Latest news with #DuPont
Hans India
8 hours ago
- Business
- Hans India
80-year history of plastic chair: From futuristic design icon to environmental villain
What springs to mind when you're asked to think of plastic chairs? Do you picture the ubiquitous lightweight, stackable polypropylene chair sold cheaply in hardware stores worldwide? Or perhaps you picture something more glamorous, such as Shiro Kuramata's Miss Blanche (1988). This limited-edition artwork, featuring imitation roses suspended in acrylic resin, now sells for more than USD 500,000 at auction. I research industrial design, exploring the symbiotic relationship between technology, commercial design and sustainability. The 80-year history of the plastic chair was the focus of my PhD. This humble, ubiquitous object offers unique insights into society's shifting attitudes to plastic, and the changes to come. An 80-year history The story of the plastic chair began in the United States in the 1930s, when petrochemical manufacturers DuPont and Röhm & Haas started mass-producing acrylic glass. The material, available in rods and sheets, enabled industrial designers to produce a wide range of consumer products using traditional manufacturing techniques. Widespread shortages of traditional materials during World War II drove further development of plastics. After the war, designers and manufacturers quickly embraced plastics. They were seen as the foundation of a new, plentiful future, allowing the masses to access products previously reserved for the elite. Many household items such as televisions, toys and upholstery became cheaper, thanks to plastics. Fibreglass manufacturing advanced during WWII to support the US Navy. This involves weaving strands of glass into a loose mat, which is then placed into a mould. Polyester resin is poured in to bind the fibres together before it hardens into a solid shape. Fibreglass is strong, lightweight, corrosion-resistant and can be moulded into complex shapes. The first fibreglass chair designs were Charles and Ray Eames' Plastic Armchair and Eero Saarinen's Tulip Chair. Then the Space Age (1957–69) inspired enthusiastic experiments with technicolour- saturated glossy surfaces and futuristic curved shapes, all made possible by fibreglass. Designers could handcraft prototypes, perfecting comfort and form. Many designs from this era are still in production and often feature in science fiction films. A shift in public sentiment Looking back at Earth from space was a turning point for humanity. The famous Earthrise photo captured the precarious nature of our existence and dependence on finite resources, such as fossil fuels. Oil was used to make most plastic at that time. In the 1970s, the price of oil shot up tenfold when Arab nations banned petroleum exports and cut oil production during the Arab–Iraeli War. The Iraq–Iran war followed. In 1981, oil reached USD 31 per barrel. Suddenly, plastics were expensive. Early plastics also had drawbacks. Colours faded and surfaces scratched, eroding consumer confidence. Disillusioned consumers began to favour traditional materials such as metal and timber. Few noteworthy plastic chair designs appeared during the next two decades. In response, the plastics industry changed tactics. If consumers favoured wooden furniture, then woodchips and veneer – held together by polymer adhesives and varnished with polyurethane – offered a cost-effective solution. Plastics were simply camouflaged within an ever-increasing range of products. As the environmental impacts of plastics became evident, the industry recognised it had an image problem and launched a major public relations effort around recycling. It worked. By the end of the century, plastics were fashionable again. (The Conversation) (The writer is with University of Technology, Sydney)
New York Post
3 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
90k shoppers bought this electric toothbrush last month –– get yours for 20% off
New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change. It's only natural. As you get older, your teeth get more exposure to the environment. You've simply smiled more than an eight-year-old has. Or at least, we hope. You've also eaten more food, drunk more coffee, have maybe had a glass of wine or two over the years. Such is life. Time goes on, and your teeth yellow. As they say in France, 'c'est la vie,' which roughly translates (we believe) to something along the lines of 'que sera sera.' Why so unbothered, you may ask? Because there are tons of solutions on the market to get those teeth back to mint condition. And better yet, some of those solutions are on sale. Enter: Aquasonic Black Series Ultra Whitening Toothbrush, available for 20% off this week on Amazon. Join 90k other Amazon shoppers (yes, you read that right), in purchasing this Aquasonic Toothbrush, and save 20% on cleaning up your pearly whites, for less! Amazon The Aquasonic Black Series Ultra Whitening Toothbrush delivers 40,000 vibrations per minute for deep cleaning and staining reduction. With four modes (Clean, Gentle, Whitening, Massage), a smart 30‑second quadrant timer, wireless charging, and up to four weeks of battery life, it comes bundled with eight DuPont brush heads and a travel case. ADA‑accepted for plaque removal. Best of all? It's available for 20% off for a limited time. This article was written by P.J. McCormick, New York Post Commerce Deals Writer/Reporter. P.J. is an expert deal-finder, sifting through endless brands and retailers to deliver only the best savings opportunities on truly worthwhile products. P.J. finds Prime Day-worthy deals all year long on some of our favorite products we've tested and our readers' beloved best-sellers, from Wayfair furniture sales to the lowest prices on Apple AirPods. P.J. has been scouring sales for Post Wanted shoppers since 2022 and previously held positions at Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and Hyperallergic. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change. Looking for a headline-worthy haul? Keep shopping Post Wanted.
