Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 8/20/04
Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 8/20/04
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.
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Biocatalysis in Polymer Science, February 2004 Public Agency Sustainability Reporting: A GRI Resource Document in Support of the Public Agency Sector Supplement Project, 2004 A Cleaner Hydrometallurgical Route to Gold, February 2004 Recycling Laws Prompt Appliance Design Rethink, April 2004 Biomass or Bust, May 2004 Formula for a New Foam, August 2004 The Burning Bed: Changes to California Flammability Standards for Mattresses and Bedding, February 2004 Lines of Communication, July 2004 Structure-Activity Relationships of Pyrithiones - IPC-81 Toxicity Tests with the Antifouling Biocide Zinc Pyrithione and Structural Analogs, May 2004 Manufacturing of Data Communication Cables Using High-Speed Backtwist Technology, and the Impact of Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) on Productivity, July 2004
AUTHOR Freemantle, Michael
SOURCE Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 82, No. 6, February 9, 2004, pp. 25 - 29
ABSTRACT
Biocatalysis, which involves the use of enzymes, microbes and higher
organisms to carry out chemical reactions, is well established in the
production of pharmaceuticals, food, agrochemicals, and fine chemicals.
Its application in polymer science and technology, however, is a more
recent development, according to Richard A. Gross, professor of
chemical and biological sciences and engineering at Polytechnic
University, Brooklyn, N.Y. Only during the past seven years or so has
research interest area escalated, he says. Biocatalysis in polymer
science is a highly interdisciplinary area, says H.N. Cheng, senior
research fellow at Hercules Inc. in Wilmington, Del. Researchers
involved come from organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, chemical
engineering, biochemistry, molecular biology, protein chemistry,
enzymology, and industrial microbiology. Much of the research in this
area had focused on the use of enzymes for the synthesis of novel
monomers and polymers, for the catalysis of polymer modification
reactions, and polymer degradation.
Document in Support of the Public Agency Sector Supplement Project
'CORP AU OR PUBLISHER' Global Reporting Initiative; United Nations Environment Programme
DATE 2004
ABSTRACT
This document consists of five main parts. The first part introduces
the project and the research methodology behind the Resource Document.
Part II reviews examples of approaches by government agencies to
accountability and reporting in general. Part III reviews
sustainability/triple bottom line reporting initiatives currently
underway by public agencies, including the drivers and tools applied.
Part IV looks at the applicability of the Guidelines to the public
sector. Part V offers some initial conclusions and raises key issues
for consideration in the working group.
SOURCE Chemical Engineering, February 2004, vol. 111, no. 2, p. 14
ABSTRACT
Early this year, Gold City Inc. plans to start limited production of
gold using a new hydrometallurgical process, developed by Haber Inc.
the project marks the first commercial application of the Haber Gold
Process (HGP), which is a cleaner alternative to conventional
cyanide-based extraction methods, says Haber president Albert Conti.
The complete process from ore to gold, is similar to conventional
cyanide-based extraction methods. Crushed ore is fed to a stirred tank
rector where the gold leached from the slurry (into Au+ ions) using a
proprietary lixiviant (extracting solution). The gold is then recovered
from the solution by conventional methods, such as carbon absorption,
electrowinning or precipitation. Additionally, Haber has developed a
proprietary recovery method to be used with its mobile unit.
AUTHOR Moore, Stephen
SOURCE Modern Plastics, Vol. 81, No. 4, April, 2004, p. 43
ABSTRACT
Japan introduced legislation making recycling of home appliances
compulsory starting in April 2001, with manufacturers charging
consumers for collecting old appliances. The legislation also sets
minimum recycling rates by weight for appliances. For example, 60% of
the weight of a room air conditioner must be recycled, 50% of a
refrigerator, and 50% of a washing machine. These rates may be lifted
to between 80% and 90% by 2008, and manufacturers have the most work to
do when it comes to refrigerators. The recycling ratio here is
currently only 51%, compared with 78% for air conditioners, and 60% for
washing machines.
AUTHOR Ritter, Stephen K.
SOURCE Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 82, No. 22, May 31, 2004, pp. 31 - 34
ABSTRACT
One day, commodity chemicals to make pharmaceuticals, agricultural
adjuvants, plastics, and transportation fuels will be produced nearly
exclusively from plant-derived sugars rather than from fossil-based raw
materials. How soon? Proponents of industrial biotechnology believe the
needed technologies are at hand and that a biobased world economy is in
sight. Industry observers tend to agree with this vision, and they are
supportive of industrial biotech. But they caution that the future
growth success of producing commodity chemicals and consumer products
through novel bioprocesses will depend on the fate of crude-oil
supplies and prices and the quality and availability of feedstock crops.
AUTHOR Frazer, Lance
SOURCE Environmental Health Perspectives, August 2004, vol. 112, no. 11, pp. A632-A635
ABSTRACT
By 2010, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) will be banned globally because of
their adverse impact on the planet's protective ozone layer. One
industrial activity that has been significantly impacted by this ban is
the manufacture of plastic foams - lightweight alternatives to solid
plastic that are valued for their flexibility and ability to insulate,
as well as their cushioning ability and (in marine applications)
enhanced flotation. Plastic foams are created by combining two
chemicals that would otherwise form a solid plastic, or by melting an
existing solid. A third substance, often a CFC, is then added as a
blowing agent. This agent vaporizes at the reaction temperature,
releasing gas bubbles into the molten plastic. The resulting plastic
foam can be exceptionally lightweight, given its size and application.
