Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 12/07/2007
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. You are welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more information on any of the articles listed here.
Titles here, abstracts below:
- Soy-toner making a splash in color printing
- Driving on fumes: truck drivers face elevated health risks from diesel pollution
- Center for Small Business and the Environment [website]
- A small perk: SAC 305 produces 10 times fewer mid-chip solder balls than does SnPb
- MSU researchers link low lead exposure to ADHD
- ORNL super water repellent could cause big wave in market
- Business-driven innovations towards more sustainable chemical products
- Biodegradable PHB with nanoparticles resolves brittle problem
- Clean finish: cleaning chemistry change provides multiple benefits
- California OKs phthalates ban on children's products
1. Soy-toner making a splash in color printing
Source: Biobased Solutions, November 2007
Abstract: You may soon be thinking of soy when you print documents from your computer, when a recent project to incorporate soy into printer toner cartridges comes to fruition. The Ohio Soybean Council (OSC) funded a research project at Battelle Memorial Institute to develop a soy-based toner for use in printers and copy and fax machines. “We identified an approach to use soy resins and polymers formulated into use for toners for office printers, faxes and copy machines,” says Bhima Vijayendran, Battelle researcher.
The research trial converted soybean oil and protein to a polymer, which was then processed into flakes or powder and mixed with pigments to create the necessary color. The flakes were then melted, ground up and mixed with petroleum-based toner particles. This research won an R&D 100 Innovation Award, which is given by R&D
Magazine and recognizes the most significant and technological achievements of each year. The work has moved on from the initial research, and product testing has yielded good results.
“The performance and cost are comparable to petroleum-based toners,”
says Vijayendran. “Soy-based toner has a lower fusing temperature and is easier to get off the paper, making it better for recycling.”
The soy-based toners react easier with de-inking chemicals, such as alkali and water, to remove the ink. Soy-based toners also produce cleaner, brighter pulp and eventually less expensive recycled paper.
Link: http://www.biobased.org/list2.php?storyid=16070
2. Driving on fumes: truck drivers face elevated health risks from diesel pollution
Author: Bailey, Diane; Goldman, Zach; Minjares, Maria
Source: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports, December 2007
Abstract: Diesel pollution is well known to be hazardous to human health. Groups at particular risk include workers in diesel industries, such as trucking and rail, and communities located near major sources of diesel pollution, such as ports and freeways. This December 2007 issue paper summarizes the alarming findings of one of the first investigations to measure drivers' exposure levels to diesel soot inside trucks serving our nation's ports. The issue paper also provides a set of recommendations for reducing health risks to drivers and local residents, including the immediate clean up of the port truck fleet, an increase in operational efficiency to reduce the time trucks spend at the terminals and a reduction in pollution levels from other port sources.
Link: http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/driving/driving.pdf
3. Center for Small Business and the Environment [website]
Abstract: The Center for Small Business and the Environment operates through a network of like-minded individuals, a unique collection of environmental and small business leaders who share a belief in CSBE's mission. We believe that profitable, efficient and innovative small businesses can lead the way to a new economy that protects and restores the environment while it produces abundant growth and employment. We believe that these businesses are laying the foundations for tomorrow's industries - industries that will be clean and ecologically sensitive from the beginning. Our purpose is to promote small businesses and entrepreneurs that are succeeding by developing and using new technologies and processes to dramatically increase efficiency and resource productivity, and exploiting opportunities in environmental protection, pollution prevention, energy and materials efficiency, and resource conservation.
The Center for Small Business and the Environment (CSBE) is a project of the Tides Center, a non-profit, non-partisan, 501c(3) organization.
Link: http://www.geocities.com/aboutcsbe/index.html
4. A small perk: SAC 305 produces 10 times fewer mid-chip solder balls than does SnPb
Author: Shea, Chrys
Source: Circuits Assembly, December 2007, p38
Abstract: In May, I reported Pb-free solder pastes create fewer mid-chip solder balls and solder bridges than do SnPb pastes. Why this phenomenon occurs was not well understood at the time. I suspect it may have something to do with superior hot slump resistance of more thermally stable paste fluxes, but our chief paste formulator suggested it may be more likely a result of the oxide film that forms on the molten alloy; it’s more tenacious in Pb-free alloys than in eutectic SnPb.
