Polymer processing: new facility and opportunities

Published on 19/01/2018

On 11th January 2018, LIST organized a short seminar entitled ‘Polymer Processing’ dedicated to extrusion and targeting process engineers and research & development (R&D) scientists. The seminar attracted more than 50 participants among which 42 from the industry (out of 25 companies) and emphasized our potential in polymer extrusion and process modeling.

Exciting opportunities within polymer processing

Representatives from Leistritz and SC Consultants as well as researchers working within the LIST-hosted National Composite Centre - Luxembourg (NCC-L) presented their compounding and processing activities. In this context, efficient, flexible tools to develop and optimize twin-screw extrusion processes and the associated materials formulations were highlighted. In addition, LIST seized the opportunity to present its complementary expertise in the areas of characterization, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and REACH specification support.

Attendees were also given a tour of LIST facilities at Hautcharage and were introduced to the new extruders and mixers within the polymer processing laboratory. This newly established facility is divided into two parts: (reactive) melt blending and molding. The combination of world-class expertise in these areas with the broad range of capabilities offered by our newly established polymer processing facility provides a variety of unique and exciting opportunities to LIST and its partners.

A unique combination of equipment, facilities and expertise

Within the melt blending part of the laboratory, both batch “internal mixers” and continuous “extruders” complement the existing equipment within LIST’s Materials Research and Technology (MRT) department. With the ability to process gram-scale batches of material and to define a clear path to industrial scale production, LIST researchers now have the necessary capabilities to apply arbitrary levels of temperature and shear to their polymers to achieve all manner of outcomes. Thanks to these cutting-edge facilities, LIST researchers can now : 

  • compound arbitrary thermoplastic formulations;
  • modify plastics chemically;
  • synthesize new (macro) molecules (for example via the so-called “reactive extrusion” process);
  • control physical, thermal, electrical and/or aesthetic characteristics of thermoplastics.

Final products resulting from those operations are called compounds, or, when fillers are added, composites. 

In contrast with most other laboratories, the unique combination of melt blending equipment and facilities allow LIST to cover a broad range of scales, from a few grams to hundreds of kilograms. In addition, the flexibility of LIST's extruders is of particular interest given the potential variations in terms of feeding options, barrel and screw configuration, and the possibility to connect one extruder to another in order to perform tandem extrusion. Strong expertise in all relevant areas of science and engineering completes the picture.

Forming materials within a large scale and on different size 

Within the “molding” part of the laboratory, “hot presses” and “injection molding machines” are now installed at LIST. They make it possible not only to form materials into different shapes in order to test them but also to cover a range of scales and to process a variety of materials via both compression and injection molding.

In this laboratory, LIST has acquired four new 3D printers with maximum flexibility in mind. These machines are “open”, enabling them to accept custom-compounded materials. They give LIST the opportunity to print polymeric materials of its own creation, a key difference vs. most 3D printing facilities, and to launch new activities in the area of additive manufacturing.

Thanks to this new equipment, LIST anticipates increased activity in the following areas :

  • polymer matrix for composite applications;
  • nanocomposite compounding for packaging;
  • reactive melt processing;
  • polymer recycling and lifecycle analysis (LCA);
  • 3D printing of bioplastics and tissue engineering scaffolds for medical applications.


> See the pictures of the "Polymer processing seminar" of 11 January 2018 on photogallery.list.lu.

> Please contact Mr. Vincent Berthe via email if you wish any further information.

Share this page:

Contact

 Vincent BERTHE
Vincent BERTHE
Send an e-mail