing and established a technology to develop materials swiftly by harnessing inverse prob-lem analysis to refine materials designs based on the properties required. The company used a self-organizing map (see glossary note 2) deployed in joint research with Tohoku University as a tool for this analysis. It was thus able from a handful of experi-ments to identify suitable combinations from a range of materials groups to achieve the desired properties and develop a material that is flame-retardant and offers the right me-chanical properties, successfully engineering a matrix resin for CFRP and quickly develop a prepreg (the intermediate material of CFRP) The prepreg provides the equivalent compressive strength, heat resistance, and other me-chanical properties as current aerospace materials. At the same time, it delivers a 35% lower heat release rate, which is the rate of heat generated from fire, than those materials. Toray plans to additionally apply inverse problem analysis to thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and other elements to help engineer highly functional prepreg that diversify-ing needs in aircraft, automobile, and general industrial usage components. Some of Toray’s progress through this development effort was as part of “Materials Inte-gration” for Revolutionary Design System of Structual Materials under the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program(SIP) of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation（CSTI）of the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, which the Japan Science and Technology Agency oversees. Toray will keep cultivating advanced materials and innovative technologies in line with its corporate philosophy of contributing to society by creating new value while attaining sus-tainable growth. [Glossary] 1. Materials informatics is a technique to streamline materials development by combining machine learning, theoretical density, simulations, and databases. 2. A self-organizing map is an analysis technique that clusters high-dimensional data using unsupervised ma-chine learning and represents it in a lower-dimensional map to identify the essential structure hidden in the high-dimensional data.
-
The Most Significant Advanced Materials News from 2021, Discussed by IDTechEx
With the pandemic still raging, supply chain disruptions, the chip shortage, climate catastrophes, and geopolitical turbulence, it is safe to say 2021 has not been smooth sailing. The materials and chemical sector provides the backbone of every industry and remains under pressure from all these challenges. Within this field, there will always be the need to push the research, development, and deployment of new advanced materials in response to any market drivers. In this article, IDTechEx highlights the key news from their independent perspective on this crucial industry. - Commercial movement: mergers & acquisitions Mergers & acquisitions are common but 2021 has seen some highly notable changes. Materion with acquired H.C Starck’s electronic materials portfolio, Heraeus acquired HS Advanced Materials, Boyd Corporation acquired Siltec, Sun Chemical, and DIC acquired a BASF division, and even outside of the chemical giants WD Lab Grown Diamonds acquired J2 Materials. It was not all success stories, in March Applied Materials walked away from their plan to acquire Kokusai Electric. The most notable 2021 news was certainly from DuPont and their significant acquisition of both Laird Performance Materials (completed in July) and of Rogers Corporation (agreement announced in November). In both cases, they become part of DuPont’s Electronics & Industrial business unit and cited autonomous vehicle as a key market, beyond that the Rogers acquisition boosts the capability for electric vehicles and Laird expands the reach into high-performance computing, AI, 5G, and IoT. The material portfolio and capabilities are broad but certainly center around some of the key challenges facing these industries such as thermal management and EMI shielding. - Public and Private Funding 2020 and into 2021 has been the boom of companies going public by merging with a SPAC. This trend has been seen in the advanced materials world and in closely related industries with materials at their core such as 3D printing (with the likes of Markforged) and energy storage (with companies like Enovix) discussed in previous articles. For materials, the most notable is Meta Materials (which was NASDAQ-listed from June) who are leaders in the exciting emerging field of metamaterials that is looking to impact a wide range of sectors from consumer electronics to 5G, healthcare, aerospace, and beyond. The other advanced material company to be highlighted here is Origin Materials (also NASAQ-listed from June) with their sustainable carbon negative materials. There is plenty of excitement, but also a significant amount of turbulence and bad news with some of these early-stage public companies; this was seen with Meta Materials price but is best seen for Zymergen (IPO in April 2021) who are using synthetic biology for a variety of products but with the initial commercial target being a polyimide film and in August saw a sharp drop off when stating its 2022 revenue would be “immaterial”. Of course, it is not just the public funding that is important to track. We have seen notable private funding rounds and announcements from those on the early-stage and smaller scale, such as C12 Quantum Electronics raising $10m for their work on CNTs for quantum computers, Stoicheia ($5m) for their advanced materials discovery process, and DiviGas ($3.6m) and Osmoses ($3m) both for novel membrane technology, to those further along such as CHASM Advanced Materials ($15m) with their nanotube hybrid developments, Via Separations ($38m) with their graphene-oxide membrane platform, and Continuous Composites ($17m) for 3D printing thermoset FRPs and all the way to larger money to really help grow their commercial deployment such as with Phononic ($50m) with their bismuth telluride thermoelectric cooler, ARRIS Composites ($88.5m) for advanced composite manufacturing and Plastic Energy (€145m) for the chemical recycling of plastic waste. There are countless more beyond this and certainly the appetite for funding, even in some industries that will not see a return for