WCA January 2020

From the Americas photoelectrochemical energy storage, the technique could more broadly be applied to study electrochemical processes in actively operating systems such as fuels cells, batteries, or even biological membranes.” Up with the battery, down with the charge Scientists and engineers from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, have developed that a method to restructure the lithium-ions used in rechargeable batteries. The materials could potentially be restructured into a new electrode design that would increase a battery’s lifespan and make it more stable, while also shortening its charging time. The study, published in Applied Nano Materials , described a net-like nanochain structure of antimony, a metalloid known to enhance lithium-ion charge capacity in batteries. The Purdue University team compared the nanochain electrodes to graphite electrodes, and found that when coin cell batteries with the nanochain electrode were charged for just 30 minutes, they achieved double the lithium-ion capacity for 100 charge-discharge cycles. Some types of commercial batteries already use carbon-metal composites similar to antimony metal negative electrodes, but the material tends to expand up to three times as it takes in lithium-ions, causing it to become a safety hazard as the battery charges. “You want to accommodate that type of expansion in your smartphone batteries. That way you’re not carrying around something unsafe,” said Vilas Pol, a Purdue associate professor of chemical engineering. Through applying chemical compounds – a reducing agent and a nucleating agent – Purdue scientists have connected the antimony particles into a nanochain shape that can accommodate the necessary expansion. The electrode design is thought to have the potential to be scalable for larger batteries. Faster work for flame-retardant TPUs Modern plastic materials demand added flame protection. When developing new flame-retardant thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), the aim is for an optimum combination of flame retardancy, processability and mechanical properties. Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF and the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und – prüfung (BAM) have demonstrated how this objective can be achieved more quickly. With a range of characteristics that include damping capacity, low-temperature flexibility, chemical stability and wear and abrasion resistance, TPU polymers also display thermal instability and light flammability, making the development of flame-retardant materials particularly flame-retardant compounds with different formulations for three TPU base materials with different Shore hardness, with the aim of determining the required material properties. Flame demanding. Fraunhofer researchers developed

retardants were added so that the influence on mechanical parameters would be changed as little as possible. The rapid mass calorimeter was tested as a rapid method of fire behaviour analysis and all results were compared with the corresponding measurements in the cone calorimeter. The investigation involved pyrolysis using thermoanalytical methods, such as thermogravimetric analysis coupled with the Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer, pyrolysis gas analysis and pyrolysis gas chromatography with mass spectrometry coupling. Fraunhofer reports that it has shown that the rapid mass calorimeter is suitable to evaluate the achieved flame retardance of any flame-retardant TPU. The different TPU types displayed few, though significant, differences, such as in the mass loss of the individual decomposition stages of pyrolysis and in the mechanics. Some formulations with nitrogen-based flame retardants showed mechanics in the pure material area. The numerous investigations within the scope of the research project, entitled “Rapid Development of Flame Retarded Thermoplastic Polyurethane”, have generated valuable data. A particular application of this data is for medium-sized businesses to optimise their existing or new flame retardant formulations. The recycling economy In October a new study, conducted on behalf of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), described the importance of recycling to the US economy. Apart from its environmental benefits, the recycling industry was estimated to be responsible for over 531,500 jobs with an overall economic impact of nearly $110 billion. Joe Pickard, chief economist for ISRI, commented: “In the US, we continue to process more material into valuable commodities, 7 percent of which is used right here by American manufacturers. With the … new technologies coming online, this trend is expected to continue upward.” The study found that 164,154 jobs were directly supported by the recycling and brokerage operations of the scrap industry in the USA, with an estimated 367,356 jobs indirectly supported through suppliers and the indirect impact of expenditure. “This study reinforces the strength and resiliency of the scrap recycling industry,” said Mr Pickard. “Recycling has always been based on supply and demand. Yet, at no other time have there been such fluctuations in global market conditions and demand for high quality scrap. The fact that the industry is responding to these outside forces, and remaining an economic force, is a testament to its ability to adapt.” The $110 billion economic impact puts the recycling industry on a par with radio and television broadcasting, building services, and warehousing and storage industries. It includes roughly $4.94 billion in state and local tax revenues and $7.96 billion in federal taxes. Recycling

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2020

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