(plastemart) -- In a bid to control logistics activities and strengthen its competitive advantage, PTT has inaugurated ASEAN's largest logistics centre worth Bt 2.7 bln to distribute petrochemical products. PTT Polymer Logistics Co was established to provide full logistics service for the group's petrochemical companies that have an annual production capacity of 1.65 mln tons. The logistics centre can store 1 mln tpa of polypropylene and can be expanded to 1.5 mln tons in the future.
(plastemart) -- One of its four Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) plants at Mailiao, has been shut by Nan Ya Plastics due to a dearth of feedstock ethylene. The 350,000 tpa No. 1 MEG plant is to be shuttered for about eight weeks.
The company's No 2 and No 3 plants have a capacity to produce 350,000 tpa of MEG, and the No 4 plant has a capacity to produce 800,000 tpa. Shortage of ethylene feedstock in the future could result in more shutdowns.
(plastemart) -- The Yunlin County government has issued a NT$1 mln (US$31460) fine to Formosa Plastics Group after almost 100 people got sick due to an allegedly leaked gas at it's petrochemical complex. An odor pervaded the air on Sept. 9 in Yunlin's Mailiao Township and neighboring Taisi Township, causing dizziness and nausea.
Alluding to the Air Pollution Control Act, the county's Environmental Protection Bureau has ordered halt of operations at the naphtha cracker. The bureau's investigations has revealed that odor on Sept. 13 was due to botched procedures at a naphtha storage tank numbered T8506. Inspectors detected abnormally high concentrations of propane and sulfur dioxide at the plant, with propane concentrations several times higher than the acceptable level, and sulfur dioxide concentrations of 311 parts per billion, above the allowable maximum of 250 ppb.
(PlastEurope) -- Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden have developed a new method for monitoring the structural health of continuous glass-fibre reinforced composites. The method involves inducing electrical conductivity in the glass fibre surfaces and in the composites' interphases by applying electrically conductive carbon nanotubes (CNT) in a coating system. The composite is then mechanically loaded, causing the CNT network to deform, and this deformation can be measured as a change in electrical resistance.
Irreversible damages to the composite material caused by defects in the interphase or the failure of the reinforcing fibres can then be detected by observing changes in electrical resistance, the researchers explained. The application of CNT-based interfacial sensors in continuous glass-fibre reinforced composites allows defects to be identified at an early stage, they added.
(PlastEurope) -- "Emerge PC8701HH resin, developed for the terminal block, case and internal parts of smart meters, has been introduced in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region by Styron. The terminal block, which has direct contact with live wires, must withstand temperatures of up to 960 ╟C, while the casing of the meter needs to be tamper-resistant in order to prevent fraud.
The meters enable consumers to monitor their energy use and increase their energy efficiency. PC 8701HH resin is a glass-reinforced ignition-resistant polycarbonate that is claimed to offer heat resistance exceeding current standards and industry requirements. The use of one product for the different parts simplifies the production process for smart meter producers, Styron says, and can lead to reduced costs.
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