longer than most, has not diminished. - Partnerships Funding and acquisitions are important, but strategic partnerships and agreements can be essential to the success or failure of any emerging material. As with the previous sections, we have seen this with numerous sectors such as Solvay and 9T Labs for composites and countless in chemical recycling in plastic waste. IDTechEx has identified the field of materials informatics as one where some of the more eye-catching partnerships have been seen, this topic relates to using data-centric approaches to accelerating materials R&D. Materials informatics has seen engagement from many big chemical and materials companies with key external providers, but in 2021 the partnerships with large engineering simulation/software firms was the stand-out news with Citrine Informatics and Intellegens joining forces with Siemens and Ansys, respectively. - Production Begins and Expansions Arrive One of the hardest parts in the commercialization of any material is achieving notable volume outside of a lab-based pilot scale. We have seen this jump for some exciting materials including NAWA Technologies and their VACNTs (vertically aligned CNTs) that entered the first stage of their industrialization production in August and General Graphene Corporation launching their high-capacity roll-to-roll production line for CVD grown graphene. Then on more mature advanced materials are seeing some key expansions. In green materials this includes Green Dot starting the work to double their bioplastic capacity, Braskem increasing their green ethylene production, and NatureWorks getting the green light to build a second PLA facility. Thermal interface materials are not the most exciting material category, but with increasing thermal management demands present an essential and growing market resulting in expansion announcements from Wacker, Elkem, and DuPont. The aerospace market is a key driving force behind many advanced materials and has been one of the most notable sectors significantly impacted by the pandemic, recovery is on the way as shown by Airbus receiving their first major order in November, but it still presents challenges for those in their supply chain. One such material is carbon fiber, but it is not all bad news for those players with Zoltek announcing an expansion of their large-tow fiber to meet the wind market demands. The final area to explore for 2021 news is in the ultimate end-goal, product utilization. Here we will look at two sectors: electronics and energy storage. - Applications: electronics The electronics industry has been dominated by the semiconductor news in 2021, mostly surrounding the chip shortage but also with excitement around TSMC and IBM 1nm and 2nm chip announcements, the role of ASML’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology, and regional expansion plans. Outside of this, there have been some interesting developments. Apple rumors and leaks around their next phone and AR/VR headset suggest that they will adopt the Wi-Fi 6E protocol requiring notable LTCC (low temperature cofired ceramics) substrates to be adopted. The quantum dot industry saw excitement from its most promising sector of displays, where acceleration and competition continued apace including indications that Samsung’s QD-OLED TV is set to arrive in 2022, through to earlier-stage markets such as UbiQD installing solar windows on commercial buildings. Nanomaterials continue their progression across sectors, with examples like Nanowear and their nanofiber-enabled wearable for remote patient monitoring gaining further FDA clearance. - Applications: energy storage Energy storage remains one of the key areas for materials R&D. Money continues to pour in, but the market is challenging typified by Johnson Matthey announcing in November the intention to exit battery materials. When looking at next-generation materials graphene batteries still grab the headlines, most notable with GAC making several showcases and announcements on their graphene-enabled fast-charging solution. Lithium-sulphur appeared to take a step backwards with Oxis Energy facing bankruptcy and entering administration in May (Johnson Matthey acquired the IP), but also saw some progression enabled by early-stage materials including Lyten coming out of stealth mode with their “3D graphene” solution and Li-S Energy showing some promising results with boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and LG Chem and NextTech also making key announcements. There are other materials that are much more likely to make a more immediate or lasting impact on the next generation of battery cells, with silicon anodes and solid-state batteries two essential areas. The reader is directed to a recent article that provides the trends and developments in energy storage in 2021 for more information. The cell chemistry is what grabs a lot of the headlines, but it is foolish to overlook those improvements taking place within the pack. One exciting advanced materials news here is the use of silica aerogel composites to act as thermal runaway barriers, this has been seen previously in China and has now seen significant progression with Aspen Aerogels announcing orders from a North American and Asian OEM. - Outlook It is now important to turn our attention to the coming year and what we might expect to have a disruptive impact. Certainly, solutions that enable key market drivers in telecommunications, semiconductor manufacturing, energy storage, and the circular economy will continue to hold a high demand as well as those in the next generation of electronics from augmented reality to sensor deployment for industry 4.0 and personalized healthcare monitoring. As a result, do not be surprised to see more the much-overhyped era of nanomaterials to quietly gain further commercial traction. Then there will be those material developments for those revolutionary but further afield applications such as fully autonomous vehicles, quantum computing, and neural interfaces. Finally, 2022 will continue to see the evolution in how materials are researched with materials informatics approaches and how they are generated and processed with the likes of synthetic biology and 3D printing. Materials science and the progression of advanced materials will rarely be the headline but is an essential part of any and all innovations. IDTechEx has been covering the field of advanced materials for over a decade including regular reporting on year-end summaries such as can be seen from 2020 and 2018. For more information on IDTechEx research in the field see www.IDTechEx.com/Research/AM
