Copper-infused compounds kill bacteria
Carefully formulated plastic compounds also are helping the cause. Tennessee-based Techmer PM LLC has been working for years with supplier Cupron, which uses a patented process to produce oxidized copper that, when compounded with different types of resins, yields a material that can kill bacteria.
Techmer PM uses Cupron’s copper additives to make compounds that EOS Surfaces uses to make these bacteria-killing countertops.
Techmer blends the copper with polymers such as polypropylene, polyester and nylon and supplies it in pellet or flake form to firms such as Virginia-based EOS Surfaces, which press-molds it to make solid surface countertops and tables that have been proven to dramatically reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), such as staph infections. Cupron is now testing the additive, which also can be impregnated in fabrics (such as bed linens, hospital gowns or face masks) to confirm its effectiveness against the Covid-19 virus.
Others have long been incorporating antimicrobial additives into plastic compounds to reduce the transmission of various diseases.
Plastic packaging protects food
Plastic packaging is vital for protecting our food and keeping it fresh, which reduces contamination and waste. And, of course, blister packs, pouches, bottles and other types of plastic-based packages enable the efficient distribution and dosing of vital pharmaceutical products.
It surely is true that sustainability-related challenges remain as regards plastics waste, and the resultant issue of ocean plastics, but there can be no denying the good that plastics plays every day, but particularly now during the current pandemic crisis.
See more solutions at Chinaplas 2020
You can learn more about these important applications, and many fast-advancing materials and equipment technologies that are enabling these life-saving applications, at Chinaplas 2020. This 34th edition of the show will take place August 3-6, 2020, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, after having been postponed from its original dates of April 21-24 because of the coronavirus.
