Innovative Polymer Technologies

The use of polymeric materials is emphasized here because advances in the uses of biocompatible polymers for injuries and wounds have outpaced the dissemination of information. Innovative polymer technology was applied to the common combat and other trauma wounds associated with damaged soft tissue and bleeding. 

A company called Innovative Polymer Technologies has developed a solid state shear pulverisation process for powder production, intimate mixing and compatibilisation of polymer blends, including waste rubber-thermoplastic blends [14]. The process creates powders with a large surface area and complicated morphologies. In addition to waste rubber, the process is also capable of producing powders from thermoplastic rubbers, and waste rubber-thermoplastic blends. The resulting powders can be used for a variety of applications. 

The most innovative photohalogenation technology developed in the latter twentieth century is that for purposes of photochlorination of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). More highly chlorinated products of improved thermal stabiUty, fire resistance, and rigidity are obtained. In production, the stepwise chlorination may be effected in Hquid chlorine which serves both as solvent for the polymer and reagent (46). A soHd-state process has also been devised in which a bed of microparticulate PVC is fluidized with CI2 gas and simultaneously irradiated (47). In both cases the reaction proceeds, counterintuitively, to introduce Cl exclusively at unchlorinated carbon atoms on the polymer backbone. 

J. Theberge in Opportunities for Innovation Polymer Composites, S. H. Munson-McGee, ed, NIST GCR 90-577-1, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md., 1990, pp. 35—44. 

Various techniques have been introduced which still lack specific applications in polymer/additive analysis, but which may reasonably be expected to lead to significant contributions in the future. Examples are LC-QToFMS, LC-multi-API-MS, GC-ToFMS, Raman spectroscopy (to a minor extent), etc. Expectations for DIP-ToFMS [132], PTV-GC-ToFMS [133] and ASE are high. The advantages of SFC [134,135], on-line multidimensional chromatographic techniques [136,137] and laser-based methods for polymer/additive analysis appear to be more distant. Table 10.33 lists some innovative polymer/additive analysis protocols. As in all endeavours, the introduction of new technology needs a champion. 

Whereas all conventional thermoplastic fabrication techniques have been successfully employed to convert pellets of HIPS into useful articles, extrusion (film, sheet, profile and multi-layer) and injection molding (solid, structural foam and gas-assist) are the predominant processing technologies. Innovative hardware technologies, in both extrusion and injection molding, have provided means to combine less expensive materials, such as polystyrene, with polymers or structures offering key performance characteristics. 

Among the countless number of applications of polymers, the construction industry is one which utilises several polymeric materials. In this book I cover those polymeric materials which are single or bicomponent systems and are cured at ambient temperature either with the aid of curing agents or atmospheric moisture. The various polymers used in manufacturing such products include epoxies, polyurethanes, acrylics, silicones, polysulphides, alkyds and polyesters. As a result of innovation, new technologies exist which utilise more than one polymer in a single product. Such systems are discussed in Chapter 10, on hybrid polymers. 

Several other polymers such as polyurethanes, alkyds, acrylics, polyesters, silicones, etc. can be hybridised to improve the performance or to obtain desired end-results. The growth of hybrid polymer technology is giving rise to considerable improvements, and many hybrid systems have been introduced to the market. Most of the work reported in this field is for coatings, but at the same time it is useful for other products used in the construction industry. Research is under way by many polymer manufacturers and universities, and innovations are continuously being reported. In this chapter we shall be dealing with those combinations which are useful, or may be useful, for the construction industry. 

Overall, combining well-established technologies of today with the emerging field of electrospun conductive nanostructures can potentially lead to the development of new technologies and new micro- and nanostructured smart assemblies, and stimulate opportunities for an enormous number of creative applications. In the next few years, we can expect to see many more commercial applications of electrospun conductive polymers that will have a large impact on the innovations and technologies of the future. 

This enterprise is an advanced lithium polymer battery innovator and manufacturer. Divisions include clean transportation, consumer products and more. Electrovaya claims to have >150 global patents on its Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery technology and associated system technologies. SuperPolymer is basically a novel nanostructured lithium-ion polymer technology platform. It enables more energy to be stored in a smaller space applications are smaller, lighter and more powerful. 

A newer, innovative processing technology for the manufacture of amorphous solid dispersions is the microprecipitation method in which an organic solution of the drug and polymer is introduced into a miscible anti-solvent in which the drug and... 

Interest is increasing in developing biobased products derived fix>m renewable sources and innovative processing technologies that can reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and encourage the movement toward a sustainable material basis (Espert et al., 2004 Pandey et al., 2005). Cellulose is one of the most abundant natural polymers on Earth, and the annual biomass production is about one trillion tons (Moon et al., 2011). Cellulose hbers have been widely used due to their sustainability and good mechanical properties. 

This result was obtained by the research group of the "Research Association for Basic Polymer Technology" of the "Research and Development Project on Basic Technologies for Future Industries , which was established by the Japanese government in 1981, to promote col-laboration between industry, universities and national research institutes. As the chairman of this Research Association, it is my pleasure that fundamental and innovative results are being obtained by the collaboration of the young researchers from various research institutions. 

With innovative process technologies, appropriate use of nanomaterials and nanoteehnology, and a vast body of experimental data available, die time for a larger role for plant fibers and stareh in the development of biodegradable polymer eomposites and packaging materials has now arrived. 

The research work of this paper was performed at the Polymer Conqietence Center Leoben GmbH (PCCL, Austria) within the framework of the Kpius-program of the Austrian Ministry of Traffic, Innovation and Technology with contributions by the University of Leoben. The PCCL is funded by the Austrian Government and the State Governments of Styria and Upper Austria. 

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