• The owner of glass manufacturer Pilkington, Nippon Sheet Glass, has announced that it will close one of its three UK production lines in an effort to cut costs. The job cuts are the second major headcount reduction in two years: In March 2010, the firm cut 6,700 jobs in the wake of the global financial crisis.

• According to reports, approximately 500 tons of molten glass was spilled in an incident on 30th January 2012 at Guardian Industries’ glass manufacturing plant in De Witt, Iowa, US. The glass leak happened during routine maintenance and six fire departments spent approximately five hours pouring cold water on the spill.

• Zimbabwe’s sole glass manufacturer, Zimglass, is set to resume operations in April 2012 after the company secured funding to refurbish its furnaces.

• AGC Glass Company North America has announced that it plans to restart float G1, an idled production line at its Tennessee plant, USA and re-instate 100 jobs once the line becomes operational. The company shut down the production line in 2008 and laid-off approximately 250 people at the time.

• Seeing the promising prospects for container glass, Taiwan Glass Group, Taiwan’s largest glass maker, plans to expand production capacity at its plant in Hsinchu County, northern Taiwan by integrating two old production lines and adding a new one.

• Magnezit Group has acquired Panteleymonovka Refractory Plant (town Gorlovka), one of the biggest enterprises in Ukraine for production of magnesia refractories.

Editor’s note: We welcome Italy-based P. Carlo Ratto to our team of bloggers. Ratto is a former council member at GLG and consultant at RHI AG Glass Division - Monofrax & Refel plants and is business development manager, Fused Cast at Vesuvius Group (Monofrax). For more information, readers are urged to consider joining some of the ceramic-related Linked In groups, such as the Ceramic Engineers’ Group and the Friends of Refractories Group.

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Here is what we are hearing:

Integration of Hanse Chemie Inc. USA, into Evonik Goldschmidt Corp.

As of Jan. 1, 2012, the US Hanse Chemie business of Hanse Chemie AG and Nanoresins AG, has been merged into Evonik Goldschmidt Corp. At the same time, Hanse Chemie Inc. USA has been dissolved as a legal entity. The acquisition of the two firms by Evonik was finalized on May 12, 2011. Both companies are headquartered in Germany and produce raw materials and components for the manufacture of sealants, adhesives, molding and casting compounds, and other products. Most of the Hanse Chemie Inc. business is incorporated into the Interface & Performance business line whose activities surrounding the silicone specialties are directed at a variety of industrial markets. Activities in the paint and coatings industry, especially those concerning nanocomposites, extremely fine-particle silicas, are now part of the Coatings & Additives Business Unit of Evonik.

3M launches high density versions of its embedded capacitance material at DesignCon 2012

3M announced the initial availability of its high-capacitance Embedded Capacitance Material at DesignCon 2012, providing design engineers a new way to improve power integrity and reduce electromagnetic interference. Unlike previous 3M ECM versions, which have a maximum capacitance density of approximately 10 nF per square inch, and some existing commercial competitor offerings, which have a maximum capacitance density of approximately 6 nF per square inch, the 3M ECM high-capacitance density solutions offer a capacitance density range from 20 up to 40 nF per square inch, making it the one of the highest capacitance density, halogen-free ECM solutions on the market. This helps design engineers provide hi-fidelity signals, high-signal-to-noise ratio in radio frequencies and higher speed digital signals in a variety of high-performance applications such as small form factor computer hardware, high-performance RF boards, microphones, integrated circuit packaging and consumer electronics.

Mantec consolidates ceramic activities

Mantec, the British technology group with a portfolio of manufacturing businesses based in Stoke-on-Trent, has announced that with immediate effect the three companies previously operated as subsidiaries of the technical ceramic division have now merged into a single, business - Mantec Technical Ceramics Ltd (www.mantectechnicalceramics.com). The three companies involved are Taylor Tunnicliff, Ceramic Gas Products and Fairey Filtration Systems. They have in any case been operating under common management, from the same premises, for the past four years and so this a logical step to take. While the name of Mantec Technical Ceramics will now be the one associated with all administrative, legal, accounting and sales channels, leading brand names owned and manufactured by the group will naturally be retained.

