The School of Pharmacy at the University of the Western Cape has warmly welcomed the donation of a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC, [Status]) from Nampak R&D's Analytical Chemistry Laboratory.  It will be used for research work, some of which is done by fourth-year students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The university had been trying to replace a very old thermal analysis instrument however they werent able to find anything suitable due to budgetary constraints.  The DSC, which gave Nampak R&D 17 years of excellent service, is fit-for-purpose and in good condition.

Yunis Kippie, a Master's student and researcher at the University, collected the instrument on behalf of the School of Pharmacy.  "The DSC will help many people on the way to receiving their degrees in science.  Once qualified, they'all add value to the lives of their family, community and country," says Johan Visser, the General Manager of Nampak R&D.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry is a thermal technique, which analyses a wide range of plastics, including laminates.  Key uses include:

*Confirming the types of plastic films in the construction of multi-layer laminates
*Evaluation raw materials prior to the manufacture of plastic packaging
*Determining the cause of failure in plastic packaging
*Identifying plastic foreign objects found in packaged food

DSC also measures the oxidation temperatures of rigid plastics packaging, such as bottles and crates, as well as the long-term stability of polyolefins.  These two aspects have become increasingly important as more and more recycled materials are involved in the manufacture of plastic packaging.

A new machine has been acquired by Nampak R&D. Back to top ^