Polymers
Student Spotlight: Driving performance improvement for PLA in fibers and nonwovens
Hamid Ebrahimi recently graduated with a Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science from North Carolina State University where he studied polylactic acid (PLA) structure-process-property relationships with other biodegradable polymers. His research was conducted through the Nonwovens Institute (NWI). The NWI serves as a bridge between industry and academia, where students can get the best of …
New SUPD guidance calls biopolymers ‘plastic’; yet PHA, PLA stakeholders remain optimistic for the long term
The European Commission’s Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) has been hotly debated since its initial publication in July 2019. While the aim of the legislation is a noble one – minimizing plastic waste in the environment – getting a firm grasp on what is, and what is not, a plastic has proven to be more challenging …
Calcium carbonate enables sustainability in polymer fiber applications
Calcium carbonate, which is ubiquitous in nature, can be found everywhere in daily life. It is used widely as a coating agent for paper or cardboards and for paints; as an additive in food pharma and cosmetics; as a soil fertilizer in agriculture; for water remineralization; for flue gas desulfurization; and many other applications. In …
Student Spotlight: Multifunctional temperature-responsive textiles
The Soft Functional Materials Lab @ VCU is motivated to apply fundamental science to solving challenging and practical problems. The lab focuses on the processing and characterization of soft functional materials with applications in biomedical and environmental engineering. Lab members work at the interface of polymer science, nanotechnology and biotechnology, to design, process, and apply …
Bicomponent fiber – get more than 2x
A biocomponent fiber, or bico, is a fiber that combines two separate polymers into a single filament. The term conjugate fiber is also used as a synonym. The process of making a bicomponent fiber is relatively straightforward. There are a number of patents that describe this practice. Commonly, the fiber is constructed of two …