Surmet: SEM of fracture reveals significant grain boundary weakness in lithium fluoride-doped, vacuum hot-pressed and HIPped transparent magnesia spinel

Polycrystalline ceramics with cubic spinel structure transmit well in the visible and mid IR wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. ALON and magnesia spinel are especially attractive, and are leading lightweight transparent armor candidates for future combat systems. These have enormous performance advantage over glass and justify their rapid development. Surmet achieves full density and transparency using the conventional sinter/hot isostatic Ppress process that includes green body formation and high-temperature sintering, followed by HIPping.

Molycorp to receive $390M strategic investment from Molymet; Investment slated to fuel growth and pursuit of vertical integration plans

Molycorp Inc. announced that Molibdenos y Metales S.A. (Molymet), the world’s largest processor of the strategic metals molybdenum and rhenium, has agreed to invest approximately $390 million in the company in exchange for 12.5 million shares of Molycorp common stock. The price of the Molycorp shares to be purchased were valued based on the 20-day volume weighted average share price as of the close of trading on Jan. 30, 2012 plus a 10% premium. Molycorp has agreed to appoint to its board of directors upon the closing of the proposed investment a nominee to be designated by Molymet.

Thermablok aerogel insulation strips installed in new ‘green’ US Border Patrol station in Texas

Crews working construction on the environmentally sustainable Fabens US Border Patrol Station in Clint, Texas have just completed installing 21,000 linear feet of Thermablok aerogel insulating strips on studs throughout the 51,000 square foot facility. The strips reduce thermal bridging, the prime cause of energy loss in buildings. When RVK Architects of San Antonio collaborated with Jacobs Engineering Group of Houston to design the eco-friendly structure already years in the planning, they included Thermablok in the original design. The strips went up easily since they have peel and stick adhesive already attached to the back of the product. The facility also is fitted with solar heaters, sky lights, glazed windows and energy efficient equipment for a low-carbon footprint.

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Kyocera’s 315-watt, 80-cell solar module launches in the US

Kyocera Solar Inc. has announced the launch of its highest-output solar module, the 80-cell KD 315. The new module is ideal for large-scale installations like solar-covered parking, and is now available for US customers. Designed for high output, safety and ease of installation, the UL-certified KD 315 modules feature a UV stabilized, aesthetically pleasing black anodized frame; easily accessible ground points; proven junction box technology with 12 AWG PV wire to work with transformerless inverters and quality locking plug-in connectors for quick connections.

Morgan Thermal Ceramics showcases insulation and fire protection materials at AHR Expo 2012

MTC announces that it will be showcasing its FireMaster FastDoor and FastWrap material for HVAC and grease ducts, along with its Superwool Plus material for boilers, water heaters and boiler flues, at the AHR Expo 2012. MTC will also be showcasing its FireMaster FastDoor and FastWrap XL material for HVAC and grease ducts. FireMaster FastWrap XL is a flexible blanket composed of high temperature fibers classified for applications to 2,192°F (1,200°C) and is supplied fully encapsulated in durable glass fiber reinforced foil facing for easy handling and installation. It is a component in various UL firestop designs for fire resistance rated floors, ceilings and walls.

PPG glass helps health office earn first LEED Platinum certification in Tennessee

The Upper Cumberland Regional Health Facility in Cookeville has become the first building in Tennessee to earn LEED-NC (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-New Construction) certification at the platinum level, in part because of its use of Solarban 70XL and Solarban 60 solar control, low-emissivity (low-e) glasses by PPG Industries. Brian Templeton, a principal with Upland Design Group, the architect of record for the facility, said Solarban 70XL glass was specified for the structure’s large, translucent, daylighting panels, while Solarban 60 was selected as the vision glass for the entryway, work spaces and other surface-level applications.

The week in solar stocks: Impossible Germany

In the past week, “Germany to Kill Solar!” headlines hit the wires. This was, notably, one week after the “Germany Saves Solar!” headlines led solar stocks higher. To recap: German demand in the fourth quarter of 2011 wildly surpassed expectations, with a demand frenzy ahead of 2012 annual subsidy cuts and cheaper-than-ever solar panel prices leading to what would be a few years’ worth of installations for much of the world in a few months in Germany. That in turn led to bullish calls from Wall Street that the left-for-dead solar sector was back, and in Wall Street parlance, the shares oversold. And that’s not all.

