Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 12/10/04
Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 12/10/04
This is the weekly bulletin of the TURI Library, reporting a selection of recently published titles we have acquired. Our pledge is to keep the bulletin relevant to your work and brief -- no more than 10 titles. (usually)
Titles here, abstracts below them:- Markets for Biopolymers Grow as the Materials Evolve, October 2004
- Environmental Cardiology: Getting to the Heart of the Matter, November 2004
- A Hazard in Utero?: Bisphenol A More Potent than Expected, November 2004
- The Montreal Protocol: Lessons for Successful International Chemicals Management, April-September 2004
- A New Vision: Inspiration and Strategic Change on the Path to Sustainability, Winter 2004
- This Process Gets the Ink Out of Paper Recycling, September 2004
- Plasma Treatment of Textiles - Synthetic Polymer-Based Textiles, November 2004
- Soybeans to the Rescue for Hurricane-Prone Homeowners, October 2004
- ChemDesign Reclaims Independence: Former Bayer Unit Thrives as Stand-Alone, November 2004
- Tufts Study Says REACH Would Benefit EU Chem Firms, October 2004
1. TITLE Markets for Biopolymers Grow as the Materials Evolve
AUTHOR Toensmeier, Patrick A.
SOURCE Plastics Engineering, October 2004, vol. 60, no. 10, pp. 20-21
ABSTRACT
Biodegradable polymers have been used mostly in low-value disposables
like food-service items, bags, and packaging. While these will continue
to be their main markets, the materials are evolving in performance and
processability, and upgraded versions are being targeted at more
demanding end-uses.
2. TITLE Environmental Cardiology: Getting to the Heart of the Matter
AUTHOR Weinhold, Bob
SOURCE Environmental Health Perspectives, November 2004, vol. 112,no. 15, pp. A881-887
ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in many
developed countries and is expected to soon be the leading killer
worldwide. The building evidence indicates that lack of exercise, poor
diet, and smoking aren't the only factors that contribute to
CVD--exposures to chemicals and other environmental substances also can
have a profound impact on heart health. Today, more and more
scientists, doctors, and organizations are acknowledging the importance
of a field that some are calling "environmental cardiology." And as
more research is done on the subject, more funding is becoming
available to elucidate the links between CVD and pollutants such as
particulate matter, metals, and industrial solvents.
3. TITLE A Hazard in Utero?: Bisphenol A More Potent than Expected
AUTHOR Josephson, Julian
SOURCE Environmental Health Perspectives, November 2004, vol. 112, no. 15, pp. A896-A897
ABSTRACT
Environmental estrogens are a structurally diverse group of chemicals
that partially mimic the effects of endogenous estrogens. Scientists
believe the wide use of environmental estrogens such as bisphenol A
(BPA), a component of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics, may help
explain the rising incidence of birth defects and certain cancers. It
is further believed that the developing embryo is more vulnerable to
the effects of environmental estrogens than adult animals, but until
now it has been difficult to determine these effects directly in
embryos. In this issue, Josephine G. Lemmen of the Netherlands
Institute for Developmental Biology and colleagues investigate the use
of a new transgenic mouse model to study such effects [EHP
112:1544-1549].
4. TITLE The Montreal Protocol: Lessons for Successful International Chemicals Management
SOURCE Industry and Environment, April - September 2004, vol. 27, no. 2-3, 2004, pp. 23-26
ABSTRACT
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was
designed to phase out the production and consumption of a number of
CFCs and several halons. Adopted in 1987, the Protocol came into force
in 1989. It has been amended to introduce other types of control
measures and to add new controlled substances. The Protocol is an
example of policy-making based on scientific, environmental and
technological global assessments. Its successful implementation can
provide lessons for policy- and decision-makers in governments and
industry, as well as for international organizations implementing other
international agreements concerning chemicals.
5. TITLE A New Vision: Inspiration and Strategic Change on the Path to Sustainability
AUTHOR Simard, Jean Pierre
SOURCE Green@Work, Winter 2004, pp. 34-38
ABSTRACT
In today's fast-changing business environment, forging continuity
between vision, strategy and daily operations has never been more
important. This is especially true in light of the recent revolution in
sustainable design. As the need for developing business models and
manufacturing processes that sustain environmental health has become
crucial to long-term success, many companies are re-inventing
themselves and searching for new ways of doing things. These are
important steps. But to be a truly smart, agile, 21st-century company,
sustainability must become a core business strategy. For example, at
Victor Innovatex, we do not simply want to reduce waste and limit our
impact on the world; we want to design products that benefit people and
the environment, that enrich quality of life in every phase of their
production and use, that grow value and competitive advantage. As we've
worked toward those goals we've learned a few things about strategic
change - ideas we are sharing here that have allowed us, and we hope
your company - to move toward a new vision of quality and performance.
