| If you are unable to read this e-mail correctly, click here to read the webversion. |
 |
|
Newsletter issue: February, 2013 |
| DPI related news |
|
Further expansion of DPI’s international activities: cooperation with China and Brazil
DPI has formed partnerships with institutes in two of the BRIC countries: China and Brazil. From January 2013, DPI will be collaborating in projects with the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CIAC), part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China, and with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) in Brazil.
China
The CIAC is DPI’s first academic partner in China. The institute is joining DPI’s Coatings Technology programme as a partner. Over the next five years, between five and ten PhDs and Postdocs will be working on the ‘Preparation and Characterisation of Model Waterborne Clearcoats’ project under the supervision of Professor Yongfeng Men. The aim of the project is to develop new methods of preparing waterborne resins, as well as methods of monitoring and characterising the drying process. What makes the project unique is the combination of the investigation of structures using synchrotron radiation and the study of the organisation of particles using light scattering. Dr. Joris Sprakel of Wageningen University will provide the expertise for the latter aspect of the research. During the preparation of the resins, nano particles are used to stabilise the resin in water.
Brazil
At the beginning of this year, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), DPI and Brazil’s CNPq formed a partnership to carry out five projects. The research will be carried out by eleven PhDs and two Postdocs as part of an exchange programme. The five studies will focus on developing and finding applications for biopolymers and polyolefins. The venture marks the first time that a Brazilian institute joins a public-private partnership. The students from CNPq will conduct part of their research at research institutes affiliated to DPI.
International Centre of Excellence in Polymers
According to Jacques Joosten, Managing Director of DPI, the contacts with these two countries are very important for the institute’s partners. “Cooperation with these rapidly growing economies is crucial for achieving DPI’s ambition of becoming an ‘International Centre of Excellence in Polymers’. Demand for polymers in China has grown explosively in recent years. The country’s research institutes and companies are eager to collaborate with partners in the West in order to increase and share their knowledge in the relevant fields and expand their networks. This applies equally for DPI’s Western partners that have operations in China or plans to develop activities there. Brazil has an enormous pool of knowledge and experience regarding the use of biomass-based commodities. Because of the pace of economic growth, the country is engaged in an intensive search for new products with a higher added value. Here too, we can create a win-win situation for the partners in the developed countries and participants in Brazil. Both BRIC countries are convinced that the DPI approach of promoting cooperation between companies and knowledge institutes is unparalleled and are eager to join this international platform. Both countries will make substantial financial contributions to the joint projects.”
Annual Meeting 2013
We have noticed a decline in the number of participants attending the Annual Meeting in recent years. One of the arguments we have heard is that there are too many DPI meetings. We have therefore decided to change the format of the event this year and combine the Annual Meeting with all the Technology Area review meetings and Programme Committee meetings.
The result is a three-day programme to be held from Monday 4 to Wednesday 6 November 2013. On Monday 4 November, we will hold the Young DPI meeting, which is intended for all researchers who have started working on a project in the past academic year. At the same time, the meeting of the Council of Participants and the Corporate Technology review meetings will be held. In the evening there will be a joint dinner.
Proceedings on Tuesday 5 November will start with the review meetings for all Technology Areas. The plenary Annual Meeting will be held in the afternoon, followed by the conference dinner in the evening.
The review meetings will continue in the morning of Wednesday 6 November. The length of the review meetings will depend on the number of presentations in each technology area. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to visit the Polymer Innovation Day, which is being jointly organised by DPI Value Centre and DPI, and will focus on collaboration between SMEs, start-ups and multinationals in innovation in relation to polymers.
You will receive more information about the meetings in May.
EPF: DPI Invention Award
On Thursday 20 June, DPI will present the DPI Invention Award during the biannual conference of the European Polymer Federation (EPF). The DPI Invention Award is presented every two years to the DPI researcher with the highest output in terms of patents. Cor Koning won the award in 2011. This year’s winner is Rob Duchateau, who is being recognised for his scientific output in the last few years and for his application of fundamental knowledge as a catalyst for various polymer applications and properties.
The EPF conference will be held in Pisa, Italy, from 16 to 21 June 2013. For more information about the conference, visit www.EPF2013.org
Cross TA workshop
The cross-Technology Area meeting on the theme of ‘From processing to performance’ on 24 January 2013 was a great success, attracting 83 participants from the DPI Community. We were honoured to have as guest speakers Detlef Lohse (UT), Anton Darhuber (TU/e), Jasper Michels (Holst Centre), Han Meijer (TU/e), Ulrich Nolte (Altana), Markus Gahleitner (Borealis), Ludwik Leibler ((ESPCI ParisTech) and DPI Fellow Theo Dingemans (TUD). The meeting’s chairman, Martien Cohen Stuart, ensured the proceedings progressed smoothly. In addition to discussing current research, the participants also made suggestions for improving the interaction between research institutes and industrial participants. We expect to receive a report of the proceedings towards the end of March and intend to publish the report in the 2013 annual report.
