Wednesday, September 23
9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Binders & Additives
Moderator: Peter D. Wallace, Restech Consulting
Green building, environmental
regulation, sustainability, and the European REACH regulation are key
issues facing the nonwoven community. This session will focus on current
environmentally driven regulations, “Sustainability” and how REACH will
affect nonwoven producers exporting their products into Europe. Examine
the frontline issues of today with up-to-date information and direction
for nonwoven producers.
Environmental Trends Impacting the Adhesive/Binder Industry
Pat Hooper, Hooper Associates & Stowe Hartridge-Beam, Scientific Certification
Systems
[ Open Abstract ]
The adhesive/binder industry for nonwovens is under increasing scrutiny by regulators and the enviornmental community relative to content and emissions. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) focuses on surface adhering adhesives and sealant emissions, and offers "credits" for no-added urea HcHo and low-to-no emitting products. The US EPA is investigating total office emissions from all products in the office space with the agena to regulate. The state of California is now regulating formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products. This presentation focuses on the environmental regulatory state of affairs, trends in regulating emissions from binder/adhesive products, the trends in the environmental sector affecting the industry, and third party certifications that hold domestic market value.
The Sustainability Journey: Past, Present and Future
Rose Perkins, Dow Chemical Company
[ Open Abstract ]
To paraphrase the 1987 Brundtland report.
Sustainable development is about prospering today without compromising tomorrow.
Or as I wrote in my May 07 C&EN comment,
As Earth becomes more crowded and developed, challenges that once seemed far-off are rapidly approaching and causing significant debate around the world. Debate on global climate change has shifted from arguments over whether the phenomenon is even real to "what can or should we be doing now?"
(C&E News, May 7, 2007, Vol. 85, No. 19, p. 73)
During my time in the presidential succession at ACS, I put a spotlight on Sustainability; the sustainability of energy, food and water. Now, back at full time Rohm and Haas, I am leading our Sustainability efforts and working across our business units, functions and regions.
REACH for Importers: What to Do, Watch and Worry About
Richard Johnson, Dow Advanced Materials
[ Open Abstract ]
The EU REACH regulation has passed the pre-registration period, and the initial SVHC list has appeared. The next steps for companies relate to filing registrations according to tonnage bands, and dealing with responsibilities regarding articles. The presentation will provide a short review of these elements prior to an in depth discussion of the key areas that are important to new product development and imports. These include potential implications from work collecting new toxicology data, risk assessments, authorizations, and how these can affect material selections and imports.
Environmentally Advanced Acrylic Hybrid Latex Binders for Mat Applications
Haksu Lee, Dow Advanced Materials
[ Open Abstract ]
Water soluble acrylic
thermosetting resins have been demonstrated to be safe and attractive alternatives
to traditional formaldehyde based resins for the binding of fibrous industrial
mats. Latex polymers, as blend components, have been used to modify the properties
of a variety of thermosetting resins to optimize their properties for specific
mat applications. In a novel hybrid approach, environmentally advanced acrylic
latex binders have been developed that combine, in a single package, some of
the attributes of both water soluble acrylic thermosetting resins and traditional
thermoplastic latex modifiers. In this hybrid approach, a binder formulation
is based on an acrylic latex polymer that has been highly functionalized to provide
significant, non-formaldehyde based, thermal crosslinking ability. This hybrid
technology encompasses broad compositional and formulation latitude which allows
the design of binders with a desired balance of thermoset rigidity with thermoplastic
elasticity. This enables the optimization of performance properties tuned to
a variety of different substrates, such as glass and spunbond polyester, and
applications, such as built-up roofing and gypsum smooth facer. The binders of
this hybrid approach can also be extended with natural binders without sacrificing
performance. Examples will be discussed which show the robustness and broad balance
of properties achievable with the hybrid approach across multiple substrates.
9:30 am – 12:30 pm
New Track!
Looking Outside the Box for Science,
Innovation & Applications I
Moderator: Mark Snider,
Smith, Johnson & Associates
Explore how other industries are approaching the challenges of business
and R&D today. These presentations are designed to help our industry
think outside the box and develop new ideas that can be applied to future
products. Hear from respected experts from outside the nonwovens industry.
Technology Innovations—The Big Picture
Mark Snider, Smith, Johnson & Associates
[ Open Abstract ]
The session introduction will explain the forward thinking themes and papers to be presented and explain that these subjects are designed to inspire individuals within the nonwovens industry to think outside the box and adapt technologies outside of nonwovens to their industries and products. Some of the papers involve existing technologies using substrates other than nonwovens however, could easily incorporate nonwovens to enhance the end product. Others are intended to inspire companies to utilize sustainable energy to run their plants and produce their products. These papers will also educate attendees about government programs or incentives to look to sustainable energy.
