Industry is increasingly green thanks to scientific research
The “Use of Plasma to Improve Decorative Treatment of Plastic: protective coating, printing, and gluing” is a concentration of technology and research that Certottica is developing with the Wood-k Plus center in Carinthia. The results, attained in just a few months, are excellent and hopefully indicate an industry that is moving in an increasingly eco-friendly direction. The idea for the project is founded on the activation of materials and the use of silicon polymers as a raw material for vacuum coated plastics. This is intended to stop the use of polymers deriving from petroleum in favor of natural components that can be found in beach sand, granite, and quartz. Sustainable production processes use minimum quantities of raw materials and do not produce solid or gaseous waste; furthermore, the silicon polymers used are totally safe for living beings and are easily found and extracted in nature. This metal is the second most common element on our planet following oxygen. Eco-friendly and ease of use are the keywords of experimentation that establishes regulations for sustainable production.
For this project, the two Institutes involved, Certottica and W3C, were equipped with impressive cutting-edge machinery and equipment for the level of research attained. An Easy Drop equipment was installed in the Certottica laboratories to verify the effectiveness of treatments by the analysis of surface tension, which measures the exact variations in hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity of the surfaces treated. A Filmetrics machine was used too, which measures the micrometric thickness of thin films.
“The results were quite satisfactory and the graphs drafted from the measuring of the contact angle indicate a better performance of the surface treated with atmospheric Plasma compared to the surface treated with the current mechanical method of grinding,” declared Giuseppe Da Cortà, research project manager for Certottica. “We have also shed light on how the treatment can have varying effectiveness on angles, which are difficult to treat. Synthetic filtering fabrics in Polyethylene were also included in the experiment, as they were of interest to the Carinthia-based company: with extremely interesting results, the experiments will continue with tests on those materials to be carried out with the Certottica KHz system.” Research is going well and goes beyond mere laboratory testing: the two Institutes work in full collaboration, after reaching an agreement. “The collaboration was evaluated positively by both partners,” added Da Cortà, “as working in harmony is a propitious input for research.” The project is therefore advancing on well-defined tracks and communications and exchange of information occur regularly. Since we are implementing the latest technologies, we are also being offered the possibility to find new applications and advantages from a point of view of environmental sustainability and worker safety. Those technologies are thus evolving hand in hand with the future development of production processes. The current project allows constant progress to be made in overcoming barriers to these emerging technologies caused by the cost of the systems, the laboratory instruments, and personnel training”.
At the end of September, Certottica and W3C will meet again: the objective is to reach further results in the fall. They have ambitious aims. Certottica will perform MHz plasma coatings to test the performance that can be obtained with new monomers; researchers will also be seeking to set the new electrode for plastic materials. At the W3C in Austria, the applications of atmospheric plasma on thermally modified wooden panels to improve the absorption of impregnating oils will be studied. And that's not all. Laboratory personnel are also working to analyze the applicability of the plasma treatment with powders used in the painting process.