The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
US Treasury chief says trade talks with China to continue this week in Sweden
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Sweden this week to continue trade talks between the two countries, suggesting the current pause in sky-high tariffs aimed at each other could be extended. Bessent told Fox Business that he would speak with Chinese officials on Monday and Tuesday for a third round of high-level talks in Stockholm – following face-to-face discussions he held with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Geneva and London – to work out a likely extension of the pause beyond mid-August. Beijing has yet to confirm the Stockholm talks, but Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a post on X on Tuesday that his country would play host to the US-China negotiations next week. After US President Donald Trump's announcement of 'reciprocal' tariffs on April 2, Washington and Beijing raised punitive levies on each other's exports to triple-digit percentage levels. Since then, trade relations have thawed somewhat as the countries have engaged in talks, marked by a June telephone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. On Monday Bessent said that the talks were 'in a good place', a sanguine take on negotiations echoed by Beijing's embassy in Washington, which said 'new progress' had been made in resolving each other's economic and trade concerns. Separately on Tuesday, Trump told reporters that Xi has invited him to visit Beijing and that he would accept. He added that exports of rare earth and magnets to the US may no longer be a thorny issue. 'President Xi has invited me to China, and we'll probably be doing that in the not too distant future, a little bit out, but not too distant. And I've been invited by a lot of people, and we'll make those decisions pretty soon,' he said during a meeting in the Oval Office with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. 'We have a very good relationship. In fact, the magnets, which is a little complex piece of material, but the magnets are coming out very well. They're sending them in record numbers. We're getting along with China very well,' said Trump. In a possible signal of improving ties, China's market administration watchdog said earlier on Tuesday that it had suspended its anti-trust probe into American multinational chemical company DuPont. Beijing launched its investigation into DuPont in early April, after Trump began slapping new levies on Chinese goods. Bessent said on Monday that he hoped to raise in future talks the issue of China's purchases of Russian and Iranian oil. Beijing's embassy in Washington responded to those comments by saying that 'the international community, including China, has conducted normal cooperation with Iran and Russia within the framework of international law. 'This is reasonable and lawful without harm done to any third party, and deserves to be respected and protected,' said the embassy. China observers said that Beijing would oppose Washington's bid to link tariff talks to Chinese relations with US adversaries. 'Beijing sees its ties and transactions with Russia and Iran as just and fair and conforms to international laws and may be unlikely to make compromises for the sake of US lowering tariffs,' said Xin Qiang, an international studies professor at Fudan University in Shanghai. 'Beijing is mindful not to fall into the trap as US uses tariffs to pursue its geopolitical agenda.' During the Fox Business interview Bessent also mentioned his expectations for China's government to rein in manufacturing overcapacity and launch structural adjustments to stimulate domestic consumption to benefit American manufacturing. 'President Trump is remaking the US into a manufacturing economy. If we could do that together – more U.S. manufacturing, more Chinese consumption – that would be a home run for the Chinese Communist Party and the global economy,' he said. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
Hamilton Spectator
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
Environmentally friendlier refrigerant's higher cost means bill for your car's A/C repairs may rise
Dear Ask A Mechanic, I was talking with my neighbour the other night, and it turns out we've both just had the (air-conditioning) condensers in our Chevy pickups done. His cost quite a bit more to do than mine, and he said that the repair shop told him that because his is a 2017, it uses 'the new gas' that's a lot more expensive. My Silverado is a 2016, but our trucks are both half-tons with the 5.3 (litre V8) and look pretty much the same. I'm not upset that it cost me less to fix mine (it was still pretty expensive!), but I'm wondering if that's really a thing. Cool Dude There is indeed a 'new gas' that's been adopted for use in what's known as 'mobile air-conditioning' — cars and trucks fall into that category, of course. This isn't the first time the industry has made such a change. The earliest, factory-optional automotive air-conditioning system was the 'Weather Conditioner' in 1940 Packards, although it would be decades before such systems became practical or popular. Pretty much from the outset, however, mobile A/C (air-conditioning) used 'R-12,' a refrigerant developed in part by DuPont, which marketed the gas as 'Freon.' (Definitely a better choice than going by the product's chemical name of 'Dichlorodifluoromethane' ….) R-12 provided chemical stability, was non-flammable, and was relatively efficient at transporting heat — a necessary characteristic, as all air-conditioning systems work by removing heat from the air being cooled and transferring it to an external location where it is radiated away. Unfortunately, R-12 molecules contain chlorine atoms, and it was later discovered that when released through leaks or