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How to deal with the plastic revolution?
With the progress of plastic technology and the improvement of people's requirements for lightweight and comfort, plastic, as one of the four basic materials in modern society, continues to expand its territory and deepen its application in various fields such as packaging, automobiles, medical treatment, electronics, aerospace, and new energy. The engineering of general-purpose plastics, high-performance engineering plastics, and low-cost engineering plastics have become the main trends in the development of plastics. These trends will once again set off a wave of innovative applications of plastics.
"Plastics have already extended from the traditional and most common daily necessities such as cups and pots to various fields such as packaging, automobiles, electronics, aerospace, and new energy. Looking ahead, plastic products are everywhere, and our lives are also quietly experiencing a "Plasticizing” tide.
In the next five years, the engineering of general-purpose plastics, high-performance engineering plastics, and low-cost engineering plastics will become the main trends in the development of plastics.
As China's economic growth slows, the demand for plastics in traditional industries tends to be saturated. Innovation is even more needed in the field of plastics to cope with market changes, and innovation will become an important means for the plastic industry to expand its market in the future. Jian Xigao, an academician of the CAE Member, pointed out that the innovation of high-end varieties and the high-end of common varieties are important breakthrough directions for polymer industry innovation. Below, let's share some typical innovative application cases in the global plastic field in recent years, and fully experience the accelerating transformation of plastic life.
Automobile— The hottest application mecca
With the increasing demand for lightweight materials, plastics are increasingly used in the automotive field. According to GVR, a US market research company, it is expected that the compound annual growth rate of automotive plastics will reach 9.5% from 2015 to 2022, and the market value will reach 53 billion US dollars by 2022. In terms of materials, PP is the leading product, accounting for 25.6% of global sales in 2014.
In 2020, China's automobile usage is expected to exceed 200 million vehicles. Lightweight has become a pioneer in automotive energy conservation and consumption reduction. Engineering plastics and related composite materials are the most important materials to achieve lightweight. As the most cutting-edge and popular carbon fiber thermoplastic composite material, its application in the automotive field is showing significant trends such as extending from decorative parts and panels to load-bearing parts and body components, extending from local applications to vehicle applications, extending from high-end vehicle applications to new energy vehicles, and gradually entering industrial production from research and development.
Due to the high temperature and harsh environment around the engine, which impose strict requirements on product performance, it has also become the favorite ofplasticexplorers, competing to showcase their unique skills. Evonik Industries Group's special poly (terephthalamide) (PPA) VESTAMID HT plus R1033 product can be directly compounded with the latest hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) elastomer developed by KACO in Germany to form cooling circuit components, which are based on plastics— The patented technology of direct rubber bonding has been installed and adopted by famous automobile manufacturers. This technology can achieve a solid combination of the plastic and rubber parts of the assembly without any pre-treatment. Even during the vulcanization process of the elastomer, the plastic parts can maintain dimensional stability, which ensures that the assembly will not fail after millions of cycles of use.
ContiTech vibration control and BASF have teamed up to develop the world's first plastic transmission cross member, which has been successfully applied to the rear axle subframe of Mercedes S-class sedans. The component is made from Ultramid A3WG10 CR polyamide produced by BASF, which can withstand high strength mechanical loads through reinforcement and optimization.
Solvay Chemical Company collaborated with American engineer Matt Holtzberg to develop an all-plastic engine. The plastic engine is expected to weigh 63 to 67 kilograms, nearly 40 kilograms lighter than an equal power engine. Solvay will replace 10 main engine components, and the Polimotor 2 engine will be used in the M-20 C two-door concept racing car.
Packaging applications are gaining momentum
In developed countries, plastic packaging accounts for 30% of the value of plastic products, while in China, it accounts for less than 10%. The next few years will be a period of rapid development for China's plastic packaging industry, with lightweight, functional, and intelligent packaging becoming the development trend. In the beverage industry, currently, beverage packaging in China is divided into packaging forms based on the materials used, mainly including polyester bottles (PET), metal cans, paper-plastic composite packaging, and glass bottles, which have become the leading packaging forms in the current beverage packaging market in China; Four Families”, Polyester bottles account for 30%.
Diego Donoso, President of the Global Business of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, said at a related event celebrating the 30th anniversary of CHINAPLAS China International Rubber and Plastic Exhibition:“ During my 25 years at Dow, I have personally experienced the tremendous growth in the plastic packaging industry, which has driven the demand for polyethylene in China and the world. Due to market factors such as the sharp increase in the number of middle classes, packaging functions, food waste, and demographic changes, China accounts for 45% of Asia's polyethylene consumption, and is expected to grow by 6% in 2016, which is twice the global GDP".
