Transforming Recycled Plastic into Additives for Industrial and Consumer Products

Article | March 5, 2020

Polymers have been used in many consumer and industrial areas for many years. They have several advantage compared to metals such as low density, chemical resistance and easy production. However, polymers have generally lower wear and scratch resistance than other materials and therefore these properties must be carefully controlled. Since the beginning of the 20th century polymers found their place in many applications in daily life and industry. Their production is relatively simple and they can be formed into many different shapes. The market of polymers is developing fast and new polymers appear very frequently.

Article | March 5, 2020

Keeping thousands of pumps in San Francisco Bay Area refineries running 24/7/365 requires a well-planned and well-executed maintenance strategy. Unplanned failures may have ramifications for safety, budget, and compliance—especially with regard to Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) regulations. One of the most mission-critical elements for smooth operations is pump seal reliability. Many plants run pumps outside the safe operating envelope and replace them only when economically feasible. Over time, however, you increasingly risk catastrophic downtime. Fortunately, you have the means to largely mitigate pump seal reliability problems with awareness and proactive management of conditions to improve safety and compliance.

Article | March 5, 2020

The analysis shows that the world's top five pesticide makers are making billions, accounting for more than 36 percent of their income, from chemicals that are proven to hazards to humans and the environment and are contributing to the precipitous demise of bee populations, as Unearthed reported. The researchers found that the sale of these highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs), disproportionately occurred in poorer nations, which often have fewer regulations than industrialized nations, according to The Guardian. In India, for example, sales of HHPs were nearly 60 percent, while in the UK it was just 11 percent.

Article | March 5, 2020

An initiative backed by several major brands is looking to boost the flow of corporate money to vetted plastics recovery and recycling projects. The effort is based on a voluntary market-based standard, currently called the Plastic Waste Recovery and Recycling Project Standard, which will lay out broad rules and requirements for projects around the world to meet. Projects meeting the standard could generate credits, which companies would then purchase to help fund the effort. “It’s essentially driving corporation financing through a crediting mechanism to plastic recovery and recycling activities,” said Sneha Balasubramanian, a program officer at Washington, D.C.-based group Verra, which is creating the standard. Verra is a standards development organization that has a focus on climate action and sustainable development.