Today, the goal of the plastic foam industry is to make a material that
remains lighter than solid plastic but has many of the same qualities
of durability and flexible rigidity as the solid version, and to do so
without having to rely on ozone-depleting gases. A team led by L. James
Lee, a professor of chemical engineering at The Ohio State University,
is pursuing one approach that relies on clay nanoparticles for strength
and the green chemist's old friend - supercritical CO2 - to put the
"foam" in plastic foam. Supercritical CO2 formed by putting CO2 gas
under
increasing temperature and pressure, has been used as an
environmentally sound replacement for other toxic chemicals, including
the solvents used in
the manufacture of semiconductors.
AUTHOR Thiry, Maria C.
SOURCE AATCC Review, February 2004, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 7-11
ABSTRACT
There have been flammability regulatory standards for mattresses for
many years now. However, the standards have only addressed what was
once the primary flammability hazard in connection with mattresses,
ignition from cigarettes. As a result, according to Bob Stoner of
Springs Industries, "The incidences of cigarettes as a cause of burning
beds are down. Now legislators are tackling the next largest sources of
bedroom fires: lighters, candles, and matches." California Technical
Bulletin 603 (TB603) directs the CA Bureau of Home Furnishing and
Thermal Insulation to develop an open-flame standard for residential
mattresses/box springs (foundation) and 'top of the bed' textile
products, if those products are determined to contribute to mattress
fires. Because of health and safety concerns issues that have been
raised about polybrominated fire retardants (PBDEs), some manufacturers
are looking at solutions that use a 'fire barrier' (a woven or nonwoven
lining of flame resistant fibers that envelope the polyurethane
upholstery of the mattress) instead of PBDEs to pass TB603.
AUTHOR Blanco, Alice
SOURCE Plastics Engineering, July 2004, vol. 60, no. 7, p. 6
ABSTRACT
In our 'wired world', large volumes of data, audio, and images are
transmitted every second, placing huge strains on the solid or cellular
dielectric insulation materials used in communication cables. To meet
the growing need for enhanced electrical properties in telephone,
television, and data cables, Borealis has further developed its
cellular insulation compounds. Borcell, a series of chemically and
physically blown polyethylene (PE) compounds, promises improved
transmission properties and processability. Borealis' new Borcell
materials are designed to generate uniform and evenly distributed
cells, thereby enhancing transmission properties, the company says. In
addition, improved flow properties, melt elasticity, and purity are
reported to ensure the high-speed processing of cable and minimize
variations in capacitance. Typical applications for the various Borcell
PE insulation compounds include: multipair telephone cables, CATV
(community antenna television cables), and data cables produced with
chemical blowing having expansion degrees as much as 50%;
high-expansion physical foamed insulations with up to 80% expansion;
and 3G mobile-phone antenna, using 50-ohm coaxial cables, that require
minimal losses.
AUTHOR Doose, Caren A.; Ranke, Johannes; Stock, Frauke; Bottin-Weber,
Ulrike; Jastorff, Bernd
SOURCE Green Chemistry, May 2004, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 259-266
ABSTRACT
Zinc pyrithione (1-hydroxypyridine-2-thione, zinc complex; (ZnPT2) is
currently viewed as the top prospect for replacing tributyltin
antifoulants in ship paints. Thus, the risk assessment of a high scale
release of ZnPT2 to the natural environment is of increasing
importance. The knowledge of the molecular mechanisms related to
biological effects of ZnPT2 and its transformation products is crucial
for this assessment and thus for the decision whether pyrithiones are
sound or "green" alternatives to organotin antifoulants. A multitude of
biological effects of pyrithiones is already known while the underlying
molecular mechanisms of action remain obscure. This study presents
toxicological data of zinc pyrithione and several structural analogs in
rat leukemic cells (IPC-81). The N-hydroxythioamide functional group
proved to play a significant role in the molecular mechanisms related
to the biological action. Structural analogs, which are deprived of one
or more molecular interaction or chemical reaction potentials given by
this group (namely pyridine, pyridine 1-oxide and pyridine 2-thione,
bis(2-pyridinyl)disulfide, and three methylated metabolites), exhibit
far less toxic potential in IPC-81 cells than pyrithiones. In
particular the trans-metallization products on ZnPT2, iron (FePT3) and
copper (CuPT2) pyrithione, and the oxidation product
bis(2-pyridinyl)disulfide 1,1'-dioxide (pyrithione disulfide, (PT2))
have been proven to be as toxic as ZnPT2 and tributyltin chloride in
IPC-81 cells. CuPT2, FePT3 and (PT)2 need to be considered as
environmental transformations products of ZnPT2.
AUTHOR Harrington, Sean
SOURCE Wire Journal International, Vol. 37, NO. 7, July, 2004, pp. 70 - 74
ABSTRACT
There are many challenges facing today's manufacturers of Local Area
Network (LAN) cable. Over the past decade the cabling market has had to
undergo significant change due to the growth of the communication
market and the dramatic expansion in the amount of information that is
required to be transmitted. The driving force behind many improvements
in how data cables are processed is that the markets for these types of
cables are continually demanding higher standards of communication
cable. This paper considers the impact that materials have had on the
twinning process and some potential solutions, including in bow design.
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