-
Toray Develops Qticle, a smooth and Supple New Fabric
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has de-veloped Qticle™, a polyester filament fabric that combines the structure of hair and wool with a smooth and supple texture and functionality. he company will offer Qticle™ for everything from casual medium-weight fabrics for men’s and ladies’ outerwear through cut-and-sewn items, broadening the design freedom and potential for high-end apparel in Japan and around the globe. Toray aims to commercialize this fabric for spring/summer 2023 collections. It targets annual sales of 200,000 meters in fiscal 2022 (through end-March 2023), and 500,000 meters by 2025. Hair and wool comprise numerous protein layers. Their properties and structure deliver excellent elastic-ity and luster. Qticle™ is a biomimetic fabric. Toray created it by em-ploying its proprietary NANODESIGN™ composite spinning technology to design an eccentric yarn with an ultrathin shell layer with which it combined fiber processing technology to create a crimped structure and fine surface irregularities. An eccentric yarn has a cross-section with two different pol-ymers, each with different centers of gravity. Toray’s technologies have enabled it to attain natural, lustrous, and deep colors, a pleas-antly smooth and supple feel, and functional stretch for comfort and easy care. In the years ahead, Toray looks to also offer a range with polymers made from recycled materials to cater to sustainability needs. The COVID-19 pandemic accentuated the need for fashion to learn from and respect nature, as ethical consumption and veganism do, rather than seeking to control and exploit. Toray will continue to explore new possibilities for fashion through research and technolog-ical development that scientifically recreates the attributes of natural materials. The company will continue to cater to and help enhance diversifying lifestyles by supplying innovative technologies and advanced materials. [Qticle™ overview] 1. Features (1) Natural, glossy, with deep coloration. (2) Smooth, supple texture (3) Stretchy for comfort and easy care (4) Functional chemicals deliver exceptional performance and durability 2. Technologies (1) Eccentric yarn with ultrathin shell layer incorporates NANODESIGNTM composite spinning technology (2) Special yarn treatment for random thickness and crimp structure along fiber (3) Ultrathin shell of fiber specially treated to form fine irregularities on surface 3. Launch timing: For spring/summer 2023 collections 4. Sales targets (1) Volume: 200,000 meters in fiscal 2022 and 500,000 meters by 2025 (2) Applications: Including men’s and women’s outerwear, shirts, blouses, and cut-and-sewn garments
-
PulPac shows reinforced barrier properties in in-line recycled material
To maximize efficiency, PulPac’s Dry Molded Fiber uses an ‘in-line recycling’ system that may return any residual material with additives back into the process to be combined with additional input material. During production tests to optimize barrier additives, it was shown that not only does the in-line recycling ensure more than 99% usage of fiber input materials, but the recirculation part of the process also reinforce barrier properties of the end-products. In essence, this has the potential to significantly increase production efficiency and conserve material consumption, while producing superior products compared to conventional fiber molding. “This is a breakthrough with great potential to increase already highly competitive unit economics in DMF, by making better products with less input materials. It is an inspiring result by our R&D team for the technology as PulPac continues its industrialization of DMF” comments Sebastian Roos, Chief Technology Officer at PulPac AB The results showed an increase and reinforcement in certain barrier properties with only limited impact on mechanical strength. This leads to increased production efficiency with lower energy and material usage. This important discovery is protected in a pending patent application and intellectual property belonging to PulPac AB.
-
Toray to Boost Large-Tow Carbon Fiber Production
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that U.S. subsidiary Zoltek Companies, Inc., will bolster its large-tow carbon fiber (with more than 40,000 filaments) production capacity in 2023. The upgrade will cost around USD$130 million (around ¥14 billion). A Zoltek facility in Jalisco, Mexico, will lift its annual capacity around 54%, to more than 20,000 tons, boosting the combined annual capacity of that company’s Mexican and Hungarian operations to about 35,000 metric tons. Toray expects the market for this fiber to expand over the medium through long terms. That is because of growing deployments of wind power as an eco-friendly source of renewable energy. An associated factor is rising demand for longer and lighter blades to boost generating efficiency, fueling the use of carbon fiber, which is lightweight, strong, and rigid. The capacity increase will stabilize supplies to cater to expanding large tow carbon fiber demand. Zoltek will keep drawing on production facilities in the United States, Hungary, and Mexico to take advantage of increasing global demand, particularly for wind turbine blades. Toray has made expanding globally in promising areas a central strategy under Project AP-G2022, its medium-term management program. The company is accordingly pursuing growth in energy applications for the carbon fiber composites. Toray will fully leverage its comprehensive capabilities in keeping with its corporate philosophy of contributing to society and help materialize a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. [Profile of Zoltek Companies, Inc.] 1. Business : Manufacturing and selling large-tow carbon fiber composite materials and flame-resistant fibers 2. Headquarters : St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. 3. Established : 1975 (became Toray subsidiary in February 2014) 4. Representative : Nobuya Ando, President and CEO
