Engineering Plastics
Better plastics shaped by electronic/electrical market trends As consumer demands change, the market adapts to meet them, resulting in the emergence of high-performance materials with more advanced properties than traditional materials, according to Angelica Buan in this article.
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ngineering plastics' growth in the global market is being fuelled by their superior mechanical and/or thermal properties, chemical resistance, wear resistance, and high dimensional stability when compared to commodity plastics, especially in the electronic/electrical market. Engineering plastics are commonly used in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and transportation, as well as electrical and electronics, consumer appliances, industrial machinery, packaging, construction, and medical. The materials are currently used in products where proper material selection is required to meet performance requirements and match manufacturing process demands Engineering plastics are used in products that require thorough material selection to meet performance specifications without incurring additional costs. Market trends such as sustainability, based on an internal life cycle analysis conducted in efficiency, and safety, on the other hand, accelerate the accordance with ISO 14040/14044 protocols, can offer development of engineering materials. potential reductions of up to 14% in carbon footprint and up to 25% in cumulative energy demand, when Sustainability of materials remains a priority compared to the virgin PBT compound reinforced with The latest generation of engineering plastics are designed glass fibre, adds Sabic. to be circular, meaning they are recyclable, reusable, and Sabic expects to upcycle 10 billion ocean-bound made from recycled materials, with sustainability at the waste plastic bottles in the next decade with its forefront of the material development agenda. proprietary upcycling technology, which involves Chemical supplier Sabic has introduced LNP Elcrin repolymerising ocean-bound PET into PBT with virgin-like WF0061BiQ resin, which uses ocean-bound PET bottles performance properties. as a feed stream for chemical upcycling into polybutylene Similarly, a recycled POM (polyoxymethylene) product terephthalate PBT resin. derived from both post-industrial and post-consumer The LNP Elcrin WF0061BiQ grade is a glass fibresources of POM has been developed by speciality chemicals reinforced PBT material that features non-brominated, firm Celanese and Japanese materials maker Mitsubishi non-chlorinated flame retardancy meeting the UL94 V0 Chemical Advanced Materials (MACAM). The Eco-R POM is standard at 0.8mm and F1 rating. It also delivers heat a recycled content option of Celanese’s Hostaform/Celcon resistance, toughness and stiffness, and high flow wellPOM. suited for moulding thin-wall applications for outdoor MCAM will handle the recycled feedstock collection, environments. separation, and processing, while Celanese will provide the This latest addition to Sabic’s portfolio is a material formulation, product technology, and production capability solution for consumer electronics applications such as fan for Eco-R. housings in computers and automotive seating, as well Celanese introduced POM Eco-B, a biobased, biomassas electrical connectors and enclosures. The compound, balanced polyacetal product, in 2020. Despite the fact that JUNE 2022
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