The invention relates to water-soluble marking compositions comprising alcohol alkoxylates having 40 to 160 ethoxy units and derived from a primary alcohol having a chain length between 20 and 30 carbon atoms.

It is provided an extruder for a system for the additive manufacture of freely formable metal parts with or without a supporting structure by means of an extrusion method from a composite material, which is arranged on a three-dimensionally movable kinematic mechanism, with a building platform. The extruder consists of a housing and a screw arranged in the housing. The extruder is provided with a mechanical drive for the composite material to be extruded, with an exchangeable nozzle, arranged on the housing, and the housing is connected to the mechanical drive by way of suitable means for transporting the composite material.

A method of processing a water-dispersible, polymer-based material in a bath of a water-based solution includes providing a molten water-dispersible polymer material having monovalent cations. The water-dispersible polymer is introduced into a water bath comprising multivalent salt dissociated in the water bath into multivalent cations and anions. The water-dispersible polymer is retained within the water bath with the dissociated multivalent cations to quench the water-dispersible, polymer-based material while the monovalent cations proximate a surface of the water-dispersible polymer are exchanged with multivalent cations to form a barrier that temporarily resists dispersion of the water-dispersible, polymer-based material within the water bath. The method includes removing the water-dispersible polymer from water bath after the exchange step.

A fractional lobe processor comprises a barrel with heating and cooling means having two parallel intersecting bores of equal diameter, wherein the centre distance between the two bores is lesser than the diameter of the bore; a shaft coupled with a plurality of screw elements to form a screw within each bore, wherein the screws are intermeshing and form at least three zones within the barrel, the zones comprising an intake zone comprising at least one deep flighted shovel element on each intermeshing screw for receiving a feed comprising an active substance and/or an excipient, a melt zone consisting of only fractional lobe elements for melting the active substance and/or an excipient to form a viscous mass or melt, and a discharge zone, wherein the melt zone is located before the discharge zone and after the intake zone; and wherein the melt zone has a plurality of fractional lobe elements on each shaft.

A method for manufacturing a closure constructed to be inserted and securely retained in a neck of a product-retaining container includes intimately combining a plurality of coated particles (each comprising a cork material core and a first plastic material) with a second plastic material, and other optional constituents; heating the composition to form a melt; extruding or molding a closure precursor from the melt; and optionally cutting and/or finishing the closure precursor. A composition for use in manufacturing a closure includes a plurality of coated particles (each comprising a cork material core and a first plastic material) with a second plastic material, and one or more blowing agents. Methods for producing particulate material, cork composite material, and additional method for producing closures are also provided.

Improvements in the extrusion of thermohardenable materials are achieved by cooling the material in the initial zone of the extruder and reducing residence time by use of a prescribed length to diameter ratio and screw speed, particularly useful for intermittent application during robotically controlled mass production.

Apparatus and methods for manufacturing compostable, biodegradable drink straws from polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) material are disclosed herein. Such apparatus may include a hopper that contains raw PHA material, an extruder that receives the raw PHA material from the hopper and produces extruded PHA material, one or more waters baths that cool the extruded PHA material, a puller that pulls a tubular stream of PHA material through the system, and a cutter that is configured to cut the stream of PHA material into finished straws. The finished straws may be soil- and marine-biodegradable, as well as home- and industrial-compostable.

Present invention is related to an extrusion equipment for processing a fibre composite. The extrusion equipment comprises a decompression and a melt tank arranged and operated vertically along with the direction of gravity. The melt tank comprises a melt tank impregnation section and a melt tank control section with a melt tank cavity as a channel condition defined within. The channel has its inner diameter or passage gradually decreased from top to bottom. The extrusion equipment provided by the present invention is configured in the direction of gravity for processing the melted thermoplastic resin and the fibre vertically for avoiding fibre fracture or breakage and improving the quality of the final products. As the melted plastic is processed vertically along with the gravity, the melted plastic could transfer or pass through the channel quickly without resulting decomposition due to the high heat and the long retention time in the cavity.

An extruder and molding assembly comprising an extruder positioned upstream from a mold, the mold having a mold cavity and a separate pressurization member fluidly connected to the mold cavity wherein the extruder is operable at a first pressure to fill at least a majority of the mold cavity and the pressurization member is operable to fill a remainder of the mold cavity.

An improved a device and method for dispersion and simultaneous orientation of nanoparticles within a matrix is provided. A mixer having a shaft and a stator is provided. The shaft may have a rupture region and erosion region. Further, an orienter having an angled stationary plate and a moving plate are provided. The nanoparticles and the matrix are fed into the mixer. A rotational force is applied to the shaft to produce shearing forces. The shearing forces disperse and exfoliate the nanoparticles within the matrix. The dispersed mixture is outputted onto the moving plate. The moving plate is forced across the angled stationary plate to produce fully developed laminar shear flow. The fully developed laminar shear flow or the two-dimensional extensional drag flow orients the dispersed nanoparticles-matrix mixture.