My intent is to make a 15 minute introduction to the morning and afternoon sessions to educate and inspire attendees to look for new ways to use nonwovens.
New Federal Programs for R&D—We’ll Show You the R&D
Money
Al Teich, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
[ Open Abstract ]
- The 2009 budget
- The economic recovery stimulus package and what it means to you
- Potential impacts
- Where is the funding headed?
R&D Initiatives: Nuclear Radiation-Blocking,
Anti-Chemical, Biological Protection Systems
Ronald DeMeo, M.D., Radiation Shield Technologies
[ Open Abstract ]
- Appropriate measures are required to reduce
- Shielding is the best protection; however, there are numerous problems with much of the shielding currently available.
- The presentation will shed light on materials currently used, the protection those materials offer and what has been proven to provide the most protection against nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical agents.
Rationale Control of Microbial Pathogens on Skin
David Koenig, Kimberly-Clark
[ Open Abstract ]
The presence of microbial species adapted to the skin constitutes one of the many defenses animals have against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Non-discriminate removal by surface active agents or annihilation using antimicrobials can destroy this beneficial ecology. Although rational use of antimicrobial agents is warranted for clinical conditions, it may not be necessary to use these agents to control pathogens with typical consumer hygiene practices. There is a health advantage to use a gentle nontoxic approach to remove pathogens from the skin. Pathogens can be selectively removed using substrates containing cationic polymers and by displacement from the skin by addition of anionic microfibers. Although not widely employed in commercial products this area of technology is ripe for use in consumer wipe products.
Flame Resistance via 3-D Composite Coatings
Jaime Grunlan, Texas A&M University
[ Open Abstract ]
A variety of thin, functional coatings can be produced using layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. Thin films, typically < 1µm thick, are created by alternately exposing a substrate to positively- and negatively-charged molecules or particles in water. This deposition process is repeated until the desired number of “bilayers” (or cationic-anionic pairs) is achieved. Several functionalities (electrically conductive films made with carbon black [or PEDOT] and oxygen barrier films made with clay) are described here. Coatings made from poly(acrylic acid) and polyethylenimine stabilized carbon black are able to achieve a sheet resistance of 500 ohm/square with a thickness of 5.4 mm. Even greater conductivity and transparency is achieved when poly(ethylene dioxythiophene), doped with poly(styrene sulfonate), is used in place of carbon black. These PEDOT-based assemblies can be protected from UV degradation by layering in UV absorbers such as TiO2 nanoparticles. Coatings of sodium montmorrilonite clay and cationic polyacrylamide, that are less than 600 nm thick, have been produced with an oxygen transmission rate below 0.005 cm3/m2 day. These thin, transparent composites also exhibit flame retardant characteristics when deposited on foam and fabric. Char is increased ten-fold with the addition of 1 wt% of this nano-coating on cotton fabric. Melt-dripping is eliminated and heat release rate is cut in half for open-cell polyurethane foam. The conformal nature of this technology allows it to three-dimensionally cover each fiber or the walls of an open-cell foam, without harming the intrinsic properties of these complex substrates.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
New Track!
Looking Outside the Box for Science,
Innovation & Applications II
Moderator: Mark Snider,
Smith, Johnson & Associates
Turning Sustainability Efforts into Innovation Opportunities
David Weller, Johns Manville Corporation
The Fibroline Technology
Jérôme Ville, Fibroline France SARL
Functional Composites Nanofibers for Nonwovens
Frank Ko, Ampel, University of British Columbia
[ Open Abstract ]
Functional fibrous materials are a new family of fiberous materials whose physical and chemical properties are sensitive to the change in the environment such as temperature, pressure, electric field, magnetic field, optical wavelength, adsorbed gas molecules and the pH value. This paper introduces a new approach to translate functions from nanoparticles to advanced fibrous structures by co-electrospinning of composite nanofibers. Composite nanofibers that have tailorable mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical, thermal, hygroscopic, and antimicrobial functions are shown. The paper concludes with examples of applications for the multifunctional composite nanofibers
Thermal Bonding of PLA Fibers
Jeff Dugan, Fiber Innovation Technology, Inc.
[ Open Abstract ]
- PLA polymer and fiber properties and advantages
- Principles of thermal bonding of fibers
- PLAs strengths and weakness as a bonding fiber
- Latest research regarding improved bonding of PLA
Luxurious Personal Care—New Nonwoven Materials for Personal Spa Products
Laura Keck, Kimberly-Clark
[ Open Abstract ]
Kimberly-Clark developed several new nonwoven materials for a line of personal spa products that were piloted in North America and are now being marketed in Korea. These materials brought new levels of fit, comfort and skin interaction and used a combination of nonwoven structure and treatment chemistry.
Program
subject to last minute changes and