improper service methods, the gas would find its way into the upper atmosphere, where it would react with and destroy the stratospheric ozone molecules that help reduce the levels of harmful ultraviolet radiation that reach Earth's surface. In response to the resulting ozone 'hole' discovered over Antarctica in the early 1980s, an international treaty called the Montreal Protocol was reached to address this threat, and alternative refrigerants were sought. By 1995, R-12 was phased out of new mobile A/C systems, replaced with ozone-friendly R-134a. ('Tetrafluoroethane,' in case you're curious). R-134a wasn't a perfect solution, however. As we've become more aware of the risks of global warming, this replacement refrigerant's 'global warming potential' (GWP) — how much heat a given gas traps relative to carbon dioxide — has become an issue, as it is 1,430 times greater than the gas we already consider a problem. Although far better than R-12 (10,900!), it's not ideal. While various alternative refrigerants were proposed, including carbon dioxide, itself (ultimately unsuitable due to the extreme pressures required), the auto industry and regulators settled on 'R-1234yf' (Tetrafluoropropene), co-developed by Honeywell and DuPont, as it is also ozone friendly and has a GWP rating of less than four. Canadian regulations prohibit R-134a use in new vehicles as of the 2021 model year. General Motors was an early R-1234yf adopter, with the Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup twins switching to the new gas for the 2017 model year. Interestingly, in those models at least, the condenser — it's the component located in front of the vehicle's radiator — is the same, regardless of which refrigerant the truck is designed for. (Although the two gasses are functionally similar, the oils used in the systems to lubricate the compressor are not compatible, and the service fittings are different to prevent the refrigerants being interchanged.) To your original question: for those model years the labour required to replace the condenser is the same and the component itself is the same, so the main differentiator in cost would be the refrigerant; R-1234yf is significantly more expensive than R-134a — roughly two-and-a-half to three times as much, currently. Additionally, because the refrigerant handling equipment for R-1234yf is frequently costlier to buy and maintain, service facilities may factor this into the costs of the recharge as well. The end result is that, unless the cost of the refrigerant drops over time (R-134a did, eventually), the air-conditioning in vehicles using R-1234yf will be more expensive to service and repair than the sum we've become used to over the past 30 years, and a single model year could make a difference of several hundred dollars. Ask a Mechanic is written by Brian Early, a Red Seal-certified Automotive Service Technician. You can send your questions to wheels@ . These answers are for informational purposes only. Please consult a certified mechanic before having any work done to your vehicle.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Rio Tinto weighs sale of titanium business, sources say
By Clara Denina, Ernest Scheyder and Melanie Burton (Reuters) -Rio Tinto (RIO.L) is considering a possible sale of its titanium unit due to weak prices and low returns, three sources said, just as incoming CEO Simon Trott will weigh up a restructuring of the world's second-largest miner when he takes over next month. Titanium, used to make paints, cosmetics and food colouring, is also a vital ingredient in jet engine parts, missile casings, rocket components, submarines and naval vessels because of its strength, corrosion resistance and lightweight properties. China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of titanium dioxide, has expanded its production to capture over half the global market over the past decade, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. China wields significant pricing power, which has knock-on effects for Western miners, including on margins. Against this backdrop, Rio Tinto has been evaluating whether the titanium business still has a place in its portfolio. How to exit it could be one of Trott's first decisions, the three sources familiar with matter said. Rio Tinto declined to comment. Rio would not be the first to exit titanium. Bowing to investor pressure, DuPont in 2013 said it would spin off its own titanium dioxide business. In the company's portfolio, titanium falls under the Minerals business, headed by Sinead Kaufman. This division also includes borates, used in cleaning products, as well as the Iron Ore Company of Canada, diamonds, and the Jadar lithium project in Serbia. The Minerals division reported an underlying EBITDA of $1.1 billion in 2024, 24% lower than in 2023, the company's financial report shows. Iron and titanium operations in South Africa and Canada accounted for more than half. Trott, who takes over as the company's CEO on August 25, has headed the iron ore division since 2021. There is an acknowledgement at the company that internal costs, such as staffing, are excessive, sources have told Reuters, so cost-cutting is expected. "There's going to be a middle management clean out," said one of the sources, who was not authorised to speak publicly. Part of Trott's pitch and vision for Rio includes a focus on streamlining the structure of the company's core businesses iron ore, copper, lithium and aluminium, the sources said. Australia and possibly Canada's iron ore operations, and the upcoming Simandou project in Guinea are likely to be grouped together, as well as the recently acquired U.S. lithium company Arcadium and its other lithium projects and investments, they added. Rio is scheduled to release its half-year results on July 30. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