To get to the bottom of this, I tested three pastes head-to-head. The first was a standard SnPb paste; the second a standard Pb-free (SAC 305) paste, and the third a hybrid paste of SnPb solder powder combined with Pb-free flux. The logic behind the test was simple: If lower defect rates were due to the flux, then the hybrid should behave more like Pb-free and produce fewer solder balls. If lower defect rates were due to the alloy, the hybrid should behave more like SnPb and produce more solder balls.
The results were crystal clear. The SnPb alloy produced about 10 times more solder balls than the Pb-free alloy, regardless of the flux vehicle. The Pb-free paste produced 62 mid-chip solder balls, equivalent to a 1.3% occurrence rate. The SnPb produced 504 solder balls, equivalent to a 10.5% occurrence rate. And the hybrid paste, which had SnPb alloy and Pb-free flux, produced 616 solder balls, or a 12.8% occurrence rate. (Note use of the term “occurrence rate” rather than “defect rate”; criteria under which MCSBs are considered defects vary widely.) This is the first absolute benefit of Pb-free solder I’ve been able to quantify. Although this is a small perk in a huge challenge, it’s still a perk.
Link: http://circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/5831/95/
5. MSU researchers link low lead exposure to ADHD
Source: Michigan State University Newsroom, November 27, 2007
Abstract: Very low levels of lead in the blood – previously believed to be safe – could be contributing to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a Michigan State University study of 150 children in the Lansing area.
The research findings support a growing body of national evidence suggesting there is no safe level of lead in the blood, said Joel Nigg, MSU professor of psychology and study director. Other studies show a link between low-level lead exposure and lower IQ.
Nigg said the mounting research spotlights the need for potentially tougher regulations on items that contain lead and other harmful elements that can get into the food supply or local environment of children – from cosmetics to cleaning supplies to electronic goods. Millions of Chinese-made toys have been recalled in the past year due to lead paint. According to the study, which examined both children with and without ADHD, all 150 children had at least some lead in their blood, although none had levels higher than the 10 micrograms per deciliter level currently considered unsafe by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Children with ADHD had higher levels of lead in the blood than those without the disorder, according to the study, which was conducted with help from the Michigan Department of Community Health.
Link: http://newsroom.msu.edu/site/indexer/3261/content.htm
6. ORNL super water repellent could cause big wave in market
Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), November 29, 2007
Abstract: A water repellent developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory outperforms nature at its best and could open a floodgate of commercial possibilities.
The super-water repellent (superhydrophobic) material, developed by John Simpson, is easy to fabricate and uses inexpensive base materials. The patent-pending process could lead to the creation of a new class of water repellant products, including windshields, eyewear, clothing, building materials, road surfaces, ship hulls and self-cleaning coatings. The list of likely applications is virtually endless. The ORNL nano-structured material maintains a microscopic layer of air on surfaces even when submerged in water, resulting in a profound change in the basic water-solid interface. The process for making superhydrophobic glass powder is based on differentially etching of two glass phases from phase-separated glass. Simpson starts with borosilicate phase separating glass as the base material, which he heats to separate further. He then crushes this material into a powder and differentially etches the powder to completely remove the interconnected borate glass phase. Differential etching makes the powder porous and creates nanoscale sharpened features. Finally, Simpson treats the powder with a special hydrophobic solution to change the glass surface chemistry from hydrophilic to hydrophobic.
The powder's porosity and nanoscale sharpened features amplify the effect of water's surface tension and causes the powder to become "unwettable."
Link: http://www.ornl.gov/info/press_releases/
get_press_release.cfm?ReleaseNumber=mr20071129-01
7. Business-driven innovations towards more sustainable chemical products
Author: Visser, Remco; Jongen, Mat; Zwetsloot, Gerard
Source: Journal of Cleaner Production, v16 n1, pp85-94
Abstract: The aim of the study presented here was to gain an understanding of business-driven innovations towards more sustainable chemical products and processes. A case study was undertaken to assess and analyse the experiences of five different companies. These companies varied in size from small to a multinational, and they also varied in their position in the production chain. Interviews were held with a number of key players in each firm. The objective of business-driven innovation is to place more sustainable products in upcoming markets. The acceptance of customers and the general public may complicate the innovation process. Commercial managers played an important role in the innovation processes, whereas environmental managers hardly played a role at all. Most innovations were indirectly triggered by (the expectation of) new regulations in frontrunner countries, which were regarded as indications of future market changes (market triggering regulation).
