A fiber-reinforced composite material (K), containing a thermoplastic polymer matrix and at least one natural-fiber component, is technically advantageous if it contains at least 45% (v/v) of a styrene (co)polymer (A) as polymer matrix, 30-55% (v/v) of a natural-fiber sheet material (B) as natural-fiber component, optionally 0-10% (v/v) of an additional polymer component (C), and optionally 0-10% of at least one additive (D), the volume percentages of components (A) to (D) adding up to 100 volume percent of the composite material (K).

A coated film having improved optical properties and increased recyclability properties comprising a combination of: (a) at least one film layer of a recyclable polyolefin; and (b) at least one recyclable coating layer disposed on at least a portion of the surface of one side of the at least one film layer of the recyclable polyolefin such that the at least one coating layer provides the coated film with an increase gloss at 60?, a reduced haze, an increase in clarity; and a recyclability property.

Microporous films comprising a polymeric composition and a filler, wherein the film has an average water vapor transmission rate of at least about 16,000 grams H.sub.2O/24-hour/m.sup.2, a hydrostatic head pressure of at least about 300 mbar, and a basis weight of from about 5 gsm to about 50 gsm.

The present invention provides a sheet, wherein the sheet has an excellent low-gloss feeling; even when oblique light is incident on a surface of the sheet, diffuse reflection of the light is suppressed, the surface is less likely to look white when viewed obliquely, and a design represented on the sheet can be visually recognized; and the sheet has excellent designability. In the sheet, a surface of the sheet has an arithmetic average roughness Ra (JIS B0633: 2001) of 0.7 m or less, and the reflectance at a detection angle equal to a regular reflection angle 5, measured by a variable angle photometer when the surface is irradiated with incident light at an incident angle of 75, is 50% or less of the reflectance at the regular reflection angle.

A curative for epoxidized plant-based oils and epoxidized natural rubber is created from the reaction between a naturally occurring polyfunctional acid and an epoxidized plant-based oil is disclosed. The curative may be used to produce porosity-free castable resins and vulcanize rubber formulations based on epoxidized natural rubber. Materials made from disclosed materials may be advantageously used as leather substitutes.

A floor, wall, or ceiling panel has a base made of a wood material and an upper veneer. The base and the veneer are hot-pressed together while incorporating a resin layer. During the pressing process, pores, cracks, and/or gaps in the veneer are filled with resin. In particular, the pressing process is carried out such that the veneer is saturated with resin, and the resin can be seen on the surface of the veneer after the pressing process The adhesion of the veneer to the base and the smoothing of the veneer are thus carried out in one operation.

A floorboard, includes a carrier plate and a veneer arranged on a topside of the carrier plate, wherein the carrier plate and the veneer are connected with each other via a resin, wherein an edge strip made of the resin is provided on at least two side margins of the veneer, and wherein a surface of the edge strip extends in a same plane as a surface of the veneer.

A coated article comprises a composite substrate formed from a reinforcing feedstock at least partially embedded in a matrix polymer, the composite substrate comprising an outer surface. The coated article further includes a coating comprising a protective bilayer that includes a first protective layer comprising an inner face coupled to the outer surface of the composite substrate, and a second protective layer coupled to the first protective layer at an interface, wherein the interface opposes the inner face of the first protective layer and an outer face of the second protective layer. The first protective layer comprises a first thermoplastic polymer that is a first acrylic or acrylic-based polymer, and the second protective layer comprises a second thermoplastic polymer that is a blend of a fluoride-containing polymer and a second acrylic or acrylic-based polymer.

A laminate tube with an invisible longitudinal overlapped side seam formed from overlap welding an edge of one margin of a laminate sheet comprising an outer plastic layer (A), a barrier layer (B), and an inner plastic layer (C) of the same material type as the outer plastic layer (A) to the other edge of the opposite margin of the laminate sheet, such that an inner surface of the laminate tube has a hump in a overlapped region, while an outer surface of the laminate tube is smooth without a hump in the overlapped region; and a process for manufacturing the laminate tube by a laminate tube manufacturing machine. The laminate permits fracture-proof welding of longitudinal margins of said laminate to give a continuous tube which is suitable for manufacturing of high-quality plastic tubes, high-quality plastic bags and the like.

A surface piece of crossing threads (12, 14) comprising plastic filaments, which as a woven fabric web (10) is equipped with two mutually opposing surfaces and with openings (16) formed therein. The fabric web comprises a metallisation applied on one side as a surface layer and between 15 and 80%, in particular between 20 and 70% of the fabric web is configured in the form of network intermediate spaces (16).