This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Aimplas aplica nanotecnología para aumentar la seguridad en la construcción

Aimplas applied nanotechnology to improve safety in construction

15/01/2009

January 15, 2009

Aimplas, the technological Institute of plastics, participates in the pioneer Nanocond, funded by the Impiva (Institute of small and medium industry Valenciana) with 140,000 euros for research, which has aimed at improving the properties of plastic materials for application in the Habitat and construction.

The objective is to increase security, while minimizing the risks of fire in flammable places at the same time and prevent the accumulation of dust in clean rooms.

Plastic is an insulating material, which means that he can accumulate static charges with the risk of producing sparks that they can end up in fires in flammable places, such as the stores of explosives or toxic and dangerous waste. To avoid the creation of these static loads, Nanocond research has focused on modifying the conductive properties of the plastic, i.e. change of insulating driver. Nanomaterials that enable obtaining pieces with high surface conductivity to be used in panels, profiles, flooring and laminate for the construction sector have been used to achieve this.

This new material will apply also in other places of high risk of accumulation of loads as they are hospitals and department stores, where, in the absence of flammable products, the risk is lower, but electrostatic charges also caused various drawbacks: from alterations in the process of working up to painful electric shocks.

Another application of the new development are also the cleanroom of pharmaceutical laboratories. They should avoid the build-up of static charges because they increase the presence of particulate pollutants.

Currently, for conductive properties in plastics are required expensive treatments that have numerous drawbacks: they cease to be effective when the humidity is low, are not thermally stable and are easily extracted in contact with water, and can also damage the transparency and the color of the final product. Through the project have managed to solve these problems.

The Nanocond project started in January 2008 and its duration is 24 months. This project also has the participation of the members of Renac: Aidico, Aitex, Aidima, ITM, ITE and IQMA.