6. TITLE This Process Gets the Ink Out of Paper Recycling
SOURCE Chemical Engineering, September 2004, vol. 111, no. 9, p. 21
ABSTRACT
Ultrasound and magnetic separation are used to remove printing ink from
paper fibers, in a process being developed by the Technical Research
Center of Finland under a research project funded by the European
Commission. Partners in the project include industrial pigment and
paper producers and equipment manufacturers. The process is currently
undergoing pilot-scale trials. Conventional flotation methods are fine
for recycling household paper, but can't remove the ink from digitally
printed paper. The new process uses ultrasound to detach and breakup
the relatively large ink particles, and a magnet separates the
ferromagnetic components, which are typically found in office printer
inks.
7. TITLE Plasma Treatment of Textiles - Synthetic Polymer-Based Textiles
AUTHOR Kang, Ji-Yun; Sarmadi, Majid
SOURCE AATCC Review, November 2004, vol. 4, no. 11, pp. 29-33
ABSTRACT
Surface modification of textile fibers using gas plasma is a useful
tool in altering the wettability, adhesiveness, and dyeability of
synthetic polymer-based textiles. Plasma treatment is also effective
for biomedical applications such as sterilization. Antibacterial
properties can be achieved by subsequent grafting.
8. TITLE Soybeans to the Rescue for Hurricane-Prone Homeowners
SOURCE Chemical Engineering, October 2004, vol. 111, no. 11, p. 13
ABSTRACT
Promise of a bio-based, molded roof designed to withstand severe winds
should interest not only renewable-materials proponents but also
homeowners living through a destructive US hurricane season. Cara
Plastics has designed and tested a monolithic, composite roof having a
weather-exposed layer made of a nanoclay reinforced with a
soybean-based gel, an underlayer consisting of cellulose (from recycled
cardboard) infused with soy-based resin, and a foam core between those
two layers. As heavy winds sweep over this high-strength roof and,
thus, lower the pressure above it in accordance with Bernoulli's
equation, pointed out Cara president Richard Wool during the Chemical
Heritage Foundations' Innovation Day in Philadelphia last month, the
roof expands slightly in response, enabling it to stay fastened in
place. A conventional roof, which cannot expand, is subject to being
sucked away. The new roof, which also offers good thermal insulation,
should cost about the same as conventional roofing, states Wool. The
foam layer in the small-scale demonstration version, on the campus of
the University of Delaware in Newark, consists of conventional
polyurethane. But the aim is to instead use a foam polymerized from
functionalized modifications of triglycerides derived from soybean oil.
The project is associated with an Affordable Composites from Renewable
Sources program involving the university's Dept. of Chemical
Engineering, where Wool is a professor, and the Dept. of Civil
Engineering, in collaboration with professor Tripp Shenton. Among other
promising applications of the soy-based composites are bridge decking
and furniture.
9. TITLE ChemDesign Reclaims Independence: Former Bayer Unit Thrives as Stand-Alone
AUTHOR Seewald, Nancy
SOURCE Chemical Week, November 24, 2004, vol. 166, no. 39, p. 64
ABSTRACT
Privately owned ChemDesign (Fitchburg, MA) says it is the largest
independent custom chemical manufacturer in North America, and
president and CEO John Van Hulle says he aims to expand on the position
over the next few years. The custom manufacturing sector as a whole has
been reporting falling sales and low capacity utilization rates for
several months, but ChemDesign says it has been able to grow because of
its "unique" position in the industry. Van Hulle says he wants to
double ChemDesign's size over the next three to five years. The company
make intermediate chemicals primarily for the specialty papers,
photographic, and pharmaceutical industries.
10. TITLE Tufts Study Says REACH Would Benefit EU Chem Firms
AUTHOR Milmo, Sean
SOURCE Chemical Market Reporter, October 25, 2004, vol. 266, no. 14, pp. 4, 13
ABSTRACT
Debate about the potential costs of the proposed REACH system to the
European chemical industry, its downstream customers and consumers has
been intensified by the results of research on the project by US
academics. The researchers, at Tufts University, Boston, conclude that
the total direct and indirect costs of REACH are unlikely to harm
European industry and could actually benefit the chemicals sector.
Please let me know if you wish to be removed from this service. You are welcome to send a message to if you would like more information. Also, please tell us what topics you are particularly interested in monitoring, and who else should see GREENLIST. An online search can be done at http://greenlist.turi.org/ for greater topic coverage.
COPYRIGHT © 2004 by the TURI Library University of Massachusetts Lowell
This page updated Thursday December 15 2005