A major new plant to make bioplastics in Clinton, IA, is coming on line and will begin providing material for injection molded food storage containers and cutlery. Metabolix is commercializing Mirel, a plastic made via a sugar-fed fermentation process, in a 50/50 joint venture with Archer Daniels Midland called Telles.
Metabolix expects to bring thermoforming and film products to food contact markets in the second half of this year, servicing applications such as coffee lids, yoghurt cups and film for using storage bags. The company feels there is more than 2 billion pounds of initial potential market for its bioplastic. There are now about 100 prospects that are in various stages of product development with Mirel. Pricing is estimated at $2.25 to $2.75, well above the prices for plastics it seeks to replace.
Ford and Unifi, maker of Repreve, will gather and recycle 2 million plastic bottles at CES and other shows for conversion into the Repreve seat fabric used in the 2012 Focus EV.
Thanks to embedded electronics, medical devices are getting smaller and smarter than ever. Pacemakers and implantable defibrillators are now able to call physicians. MRIs, CT scanners, and ultrasound machines are gaining mobility. And the venerable Band-Aid may soon be able to detect illnesses ranging from fevers to heart arrhythmias. On February 21, join Design News senior editor Charles Murray for a wide-ranging discussion, "Embedded Angles for Medical Products," which will explore the latest developments in medical electronics. The discussion will examine advances in medical device technology and offer an inside look at the embedded electronics behind it.
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