Wearable electronic devices - trendy intelligence
Diego Donoso, President of the Global Business of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, said at a related event celebrating the 30th anniversary of CHINAPLAS China International Rubber and Plastic Exhibition:“ During my 25 years at Dow, I have personally experienced the tremendous growth in the plastic packaging industry, which has driven the demand for polyethylene in China and the world. Due to market factors such as the sharp increase in the number of middle classes, packaging functions, food waste, and demographic changes, China accounts for 45% of Asia's polyethylene consumption, and is expected to grow by 6% in 2016, which is twice the global GDP".Intelligent wearable devices are becoming increasingly popular nowadays, and many users want to own their own wearable smart devices. Intelligent wearable devices can be roughly divided into several categories: smart watch bracelets, headworn VR devices, intelligent sensor devices, and so on.
At the World Mobile Conference held in February this year, Gartner predicted that the use of smart watches worldwide will increase by 30% from 2015 to 2017, mainly due to Apple's promotion of the popularity of wearable devices as a lifestyle trend. The revenue of smart watches is expected to reach $17.476 billion, and it is expected to become the highest earning wearable device in 2019.
On March 1st, Microsoft released its most dreamy product yet: holographic glasses— HoloLens is a completely independent device that, unlike most so-called VR glasses, does not have an external camera (but a built-in camera), no cables, no phone functionality, and no need to connect to a personal computer.
Other applications
Plastic banknotes
Last March, the Bank of Clydesdale, Scotland, issued the first batch of plastic banknotes in the UK, with a face value of £ 5, one year ahead of the rest of the UK. The rest of the UK will issue £ 5 plastic banknotes starting in 2016 and £ 10 plastic banknotes in 2017. Compared to paper money, plastic money is more resistant to dirt and easy to clean, has better anti-counterfeiting and safety, has a longer lifespan, and is more environmentally friendly.
Flexible panel stickers
The University of Salle in Germany and the University of Carnegie Mellon in the United States have jointly developed a scalable flexible touch panel“ iSkin”。 Its overall thickness is only 0.7 mm, and it can be affixed to the back of the hand, arm, and behind the ear for operating mobile terminals and music players. The touch panel utilizes a gasket composed of non-conductive silicone rubber to bond two pieces of conductive silicone rubber with PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) as the main component. Even when applied to the skin, there is not too much disharmony.
Innovation is a communication feast
In this era of advocating win-win results, information exchange, and resource integration, innovation is no longer a matter of fighting alone or building a car behind closed doors. Instead, it requires upstream and downstream cooperation in the industrial chain, sometimes even cross-border cooperation, in order to successfully transform an innovative concept and design into a product and promote it to the market. The final winner of the 2016 First European Plastics Industry Innovation Award was announced recently at the annual meeting of the European Plastics Association. This award is divided into seven broad categories, selected from 37 proposals. It is worth noting that all proposals are the product of cooperation between different companies, rather than innovative products made by a single company.
The "Product Design" column of this magazine has been promoting avant-garde or revolutionary innovative design cases in the industry, and exploring their behind the scenes stories. It is not difficult to find that the birth of each innovative product is the result of joint efforts between the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. Through cooperation and communication among raw material manufacturers, mold manufacturers, product enterprises, and designers, as well as experimental modifications, it is possible to achieve an ideal combination of design, market, and technology, and to promote new designs or concepts to the market.
Finally, let's enjoy the seven major projects of the 2016 First European Plastic Innovation Award:
Excellent Plastic Design Award:Polyamide sole. DSM Engineering Plastics designed specifically for the soles of Salomon brand hiking shoes.
Excellent Final Treatment Design Award:Lightweight packaging. Top Clean Packaging Company, whose packaging of red wine and champagne is specially designed to ensure that the bottles are always protected during transportation.
Outstanding Material Innovation Award:Not inferior to steel full plastic pipe fittings. The VESTAMID NRG developed by Evonik Industries can withstand high pressure in all plastic tubing.
Excellent Mixture Award:Stable structure, which can protect the marine environment. The materials developed by DuPont can meet the strength requirements of offshore data collectors, navigation buoys, and other power generation equipment for use in the ocean.
Excellent Sustainable Product Award:Competition between soft and hard packaging. Dow Chemical's PacXPERT packaging technology is applied to plastic bottle packaging, allowing for re capping and packaging when the medium is a solid or viscous product, commonly used in oil drums or tanks.
Excellent Lightweight Product Award:1.9 micron capacitive film. Treofan/Borealis, a company that has developed a new capacitive thin film with a thickness of only 1.9 microns.
New Plastic Product Surface Award:Dyeable automotive bumpers. Borealis Polymers collaborates with BMW to develop and produce dyeable car bumpers.
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