Extrusion

Supercritical foaming revolutionizes polymer science, creating lightweight, porous materials with superior properties through controlled pressure and supercritical fluids.

The IKV Colloquium demonstrated the plastics industry’s resilience in addressing current challenges. On February 28th-29th, 2024, RWTH Aachen University’s IKV organized an event fostering industry-academia exchanges.

While certain PFASs are notorious for their toxicity, persistence, and environmental mobility, Fluoropolymers emerge because of their durability, safety, water insolubility, and bio-inertia. These high-performance polymers are revolutionizing industries with their attributes.

The plastics market demands sustainable alternatives to conventional fossil-based plastics. Bio-Polyethylene emerges as a promising solution, offering environmental advantages and maintaining performance.

Decathlon, a leader in sports equipment and apparel, is stepping up to address shoe pollution with its innovative mono-material shoes, designed for more efficient recycling. Shoe pollution poses a major environmental challenge. Millions of discarded shoes, made from a mix of materials, end up in landfills each year. These materials release harmful substances as they slowly decompose.

In most plastics processing electricity is the main energy source. Electricity use is not, as is sometimes thought, fixed and uncontrollable, it is variable and controllable. For most sites, the electricity use will be directly related to the production volume in a given time period. 

The terms “film” and “sheet” often lead to confusion within and outside the industry, as they are sometimes used interchangeably. While both refer to thin, flat materials, they possess distinct characteristics and applications.

Recycling appears as a main node in optimizing waste management. Within this realm, Post-Industrial Recycling commands attention for its critical impact on product lifecycles.

Siloxanes, a group of silicon-based compounds known for their versatility and resilience, are integral to enhancing the performance of plastics. However, their potential health risks have sparked a debate in the EU on the necessity of imposing restrictions on their use.

IKV has consistently pushed the boundaries of knowledge, fostered interdisciplinary collaboration, and driven progress in the dynamic field of plastics.

The materiality of an issue is another way of asking ‘how relevant and important is it?’. This is considered from two perspectives, those of the broader stakeholders (internal and external) and those of the company itself. 

A groundbreaking screwless plasticating extruder is paving the way for single pellet extrusion in polymer processing. Drawing inspiration from the innovative gerotor gear pump, this novel design features a rotor with multiple lobes situated within an eccentric cavity.