The Fascination Of Chemistry – WACKER’s Audio Magazine
Our "Fascination of Chemistry" podcast shows you how chemistry ensures perfectly functioning products in all areas of life
Category
ResetFrom Stone Age to High Tech
The Lascaux Cave - this richly painted World Heritage Site - is threatened with destruction due to visitors. For display in a new museum, the cave was therefore faithfully copied by a French company and painted by artists true to the Stone Age original. ELASTOSIL® M silicone from WACKER was used to make the molds.
Expanding the Bounds of Bioplastics
Crude oil is a finite resource. This is one of the reasons why the chemical industry is looking for new raw materials. Plastics can also be manufactured from plants, for example. However, these only become attractive when additives from WACKER’s VINNEX® product range are added. Only then are the properties of bioplastics as good as those of crude-oil-based materials. Processing problems can also be solved thanks to these additives.
Invisible Fire Safety
Aluminum composite panels can increasingly be found on building exteriors. In order to keep the thermoplastics used here from compromising the fire safety, manufacturers incorporate fire-retardant fillers.Developed by WACKER, GENIOPLAST® Pellet S is a silicone additive that is suitable for a diverse range of thermoplastic polymer blends. It makes such flame-resistant blends easier to manufacture, even when added at a concentration of only one percent.
Bond & Peel
Whether jam jars or fabric-softener bottles – countless everyday products bear labels. They are not applied by hand, of course, but with labeling machines. These can manage up to 18,000 labels in an hour. For this to work at such rapid speeds, WACKER has developed DEHESIVE® SFX silicone coatings. They ensure that the label reliably bonds to the backing material, but easily peels off when needed.
New Materials for More Efficient Wave Parks
Wave power plants might be able to produce more energy than people currently consume. One of the biggest problems facing such wave parks is that they must be made of materials that can withstand huge forces during storms – and only a very few materials can do so. WACKER’s ultrathin ELASTOSIL® silicone film is an ideal candidate here. This film is being tested in an experimental-scale plant – and offers enormous potential.