8. Biodegradable PHB with nanoparticles resolves brittle problem
Author: ElAmin, Ahmed
Source: Food Production Daily, April 12, 2007
Abstract: In a study scientists in New York report they have developed a new biodegradable "nanohybrid" plastic that can be engineered to decompose faster than the existing plastics used in everything from soft drink bottles to medical implants.
The new nanoengineered plastic might provide additional competition in a market that is ramping up to meet the demands posed by environmentally conscious consumers and EU waste regulations.
PHB has been widely hailed as a "green" alternative to petroleum-based plastic for use in packaging, agricultural and biomedical applications, state Emmanuel Giannelis and his two colleagues, who are engineering and food scientists at Cornell University. However although PHB has been commercially available since the 1980s, the plastic has had limited use because of its brittleness and unpredictable biodegradation rates.
PHB, produced by bacterial action, is a rare example of hydrophobic polymer that is truly biocompatible and biodegradable with high melting temperature and crystallinity, they stated. In the study, the scientists compared the strength and biodegradation rates of raw PHB to a modified form of PHB that contains nanoparticles of clay or 'nanoclays'.
The scientists found that the modified PHB was stronger and decomposed faster than regular PHB.
The nanohybrid PHB decomposed almost completely after seven weeks, while regular PHB exhibited almost no decomposition, they stated in a paper.
Link: http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/
ng.asp?n=81804-phb-nanoparticles-biodegradable
9. Clean finish: cleaning chemistry change provides multiple benefits
Author: Destefani, Jim
Source: Products Finishing, November 2007, pp14-18
Abstract: At Columbian Home Products, they value history. But that’s to be expected from a company with roots going back more than 130 years. The manufacturer of enameled steel cookware products got it start in the early 1870s as the Bellaire (OH) Stamping Co. After catastrophic fires in Bellaire and at a second plant in Harvey, IL, the company put down roots—and put up a sprinkler system for fire protection—at its current location in Terre Haute, IN, in 1902. Chances are good you’ve used or at least seen products manufactured in this plant. The company makes Graniteware porcelain enameled steel cookware such as roasters, stockpots, canners and other pieces.
All the cookware products are made on vintage equipment using processes that are decades old. Columbian’s oldest operating stamping press dates to 1917; the newest, a 400-ton, four-station transfer press, was installed in 1982. Ongoing maintenance and a continuous improvement attitude allow the older equipment to perform some operations that might not be practical on newer machines , plant personnel say.
After attending a lean manufacturing workshop a few years ago, plant managers realized that many of the lean principles they had just learned about were simply not applicable in Columbian’s facility. After examining the opportunities that were feasible in the plant, they decided that trying to reduce energy consumption for both process and building heating was an area that was ripe for exploration. The next logical target for reduced energy consumption was the plant’s parts cleaning system, which handles up to 40,000 pieces per day to feed four enameling lines.
Link: http://www.pfonline.com/articles/110701.html
10. California OKs phthalates ban on children's products
Source: Reuters, October 15, 2007
Abstract: Siding with activists who urged action against "toxic toys," California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill banning chemicals called phthalates in children's products.
The bill aimed at the chemicals used to help mold and smooth toys and other plastic products such as teething rings comes amid growing concern among U.S. consumers over substances used by manufacturers in China to make toys, prompting recalls, including by Mattel Inc., the world's biggest toy maker.
"We must take this action to protect our children," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "These chemicals threaten the health and safety of our children at critical stages of their development."
The bill prohibits the manufacture, sale and distribution of toys and child care products used by children under the age of three that contain phthalates, which have been linked to cancer and reproductive defects, according to the governor's office.
Schwarzenegger in a separate statement urged lawmakers to support his administration's Green Industry Initiative to take a comprehensive approach toward evaluating health effects of chemicals.
"While I believe the circumstances related to phthalates warrant taking action now, I do not believe that addressing this type of concern in the legislature on a chemical by chemical, product by product basis is the best or most effective way to make chemical policy in California," Schwarzenegger said.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1443724320071015
You are welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more information on any of these resources. Also, please tell us what topics you are particularly interested in monitoring, and who else should see Greenlist. An online search of the TURI Library catalog can be done at http://slk060.liberty3.net/turi for greater topic coverage.
This page updated Friday December 07 2007