Plastic Marine Litter
The partners in the Plastic Marine Litter project gathered for a meeting at DPI’s offices at the end of January. The specific aim of DPI and its partners in the '0.5-litre Plastic Beverage Bottles' project is to close the chain. "That is the provisional title of the project," says Monique Bruining, "but plastic beverage bottles are actually a model for all disposable packaging. Our objective is to present concepts for product cycles that prevent any plastic leaking into the environment. The current phase of the project involves analysing existing literature and studies to discover the sources of leaks of plastics from land, shipping and fisheries."
Little is known
"However, because there are no standard monitoring systems it is difficult to compare studies. What we have found is that little is actually known about leaks in the chain, which makes it difficult for us to form a realistic impression of the problem and so address it. In principle, we have earmarked only nine months for the analysis, but we will face delays because of the absence of uniform systems. In the next stage we will concentrate on searching for options for sealing leaks, so that in the final stage of the project parties in the chain will be able to test, implement and validate the solutions we present. Our aim is to develop concepts for a closed cycle that can be applied to various types of packaging. " The partners in the project are IMSA, Stichting Noordzee, the University of Utrecht, Kruidenier Food Services, PlasticsEurope, SABIC, Van Gansewinkel and DPI Value Centre.
European Project: SHINE
On Wednesday 13 February, DPI organised the kick-off meeting of the European SHINE project. All the partners involved in the project assembled in Eindhoven for the official launch of the project.
The aim of the SHINE project is to develop self-healing elastomers for dynamic seals and vibration and noise abatement systems. It will consider the concept on the basis of covalent and non-covalent bonding, which can provide a repeatable healing response as a result of reversible reactivity. SHINE will investigate both the healing mechanisms of pure elastomers and composites made of elastomers. The methods for the design of these types of elastomer, tailor-made fillers and self-healing composites are given in a systematic manner. The SHINE project is intended to develop elastomers with mechanical properties comparable to conventional ones (with 60% recovery of the initial properties after healing), repeatable self-healing (preventive versus curative healing), operable at room temperature and without human intervention. If successful, the impact of the SHINE project will reduce transportation costs by reducing the maintenance burden of infrastructures, as shown by the cost-benefit analysis.
The overall impact could be remarkable because of the anticipated effects in three domains:
- economic impact: long-lasting and cost-saving seals for vehicles, heavy-duty seals for wind turbines, vibration abatement systems for roads and bridges, noise abatement systems, asphalt mixtures;
- social impact: increased reliability, enhanced safety, fewer accidents;
- environmental impact: reduction of maintenance costs, energy savings, cuts in pollutants.
The consortium consists of two universities, four research centres, five large companies and one SME. The total budget is 6.4 M€ including 4.0 M€ EU subsidy. All the partners will combine their expertise and competences to develop innovative self-healing elastomers.
Changes in DPI staff
In November 2012, Harold Gankema announced that he would be leaving his position as Programme Area Coordinator and project leader of the European SHINE project. He spent his last working day at DPI on Friday 15 February. We wish to thank Harold Gankema for all his efforts on behalf of the Coatings Technology Area, the High-Throughput Technology Area and the European SHINE project and wish him all the best in the next step in his career. DPI is currently in the process of selecting a new project leader for the European SHINE project.
Shila de Vries will be changing jobs at the end of March. She has found a new career opportunity at another company in the Western part of the Netherlands. Shila de Vries has written a personal note for the members of the DPI community:
It has been more than a decade since I joined the DPI staff! In that time I have had the pleasure of taking part in forming the legal and procedural structure of the various research programmes and the institute’s organisation, with special attention to the IP policy and portfolio. I have seen the institute go through many changes, developing into the admired institute that it is today. I have performed this task with great pleasure, being part of a strong and dedicated team and an inspiring international community. Thanks to all!
We wish Shila de Vries all the best with her future pursuits! DPI has started the search for a new IP and Legal Manager.
DPI has hired Dr Mercedes Grego Calama as new Programme Area Coordinator. She has a lot of experience in managing international innovation-driven R&D projects. After obtaining her PhD in Spain, she worked as a post-doc at the University of Pittsburgh and as associate professor at the university of Twente. In 2006 she started working at IMEC-Holst Centre where she worked as Principal Scientist, then as Group leader and later on as Programme Manager.
