Methods of recovering and/or recycling expanded polymer tooling, the methods including collecting expanded polymer tooling, reducing the collected expanded polymer tooling into smaller particles, treating the reduced expanded polymer tooling in order to yield an at least partially purified recovered polymer composition, and then collecting the at least partially purified recovered polymer composition. The at least partially purified recovered polymer composition can then be used to form new expandable polymer tooling.

The present invention relates to an equipment and method for producing polymer pellets which comprise one or more polymer components and one or more further components, wherein in said process at least one of said one or more further components is incorporated into pellets by applying a liquid, which comprises said at least one component, onto said pellets.

Ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer composition pellets comprise: an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, a conjugated polyene, and a predetermined amount of at least one fisheye-suppressing component; wherein pellet surface portions of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer composition pellets have a conjugated polyene content of not lower than 30 ppb based on the weight of the pellets. Such ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer composition pellets are capable of reliably suppressing occurrence of minute fisheyes having a diameter of 200 μm or smaller.

A system for production of a thermoplastic injection molding material granulate has at least one production unit for the production of a fiber reinforced plastic granulate from a thermoplastic granulate and natural fibers. to the system has at least one heat-treatment unit for the treatment of the fiber-reinforced plastic granulate providing heat such that an outer layer of each heated granulate grain of the fiber-reinforced plastic granulate is at least partially converted to a liquid physical state. The system has at least one applicator unit for applying a chemical foaming agent powder to at least some portions of each heated granulate grain, where the heat treatment unit is equipped to carry out the heat treatment such that a temperature of the molten outer layer of the respective granulate grain is below a reaction temperature of the foaming agent.

A composition including a three-dimensional polymeric printing powder; an organic polymeric additive on at least a portion of an external surface of the three-dimensional polymeric printing powder; wherein the organic polymeric additive is optionally cross-linked; and optionally, an inorganic additive on at least a portion of an external surface of the three-dimensional polymeric printing powder. A process for preparing a three-dimensional polymeric printing powder having an organic polymeric additive disposed thereon. A process for employing the three-dimensional polymeric printing powder including selective laser sintering.

A method for producing polyamide particles may include: mixing a mixture comprising a polyamide, a carrier fluid that is immiscible with the polyamide, and nanoparticles at a temperature greater than a melting point or softening temperature of the polyamide and at a shear rate sufficiently high to disperse the polyamide in the carrier fluid; cooling the mixture to below the melting point or softening temperature of the polyamide to form solidified particles comprising polyamide particles having a circularity of 0.90 or greater and that comprise the polyamide and the nanoparticles associated with an outer surface of the polyamide particles; and separating the solidified particles from the carrier fluid.

The present invention includes an injection moldable/extrudable composite that preserves at least 80% or enhances the primary physical properties of compression molded polymer, the composite comprising, e.g., an Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) and graphene/graphite oxide or graphene oxide, with or without polypropylene.

A process and system are provided for introducing a blend of chopped and dispersed fibers on an automated production line amenable for inclusion in molding compositions as a blended fiber mat for structural applications. The blend of fibers are simultaneously supplied to an automated cutting machine illustratively including a rotary blade chopper disposed above a vortex supporting chamber. The blend of chopped fibers and binder form a chopped mat. The chopped mat has a veil mat placed on either side, and is consolidated with the veil mat using heated rollers maintained at the softening temperature of thermoplastic binder, with consolidated mats being amenable to being stored in rolls or as flat sheets. A charge pattern is made using the consolidated mat, and the charge pattern can be compression molded in a mold maintained at a temperature lower than the melting point of the thermoplastic fibers.

A method for applying a high friction surface roadway treatment and composition used therein is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: providing a binder composition, comprising: 10-99.9 wt. % of a resin; 0.1-70 wt. % of an elastomer; heating the binder composition to a sufficient temperature to obtain a molten binder composition; applying a layer of the molten binder composition; and applying a layer comprising aggregate having a nominal maximum size of at least 1 mm, and an embedment depth of at least 30% in the molten binder composition layer. The resin is selected from hydrocarbon resins, alkyd resins, rosin resins, rosin esters, and combinations thereof.

The present invention relates to a process for producing a plurality of hollow inorganic nanoparticles, which process comprises: (a) contacting a first monomer and a second monomer in a solvent to produce a composition comprising the solvent and a plurality of polymer nanoparticles; (b) adding an inorganic compound precursor to the composition comprising the solvent and the plurality of polymer nanoparticles to produce a composition comprising the solvent and a plurality of inorganic compound-coated polymer nanoparticles; (c) adding an additional amount of the first and second monomers to the composition comprising the solvent and the plurality of inorganic compound-coated polymer nanoparticles to produce a composition comprising the solvent and a plurality of composite nanoparticles; and (d) heating the plurality of composite nanoparticles to produce the plurality of hollow inorganic nanoparticles, wherein in step (a) the first monomer and the second monomer are contacted in the solvent at a temperature of at least 30 C. The present invention also relates to plurality of hollow inorganic nanoparticles and uses thereof.