The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工業技術研究院) yesterday said it has developed a new environmentally friendly hot-melt adhesive in conjunction with Tex Year Industries Inc (德淵企業).
The new biodegradable adhesive could be a vital component of future biodegradable plastic products, helping to reduce the environmental impact of plastics, the institute said.
The biodegradable adhesive, which has already received its product license, is planned to be turned into a commercial product by Tex Year, the largest maker of hot-melt adhesives in Taiwan, the institute said.
Photo courtesy of Industrial Technology Research Institute
The product should help Taiwanese plastic products go green, as required by an increasing number of large international companies, it added.
The institute’s polymer division and Tex Year began working together last year on the hot-melt adhesive using biodegradable plastic as the base ingredient rather than traditional petrochemical plastic.
The institute said the technical knowledge would be transferred to Tex Year for commercial utilization. The polymer division plans to work on other projects such as decomposing ocean plastic debris and creating other advancements in plastics, it added.
“The ITRI is actively helping Taiwanese industry develop a green supply chain and aid in Taiwan’s green industrial transformation,” said Lee Tzong-ming (李宗銘), deputy director-general of the Material and Chemical Research Laboratories at the ITRI.
In addition to being bio-degradable, the new glue’s special molecular structure design gives it excellent qualities as a hot-melt adhesive, Lee said. It melts at the 80°C, and “has excellent adhesive and durable properties,” he said.
Tex Year chairman Donald Hsiao (蕭向志) said the new adhesive can help clients who need to conform to new EU carbon tax regulations.
“We are the first company in Asia to receive certification from the German Institute for Standardization, and will soon receive our biodegradable and compostable certifications,” Hsiao said.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
RSS