PhD theses of DPI researchers (October-February)
Polyolefins Novel catalysts for ethylene polymerisation and oligomerisation, Shaneeh Vadake Kulangara
Performance Polymers
Carbohydrate-based Building Blocks and Step-growth Polymers, Jing Wu
Aromatic polyamide short fibres-reinforced elastomers: Adhesion mechanisms and the composites performance properties, Morteza Shirazi
Polyolefins and Performance Polymers
Functional (co) Polymers From Carbenes, Nicole Franssen
Functional Polymer Systems
Morphology control and device optimization for efficient organic solar cells, Veronique Gevaerts Diffractive nonimaging optics, Ties de Jong
Optoelectronic Processes at Polymer - Fullerene Heterojunctions, Daniele Di Nuzzo
Modelling of charge-transport processes for predictive simulation of OLEDs, Jeroen Cottaar
Bio-Inspired Polymers
Synthesis and Enzymatoc Post-Modification of Chiral Polymers, Bahar Yeniad
Large-Area Thin-Film Electronics
Composte Stacked Organic Semiconductors: Materials and Processing Towards Large Are Organic Electronics, Liyang Yu
Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes with Doped Charge Transport Layers, Mingtao Lu
Corporate Technology
Responsive surface topographies, Danqing Liu
New researchers
The following researchers have recently started a DPI project:
Polyolefins
Christian Ehm
Mohammad Banaei
Elena Morra
Performance Polymers
Vasilis Georgilas
Alessandro Saltini
Coatings Technology
Caroline Rocco
Xi Chen
Zhenzhen Li
Nan Zheng
Yanwei Li
Ran Chen
Zhiyong Yi
Benjamin Jouvelet
Bio-Inspired Polymers
Sahil Gandhi
Large-Area Thin-Film Electronics
Alberto Perrotta
Wytze Keuning
Christian Kasparek
Enhanced Oil Recovery
Durgesh Kawale
Agenda
18 – 19 March: Dutch Polymer Days 2013
19 – 21 March: European Coatings Show 2013
16 – 21 June: EPF 2013
24 – 28 June: Cosi 2013
For more information about these events and other external events, please see our website: www.polymers.nl
For the internal meetings please see the DPI intranet.
|
| General polymer news |
|
Europe beats its plastic recycling goals
European countries recycled 33.6% of all its plastics packaging waste in 2011, surpassing the EU’s minimum requirement of 22.5%, according to a new report.
The report `Plastics – The Facts 2012’ says European Union members, as well as Norway and Sweden, recovered 66.8% of plastic packaging waste last year. Some 5.246m tonnes (33.6%) was recycled and 33.2% went to energy recovery processes.
EPRO, which was one of the partners on the report, says Europe’s recycling rate has improve, rising from 32.6% in 2010, demonstrating that ”national recycling schemes in Europe, based on extended producer responsibility, manage well”.
Click here to read more.
Unilever to phase out plastic micro beads
Personal care products giant Unilever NV will phase out the use of plastic micro beads used as a “scrub” material following a call from environmental groups to eliminate them and help reduce the plastics in oceans and other waterways.
The environmental group 5gyres has called for the makers of facial cleansers to eliminate the tiny pieces of plastic, which are intended to help exfoliate the skin, because the beads are small enough to slip through waste treatment systems and end up in public watersheds.
In a brief statement, Unilever, based in London and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said that the issue of plastics in the ocean is an “important issue,” and that it had reviewed its use of micro beads in its portfolio of current and future products.
The company will phase out its use over the coming years, and completely eliminate the use of microplastics for scrubs in 2015.
Click here to read more.
BASF and Sinopec plan plasticizer feedstock plant
BASF SE and Chinese national oil firm Sinopec will develop a plant making plasticizer feedstock in Guangdong, China.
BASF - a plastics and chemicals giant based in Ludwigshafen, Germany - and Beijing-based Sinopec will form a new joint venture to make isononanol (INA). The 50-50 JV will operate as BASF MPCC Co. Ltd.
Production at the new plant is expected to begin in mid-2015. The plant will be integrated into an existing Sinopec plant there, allowing the firms to minimize water use, emissions and waste, officials said in a Jan. 22 news release.
BASF and Sinopec already jointly operate BASF-YPC Co. Ltd., a 50-50 petrochemicals joint venture in Nanjing, China.
Click here to read more.
Japan's Teijin, Korea's SK in JV to make 'green' PPS
ULSAN, SOUTH KOREA -- Japan's Teijin Chemicals Ltd. said Feb. 4 it is investing in a joint venture with South Korea's SK Chemicals to make more environmentally friendly polyphenyline sulfide materials aimed at Asia's growing electric vehicle and electronics industries.
The joint venture, to be owned 66 percent by SK, will use the Korean company's technology to produce PPS resins and compounds without chlorine or sodium, which the companies said is both better for the environment and less corrosive on molds and metal parts than traditional PPS.
The companies plan to build a new 12,000 metric ton PPS plant in Ulsan, South Korea, to open in 2015, with annual capacity potentially increasing to 20,000 metric tons as demand grows, Teijin said in a statement.
Click here to read more.
|
| . |
|
DPI Value Centre: Innovation in polymers
In 2007 DPI started the DPI Value Centre. The DPI Value Centre is an independent foundation supporting companies with their innovations in the field of polymers. With the support of our network of partners in the manufacturing industry and the research community (multinationals, SMEs and knowledge institutes), we can work in finding solutions to topics. Our experts can provide advice on polymers, but also on a wide range of other disciplines, from product and process development to marketing, patents, finance and grants. Thanks to our close ties with DPI we are constantly aware of opportunities in the polymer sector.
|
| . |
|
Dutch Polymer Institute
P.O. Box 902, 5600 AX EINDHOVEN The Netherlands T +31 40 247 5629 www.polymers.nl LinkedIn: LI-group DPI
Twitter: Polymerennieuws (in Dutch)
For more information or to unsubscribe, please send an e-mail to communications@polymers.nl
|
 |