A new bathroom scale from Tanita is powered with solar cells
and is made from a new biobased plastic.
Tanita introduced solar-powered scales in 1986, but the
plastic is all new. "The addition of ABS plastic using biodegradable resins as
the primary construction material is an added bonus for our green consumers,
further protecting our environment and landfills," says Heather Bundgaard,
director of marketing, Tanita Corp. of America.
The new material, which was developed in Japan by
Unitika, is said to have improved properties in areas such as moldability,
transparency and flame retardancy. Called Terramac,
the plastic has thermal properties, durability and impact resistivity
comparable to ABS resins, a crossover plastic between commodities and
engineering-grade.
The first product made with the resin is the housing for the
bathroom scale HS-302,
nicknamed ECO Living, The pitch is that the Terramac resin decreased carbon
dioxide emissions 20 percent compared with the previous housing made only with
a petroleum-based plastic.
Unitika developed the first commercially available
heat-resistant PLA sheet in 2002. Flame retardance and impact resistance were
improved by applying Unitika's nanotechnology, plant-based reinforcements, and inorganic
fillers. Various polymer alloys further improve properties of the new material.
Unitika says it will expand this new alloy to toys and
electronic products. Also coming are films, sheets, fibers, and non-wovens. The
company's sales target for the new material is Β₯80 million ($875,000) by 2011.
One candidate as an alloying material is a new thermally
conductive nylon developed by Unitika Up until recently, compounds with
thermally conductive fillers were used to dissipate heat in miniature
electronic devices, but their processability is generally poor. "We often find difficulty in applying them
for small-size molding," says a Unitika spokesperson. "We have studied polymer
structure, the filler(s), and compounding conditions to clear the hurdle."
Unitika says the new nylon shows the same processability as
60 percent glass-reinforced nylon resin, while also exhibiting 50 W/mK thermal
conductivity.
The Unitika Group started in 1889, with the founding of
Amagasaki Spinners, the first company in Japan's textile industry. One of
its early plastic products was Emblem, a biaxially oriented nylon 6 film.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
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