A polymer optical fiber is provided which shows improved hydrolytic stability. This fiber comprises a polymeric optical core and cladding layer, surrounded by a polymeric overcladding layer which comprises a miscible blend of one or more hydrolytically stable amorphous polymers. By varying the ratios of the component polymers in the overcladding blend, the glass transition temperature and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the overcladding layer may be tuned to optimize the attenuation and bandwidth of the plastic optical fiber.

Provided is a copolymer which has a mass average molecular weight (Mw) of 240,000 or greater and 3,500,000 or less, a structural unit derived from an acrylate (B1) and a structural unit derived from aromatic vinyl (B2), and a branched structure.

Disclosed is an extrusion system including a cooled extruder, fixable to a pressing carriage of a machine for quick prototyping with thread of filler material, including: a unit for controlled and localized heating of the filler material, a unit blowing compressed air onto a zone of the extruder to be cooled, immediately upstream of the melting zone, with a predetermined flow rate, a channel supplying the thread of filler material. The extruder includes a nozzle whose body includes a melting zone, and with an outlet end conveying the material on a pressing plane. The nozzle is integral with a heating block. The nozzle is made of a material having high wear and corrosion resistance and good workability. At least at the melting zone of the nozzle is internally processed with a surface finishing having a roughness 0.2-2.5 pm or less, which ensures a good flowabitly of the material.

A process for making a dry food is described herein. The process includes providing raw materials for a dry food to a preconditioning vessel at a first flowrate, preconditioning the raw materials in the preconditioning vessel and forming a dough, and moving the dough having a moisture content of from about 4% to about 10% through an inlet of an extruder. The process further includes extruding the dough through a die plate of the extruder and forming kibbles by: applying thermal energy to the dough; and applying mechanical energy to the dough, wherein the ratio of the thermal energy to the mechanical energy can range from at least about 2.0 to about 4.0.

The present invention relates to compostable tools for eating and for drinking, such as drinking straws or cutlery. The present invention furthermore relates to biodegradable medical commodities such as cotton swabs, tongue depressors or disposable toothbrushes. The tools and the medical commodities of the present invention comprise plant starch and plant-based thickener and gelling agents and can furthermore comprise cellulose/mechanical pulp, wax, oil and/or glycerine. The tools and the medical commodities of the present invention can furthermore comprise an outer coating which preferably comprises wax and/or a bipolymer, preferably rubber. The present invention additionally relates to a method for producing compostable tools for eating or drinking and for biodegradable medical commodities.

The present invention concerns a chemical mechanical polishing pad having a polishing layer. The polishing layer contains an extruded sheet. The extruded sheet is prepared by extruding a compounded photopolymerizable composition followed by exposure to UV light.

A laminate comprising: a gas barrier layer (I) comprising a modified starch (A) having an average amylose content of 45% by mass or more and a water-soluble polymer (B); and a substrate (II) adjacent to the gas barrier layer (I), wherein the laminate exhibits a degree of biodegradation of 80% or more in a biodegradability test in accordance with ISO 14855-1.

The present invention concerns a chemical mechanical polishing pad having a polishing layer. The polishing layer contains an extruded sheet. The extruded sheet is prepared by extruding a compounded photopolymerizable composition followed by exposure to UV light.

A ram extrusion apparatus including a die having several thermal zones, a hopper for introducing a granular polymer resin to the die, and a ram for moving the granular polymer resin through the thermal zones of the die and out from an outlet end thereof at a temperature above the crystalline melt temperature of the polymer resin. The hopper may be designed to deliver the polymer resin into a resin inlet of the die in a plurality of specifically metered amounts which may vary across a width of the resin inlet end of the die. The apparatus may further include one or more finishing tables positioned after the outlet end of the die for receiving and moving the extruded resin away from the outlet end of the die so that there is no backpressure on the extruded resin, and which provide compression force and even cooling to the extruded resin.

Provided is a thermoplastic composite, a method for preparing a thermoplastic composite, and an injection-molded product. The thermoplastic composite comprises 35-75% by weight of a thermoplastic resin, 5-45% by weight of a non-cellulosic organic fiber, and 5-20%) by weight of hollow glass microspheres, based on 100% by weight of the total weight of the thermoplastic composite.