Mantec Group Limited consolidates three specialist technical ceramics companies into one business

In January 2012, the businesses of Ceramic Gas Products Ltd. and Taylor Tunnicliff Ltd. were consolidated into Fairey Filtration Systems Ltd. Fairey Filtration Systems Ltd. was subsequently renamed Mantec Technical Ceramics Ltd. The three specialist technical ceramics companies have for many years had shared the same facilities and management. The strategic changes will help to maintain competitiveness and create a stronger business to help secure a profitable future.

Transforming old into new: The relaunch of the Fritsch homepage

During the times of the Web 2.0 era, today is yesterday and a constant optimization of an internet presence is a must. Besides “visible” constant updates and optimizations, Fritsch has worked simultaneously on the relaunch of our homepage. Now it is comprehensively designed and revised, and this in multiple regards: The tried and proven was upgraded and new features implemented. User friendliness was a must, so now there is a noticeably improved navigation on the entry page that assists visitors and new customers to quickly obtain the desired information or to specifically contact us. New and interesting topic areas with important information for Fritsch customers were also created, such as information centered on the topic of particle sizing and mechanochemistry.

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Framework for new report by a committee of the National Research Council for the National Academies. Credit: NRC.

Nano environmental health and safety is clearly an important topic and one that is frequently referenced at materials conferences I have attended. But despite all the balloon juice, it seems to me that work over the last few years on research, documentation and development of databases on the safety and health of various nanomaterials hasn’t gone very far.

Good people at NIST, NIH and other institutions have been working for at least five year on trying to get some momentum going, and I do get that the nano EHS work is complicated (and that there yet seems to be even a common language among various researchers and between the research and industry communities) and expensive, but unfortunately, it feels like there is little substantial progress being made.

I think the National Academies agrees:

The committee that wrote the [a new report from the National Research Council] found that over the last seven years there has been considerable effort internationally to identify research needs for the development and safe use of nanotechnology, including those of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, which coordinates US federal investments in nanoscale research and development. However, there has not been sufficient linkage between research and research findings and the creation of strategies to prevent and manage any risks. For instance, little progress has been made on the effects of ingested nanomaterials on human health and other potential health and environmental effects of complex nanomaterials that are expected to enter the market over the next decade. Therefore, there is the need for a research strategy that is independent of any one stakeholder group, has human and environmental health as its primary focus, builds on past efforts, and is flexible in anticipating and adjusting to emerging challenges, the committee said.

The committee recommends four research categories “which should be addressed within five years:”

• Identify and quantify the nanomaterials being released and the populations and environments being exposed;
• Understand processes that affect both potential hazards and exposure;
• Examine nanomaterial interactions in complex systems ranging from subcellular to ecosystems; and
• Support an adaptive research and knowledge infrastructure for accelerating progress and providing rapid feedback to advance research.

Will Washington fund such efforts? It’s hard to know given the political environment, and the NRC warns, “[A]ny reduction in the current funding level of approximately $120 million per year over the next five years for health and environmental risk research by federal agencies would be a setback to nanomaterials risk research.”

NRC also says other public, private and global resources will be needed in the areas of “informatics, nanomaterial characterization, benchmarking nanomaterials, characterization of sources and development of networks for supporting collaborative research.”

I haven’t had a chance to read the 200+ page report, but the summary seems to contain a fairly thorough strategy, with one exception: It’s not very helpful in suggesting how to implement the strategy, which always has seemed to me to be the weakness in these discussions. Someone logically has to be given the power and resources to wrangle all of the stakeholders.

What about the NNI? Can it spearhead the effort? The committee astutely puts the kybosh on that notion, at least with the current configuration of NNI agencies:

The committee said that the current structure of the NNI — which has only coordinating functions across federal agencies and no top-down budgetary or management authority to direct nanotechnology-related environmental, health, and safety research — hinders its accountability for effective implementation. In addition, there is concern that dual and potentially conflicting roles of the NNI, such as developing and promoting nanotechnology while identifying and mitigating risks that arise from its use, impede application and evaluation of health and environmental risk research. To carry out the research strategy effectively, a clear separation of management and budgetary authority and accountability between promoting nanotechnology and assessing potential environmental and safety risks is essential.

