Cavan, IRELAND, 30.07.19: Daily Trade Weighted Average prices to be published by INSCX for EMEA Base Oils in addition to live Volume Weighted Average prices. To subscribe to our live trade platform use the LINK

Cavan, IRELAND 29/07/19: INSCX exchange has been featured in the August edition of the leading base oils journal, Lubes n’Greases. The feature outlines the price discovery and trade mechanism offered by INSCX to this global industry. To access the story link, please visit: CLICK HERE

18/07/19: Cavan, Ireland: INSCX exchange (Europe) in response to increasing user demand for advanced polymer solutions incorporating nanomaterials has partnered with a number of organisations to develop a series of commercially-priced nano-enabled polymer solutions. Commenting on the development, an exchange spokesperson added, “While the potential to apply nanomaterials into a wide range of polymers, from PP, PVC to plasticizers has been well researched, where nanoindustry has lacked somewhat has been in making an offer to industry that takes into account the commercial pricing constraint”.

The aim of the initiative is to appeal to industry to work with the Exchange and it’s partners to sponsor a capital development pool to develop at industrial scale a series of nano-polymer solutions. This will benefit nanoproducers by creating hitherto demand where there has been little into this area at commercial volumes, while industry will be offered a number of solutions where nano-alternatives prove a compelling cost benefit.

“We have costed that each nano-polymer solution will cost in the region of Euro 10-15K to formulate, test and launch, and these costs are often beyond the ability of the many small to medium sized nanoproducers to develop in isolation”. Nanomaterials of interest at the nanoscale are cited as multi-walled carbon nanotubes, zinc-oxide, TiO2, Ag and Cu. For organisations wishing to subscribe or donate to the pool, payments can be made using the LINK.

The importance of reducing friction in Lubricants and greases is vital to a wide range of industrial processes, where branches in many areas from manufacturing to the auto industry rely heavily on high performance lubrication to prevent the wear of machinery and parts.

Nanomaterials have often been identified as a crucial ingredient in the pursuit for next generation lubrication additives and in particular, nanocopper is considered to be an excellent candidate to improve the performance and life-cycle of base lubricants.

Due to the nano-scale size of the copper particles, the advantage over traditional additives can be attributed to the unique ability of these particles to pass with no hindrance between small gaps in machinery, without sabotaging mechanical performance or causing a system to fail. In turn, it is believed this can facilitate the tribological ability of the particles to prevent mechanical parts from grinding together, by acting as ‘barrier’ between moving parts of the system. It is also worth noting the proficiency of nanocopper to withstand the high extremes of temperature that are caused by systems subjected to high impact mechanical work.

The anti-friction properties of nanocopper can therefore be seen to be of great relevance to the lubrication and greases industry. For those players interested in exploring this matter further, we invite you to contact us at INSCX Europe and we would be pleased to discuss your particular requirements in detail. We offer a range of copper nanoparticles in various formulations to address the demands of an evolving industry.

INSCX exchange Europe can be contacted by email: registrar@inscx.com or by phone at 353 71 985 3714.

10.07.19: Cavan, Ireland: INSCX exchange is pleased to announce the quarterly newsletter “NANOWATCH” is available to registered subscribers. The newsletter provides insight into commercial trends in the use of nanomaterials and keeps our reader base up-to-date with developments here at the Exchange.

Not a subscriber – to subscribe please complete the online Contact form on the website toolbar.

The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) published a press release on June 6, 2019, regarding its contribution to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) development of Test Guidelines for the safety assessment of nanomaterials.  According to the press release, scientists from JRC have actively participated in discussions of the OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) since early on.  The press release states that the OECD Working Group of the National Coordinators of the Test Guidelines Program (WNT) is responsible for the final development, discussion, and adoption of Test Guidelines, and JRC “plays an important role as a link between WPMN and this group.”  JRC notes WPMN’s work regarding Test Guidelines includes:

• Four new Test Guidelines and five guidance documents currently being developed that address the characterization of nanomaterials, their possible fate in the environment, and possible genotoxic effects;
• Six more new proposals approved for development in April 2019 that will address environmental fate or possible sensitization effects; and
• Discussion and preparation of eight additional proposals for Test Guidelines or guidance documents addressing possible effects on human health and the environment.

More information is available in an article in the June 2019 issue of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, “Developing OECD test guidelines for regulatory testing of nanomaterials to ensure mutual acceptance of test data.”

Cavan IRELAND: 16/5/19: INSCX exchange (Europe) confirm the largest global volume producer of copper nanoparticles has formally joined INSCX exchange as an Approved Producer member. NANOPROCESS SPA based in Chile is a company focused on supply of high volume nanocopper dispersions aimed at the polymer, lubricant and paints / coating industries. Commenting on the NANOPROCESS development, David Farrelly, BSc, Technical officer at INSCX (Europe) stated; “Having NANOPROCESS SPA as a formal member of the Exchange is evidence of the fact the nano producer base is evolving from supply of research to industrial volumes. This company is ideally placed to meet the material enhancement demands of industry in critical areas lack of volume certainty has restricted hitherto”.  The dispersions available from NANOPROCESS SPA will be listed on the exchange’s bulk trade platforms.

Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, MI, US): has announced that it will use graphene nanomaterial to enhance foam materials that reduce noise inside its vehicles and increase performance under the hood. Debbie Mielewski, Ford senior technical leader for sustainability and emerging materials, says, “The breakthrough here is not in the material [graphene], but in how we are using it. We are able to use a very small amount, less than a half percent, to help us achieve significant enhancements in durability, sound resistance and weight reduction — applications that others have not focused on.” Full story Link.

Cavan IRELAND: 25/04/19: INSCX exchange confirms the formal listing of a series of Nanowires encompassing Silver, Zinc Oxide, Copper and TiO2 effective immediately. Product link available via: https://inscx.com/shop/product-category/nanowires/

Cavan, IRELAND: 25/04/19: INSCX exchange will shortly formally announce the joining of a premier global supplier of nanocopper to the aproved producer list of the Exchange. Coupled with the expressed interest of bulk nanoproducers of Quantum Dots and CNT yarns to follow suit, the admission of this nanocopper producer underscores both the evolution of nanotechnology from the lab to industry and the leading position commanded by INSCX as the global exchange system for engineered nanomaterials. Official release statement to follow to registered subscribers. END/