Nanotechnology must be adopted, so that the plastic industry can continue to compete

This is evident from what was said at the fourth international conference for nanotechnology applications in the plastics and rubber industry that was recently held at Shenkar College

Nano technology is no longer a buzzword but a real change that is going through the plastic and rubber industry. This is the conclusion from the fourth international conference on nanotechnology that was held recently in the plastics engineering department in Shankar in cooperation with the Israel Plastics and Rubber Manufacturers Association.

Prof. Shmuel Koenig from the plastics engineering department at Shenkar, the organizer of the conference explains that the purpose of the conference was to expose the plastics and rubber industry in the State of Israel to existing applications and future innovations in nanotechnology.

"The news of nanotechnology has brought governments, industrial companies and venture capital funds to invest resources in order to bring applied and industrial solutions to realize the inherent potential in the field. Some of the infrastructure works indicated possible applications but encountered roadblocks on the way to the market. We brought guests from abroad to the conference, among them Gunter Bayer, who is the chief scientist of the Kabelwerk Eupen company from Belgium, which is engaged in the development of flame retardant materials, Luca Mazo and Frederic Luisi from the Nanosil company. They represent factories that apply and produce nanomaterials for the plastics industry and they told us about the developments they developed in the past that are now in production and those they plan to introduce to the market in the next year or two. In addition, we hosted academics who also lectured to Schenker's students, this year it was Prof. Jeff Foverstein from Columbia University in New York. He specializes in surface treatment by polymers to change the nanostructure of the surface.

Where do you find practical applications of nanotechnology in industrial products today?
Prof. Koenig: "Nanotechnology applications are beginning to be part of the production line in the plastics and rubber industry. For example, the large tire manufacturers such as Goodyear and Goodrich produce tires that contain nano-clays, which gives the tires a very high abrasion resistance, and less heating. There are many applications in flame retardant coatings in plastic materials. Gunter Bayer talked about the use he makes of thousands of tons a year, for coating electric wires for cars, for high voltage. It uses nano-clays to improve fire resistance and the coating coverage for the wires they produce meet the strictest European and American standards."

Also, for example, hollow carbon nanotubes - the company Nanosil from Belgium presented the applications of these things that make it possible to impart electrical conduction to plastic materials that are normally insulated and this has applications in the automotive industry - in particular in areas that require conduction such as electrostatic painting, and also in fuel systems where static electricity must not accumulate. These materials are electrically conductive and they prevent the accumulation of static electricity."

What did the researchers present in Shankar?
Schenker people, mainly of course the faculty members in the plastics engineering department, who lead the research in Schenker in the field of nanotechnology, their latest developments in nanocomposite plastic materials, where the applications are especially for containers, for blocking toxic substances such as fuel, fertilizers and pesticides. Works on strengthening and armoring plastic materials by nanoparticles for adhesives and composite materials were also presented. The exceptional thing is how the surface of materials is changed by adding nanoparticles to obtain non-wetting properties (ultra hydrophobic) and, in particular, the possibility of preventing the possibility of ice on surfaces - for windows, cars and airplanes. All of these things are in the pre-production stage. Here is the place to point out that the largest group in Israel that deals in polymers and plastics operates in Shankar.

What is new in Israel in the field?
"The Israeli industry is at a stage where it is trying to introduce these materials in order to be more competitive in the export markets. The problem of the Israeli industry is how to become competitive, and this is the great opportunity for the industry to improve the products, which is why we held this conference under the title of nanotechnology for the plastic and rubber industry in the State of Israel."

Can you give examples?
"Let's take for example one of the rubber factories that is in the process of introducing nano particles to improve the wear of tank chains (the rubber pads on the chains). There is, of course, Afenno, which produces the nanotechnological dry lubricant. Today this material is found in every gas station in the State of Israel. One of the works presented at the conference examined what can be done with these particles in additional applications. We put these materials into all kinds of adhesives and showed that both the adhesives and the composite materials that when the nano particles are added improve the energy absorption property, these materials prevent the development of cracks and improve the absorption of energy in a fall and mechanical fit. That means more uses for those particles that are found in lubricants and lubricants."

Intermediate: innovations in the field of nanotechnology

Luca Mazo from the European nanocyl company spoke at the conference about the latest developments in the development of composite materials based on carbon nanotubes, which are hollow carbon fibers. Carbon nanotubes have proven to be a versatile and versatile material. Innovative applications use the different functions of this material and the ability to change the direction of the fibers within matrices.
There is still a need to better understand the correlation between the essential properties of carbon nanotubes (aspect-width ratio, surface function, etc.) and the desired properties of the composite material we seek to develop. It is necessary to develop final composite materials that have a synergistic effect between these nanotubes and the other fillers and additives. The Nanosil company offers a variety of types of carbon nanotubes and their dispersion for different types for development.

We asked Prof. Koenig to find out how the conference was born and he replied: "We decided 4 years ago to found the international conference to expose the industry to developments. We came to the conclusion that there is enough material to present to the industry and since this is the case, we started a series of annual conferences where we bring to each such conference 3-4 people from abroad who have the knowledge on this subject. The Israeli market is an attractive enough market for them - the plastics industry in Israel is developed on an international scale. That's why they come. Today is the time to switch to nanotechnology, despite the difficult times - this is the opportunity for new developments. We will see applications close to applications. And a long-term view."

Intermediate: prevent fires using composite materials

Gunter Bayer, who also edits the technical manual for nano composite materials (Nano Composites) expected to be published in March 2009, explained in a conversation with industries how the nanometric flame retardants used for cable coating work. According to him, their insertion into the coating is done by filling into the polymer fabric. This filling will allow a reduced release of heat, which is essential to delay a fire. What is important for the plastics industry to know is that the production of the nanocomposite materials is very easy and can be done using existing equipment.
"What is also important to know is that the field has already left research and has become a reality so that many cables in the world are based on nanotechnology. In Europe there is even a new regulation known as the Construction Product Directive (CPD) which oversees much stricter fire prevention tests. To meet the new requirements people have to raise the level of fire resistance dramatically. The problem with using non-nanometer materials is that if you add more and more flame retardants to the cables you lose flexibility. Therefore it is better to add the nanometric filling that allows to meet the CPD requirements. This is important for anyone who manufactures plastic products, because the CPD will be adopted by many countries such as China, the nanotechnology in cables will be widespread in the near future."

Intermediate: playing with molecules
Shankar's president, Prof. Amots Weinberg explains what nanotechnology is: "We play with molecules. We can see molecules and organize materials that have two types of atoms 0 and 1 and if we take a piece of this material we get a memory that has a million gigabytes. Imagine how equivalent a PC is. We are talking about connecting such devices to neurons in the brain. This will open up tremendous opportunities. Science Fiction.
Nanotechnology deals with the study of polymers. What is unique about polymers is that we can play with atoms and create new materials all the time. Nanotechnology is also a game with atoms.

We started with the Stone Age - people used stone, we moved on to iron and bronze because these were the materials they used. The scientific revolutions continue in the same way, when we could see objects on the scale of the micron, the thousandth of a millimeter, thanks to microscopy we could talk about microelectronics. When we developed the power microscope - we can see a billion times that is why we are currently in the era of nanotechnology. In the future we can see a thousand times more powerful than nano, then we will talk about pico-technology, Shanker will then organize events about pico-technology.

* The article was recently published in Industries magazine

Money is bigger than nano particles