Its not clear to me if the NRC/NAS has an alternative to the NNI leadership in mind, or just a restructuring of NNI, but the committee says whatever group is in charge will require “sufficient management and budgetary authority to direct development and implementation of a federal EHS strategy across NNI agencies and to ensure integration of federally supported EHS research with research undertaken by the private sector, the academic community and international organizations.” In other words, the dual NNI responsibilities of simultaneously promoting nanomaterials and assessing their EHS effects generates lots of conflicts and therefore accountability for the two should be clearly separated.

Addendum from Eileen: The Danish have taken a first stab at addressing exactly this issue, according to a press release published today. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the Technical University of Denmark and the National Research Centre for the Working Environment collaborated on developing a database concept for cataloging and evaluating the risks associated with nanomaterials. The Executive Summary of the report (pdf) explains:

Through this project, DTU Environment and the National Research Centre for the Working Environment have initiated the development of a screening tool, NanoRiskCat (NRC), that is able to identify, categorize and rank expo- sures and effects of nanomaterials used in consumer products based on data available in the peer-reviewed scientific literature and other regulatory relevant sources of information and data. The primary focus was on nanomaterials relevant for professional end-users and consumers as, as well as nanomaterials released into the environment.

They used nanosized TiO₂ (used in sunscreens) and C₆₀ (used in lubricants) as demonstration materials for the database.

To make it easy to evaluate risks quickly, a color coded five-dot system was developed, where the first three dots “refer to potential exposure of professional end-users, consumers and the environment,” and the last two dots “refer to the hazard potential for humans and the environment.”

The color code scheme is the universally recognized red, yellow and green, corresponding to high, medium and low risks. In cases where the risk is unknown, the dot is grey.

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Nikhil Gupta, associate professor in the Polytechnic Institute of New York University Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, is developing a new generation of ceramic brakes to be used in mass-market automobiles. Today’s ceramic brakes are found mostly on race cars, exotic sports cars and motorcycles. Credit: NYU-Poly.

Ceramic-containing brake pads and rotors first began to appear as high-tech solutions for F1 and other auto and motorcycle racing applications and more recently have been appearing in commercial markets as high performance braking systems in the premium sedan and truck markets. While this technology is slowly making its way into mass-market vehicles, R&D work continues on perfecting such braking systems, and the latest news is that a team of researchers from Polytechnic Institute of New York University and Michigan-based REL Inc. say they have created a next-generation aluminum-ceramic composite brake rotor that may cut rotor weight 60 percent (compared to cast iron rotors). The team also says the new rotor’s functionally graded design could triple the lifespan of traditional rotors.

Looking at a market worth billions of dollars, REL Inc. applied for and received a $150,000 Phase I SBIR grant from the NSF to develop the initial product design, material and manufacturing process. REL had already established itself as a manufacturer of mixed matrix components for the auto and aerospace industry. The company recruited the expertise of NYU-Poly’s Nikhil Gupta, an associate professor at the school. Gupta leads the school’s Composite Materials and Mechanics Lab.

While strong, the heavy cast iron rotors apparently are a uniform material, which, according to Gupta and REL, contributes to warpage and wear because of nonuniform temperatures and pressure strains across the surface of the rotor. Instead, they say the optimal brake rotor needs to be designed with three functional regions, where each region is matched to a material with distinct strain and thermal properties.

To accomplish this region-based design, the team begins with a high-temperature aluminum alloy and reinforces it with functionally graded ceramic particles and fibers that impart unique characteristics to each section of the rotor.

Gupta explains in a news release, ”The hybrid material allows us to provide reinforcement where additional strength is needed, increase high-temperature performance, and minimize stress at the interfaces between the zones. Together, this should boost rotor life significantly, reducing warranty and replacement costs, and the weight savings will improve the vehicle’s fuel efficiency.”

Gupta and REL claim their one-piece design will be easier to manufacture than current ceramic and ceramic-composite braking systems and be able to penetrate into the $10 billion market. Their pitch to automakers is that their new rotors will last longer and slash approximately 30 pounds from a mid-size sedan.

“As auto companies strive to meet increasingly high efficiency and low emissions targets, there’s a tremendous business opportunity in creating novel lightweight components which reduce overall vehicle weight and increase vehicle performance,” says Adam Loukus, vice president of REL.

Gupta has also conducted research into the creation of polymer-based functionally graded components made by dispersing according to their wall thickness hollow glass microballons in a polymeric matrix.

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