Materials

Automation, sustainability, and 3D printing shape the blow molding’s future.

Plastics Engineering spoke with Roberto Nunez, Director of Market Development at Baerlocher USA, about the company’s role in plastics recycling.

As advanced recycling evolves rapidly, new companies and facilities are constantly emerging, partnerships are being established, and capacities are increasing. This fast-paced development makes it increasingly difficult to maintain an overview of the sector.

With the growing demand for sustainable and high-performance materials, basalt fibers have become a promising reinforcement for marine composites.

Using recycled plastics in 3D printing reduces waste and carbon footprint, offering sustainable solutions such as filaments made from pre-and post-consumer recycled materials.

High-performance thermoset materials cannot be remelted or reshaped. Consequently, recycling carbon-fiber-reinforced composites poses significant challenges.

The Polymer Composites (PC) Journal by SPE has selected “Evaluation of Fatigue Characteristics of 3D-Printed Composites Reinforced with Carbon Fiber Using Design of Experiments” as its Editor’s Choice article for December 2024.

Integrating waste polymers with additive manufacturing (AM) for constructing vertical farming systems provides a sustainable solution to address food insecurity and promote circularity.

Emirates Biotech and Sulzer are joining forces to build the UAE’s world’s largest PLA production facility. This initiative aligns with global environmental goals and the UAE’s Green Agenda 2030.

In an era of the need for sustainable development and reduced environmental impact, lignocellulosic fibers (LCFs) have emerged as promising alternatives for creating eco-friendly engineering composites.

Alice Fergerson, along with Emily Davidson’s team at Princeton University, has developed a breakthrough material: a 3D-printable thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) that combines localized flexibility with controlled rigidity.

IBM’s innovative polymer optical waveguide (PWG) technology replaces traditional electrical interconnects with optical connections, offering faster, energy-efficient performance.