- Email: [email protected]
Italmatch extends Phoslite flame retardant range
MATERIALS
immiscible with PMMA and ABS, such as nylon. Several different grades of Xiran SMA additives are commercially available to provide broad flexibility in adjusting base resin properties for ABS and PMMA. Grades for injection moulding or extrusion are offered in granulate form, and a liquid form is also available for fibre-coating treatments. Typical letdown percentages range from 20–40 wt% SMA, with a maximum of 60% used depending on the application requirements, Polyscope reports. Compounding can be done on most conventional equipment with good temperature control, the firm says. Other additives, reinforcements and colorants may either be dry-blended at the start or introduced via side or top feeders during compounding. Typical automotive applications where SMA additives are currently used to enhance the properties of PMMA or ABS resins include instrument-panel carriers, air ducts and high-precision parts such as speaker frames. Common non-automotive uses in these resins include food packaging, chrome-plated sanitary parts, and components for building & construction, electrical and electronics, appliances/white goods, and lighting applications. ‘SMA is such a versatile and cost-effective polymer modifier that we see its use as an additive in acrylics and ABS as well as other thermoplastic systems increasing as customers learn of the many benefits it brings’, says Patrick Muezers, managing director of Polyscope. ‘It’s exciting to see a low-value product such as scrap ABS be converted into a high-value product such as high-heat ABS simply by using SMA to improve thermal performance’, he adds. Polyscope is working to expand both its capacity and product offerings to meet customers’ current and future needs for SMA additives, Muezers says. Contact: Polyscope Polymers BV, Chemelot Gate 7, Koolwaterstofstraat 1, 6161 RA Geleen, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 46 47 63989, Fax: +31 46 47 63990, Email: [email protected], Web: www.polyscope.eu
Plastics Color launches ecofriendly colour concentrates
S
upplier of colour concentrates and additive masterbatches, Plastics Color Corp (PCC) has unveiled a new line of colour concentrates made partially with post-consumer and industrial plastic content. According to the firm, this
April 2010
provides manufacturers with a way to meet recycled material requirements while protecting valuable natural resources. The recycled colorants are offered in a variety of resin types and a wide range of colours. The recycled content of the concentrate formulations ranges from 25% to 82%, depending on their colour. The new colour concentrates are suitable for many applications including playground equipment, construction material, furniture, pallets, packaging and house wares, PCC says. The product line was developed in response to customer requests for products that aid in their sustainability initiatives, explains Joe Byrne, PCC’s VP of sales and marketing. ‘Every pound of post-consumer resin we use helps to reduce consumption of virgin material, therefore minimizing the impact of depleting our limited resources’, Byrne says. The company has been developing and testing the new colorant products for several months, according to PCC’s director of operations Wes Woldt. Vendor selection and qualification for sources of postconsumer regrind was critical in the process, he explains. Contact: Plastics Color Corp, 142nd & Paxton Avenue, Calumet City, IL 60409, USA. Tel: +1 216 401 9009, Web: www.plasticscolor.com
Italmatch extends Phoslite flame retardant range
E
uropean phosphorus derivatives manufacturer Italmatch Chemicals SpA has expanded its Phoslite range of fully colourable flame retardants for polymers with the addition of Phoslite B85AX. The company reports that its Phoslite technology is already ‘successfully consolidated’ in polypropylene (PP) applications and, with introduction of the new product, is now starting to expand into polyamide PA6 and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) applications. According to Italmatch, Phoslite B85AX is a ‘very effective solution’ for flame-proofing both unfilled and glass-fibre reinforced PBT and glass-fibre reinforced PA6, imparting outstanding mechanical properties and meeting UL 94 V0 at 1.6 mm and glow wire ignition temperature (GWIT) requirements at 775°C. The Phoslite product range also includes Phoslite B631C [ADPO, February 2007], which is said to
Additives for Polymers
3
MATERIALS
provide a very effective and efficient solution for UL 94 V2 polyolefins, and Phoslite B85CX for glass-fibre reinforced polycarbonate and PC/ABS alloys. Contact: Italmatch Chemicals SpA, San Benigno, Genoa, Italy. Tel: +39 010 642081, Web: www.italmatch.it
Croda’s latest slip concentrate improves product quality and process efficiency in polyesters
U
K-based Croda Polymer Additives has launched Atmer 7510, a new concentrate for polyester-based polymers that incorporates 10% of the company’s novel slip additive IncroMax™ 100 in a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) carrier system. The active component reduces surface friction by up to 60%, the company claims, leading to a range of product and efficiency improvements. According to Croda, use of Atmer 7510 concentrate in PET and other polyesters can result in improved packing and de-nesting of moulded parts, reduced scuff and scratch, and significantly reduced mould release force. It can be used to improve product quality and process efficiency in both PET film and sheet and also in injection moulding without having any visible effect on the colour or clarity of the PET resin, the company says. IncroMax 100 is a low melting point solid whereas Atmer 7510 is supplied as white, free-flowing pellets, which are easy to handle and dose. The new concentrate has both FDA approval in the USA and EU food approval. In other news, parent company Croda International achieved a strong performance in the second half of 2009 leading to record annual results, with profit from continuing operations, before tax and exceptional items, up 10.5% on 2008 levels to £106.4 million. Sales from continuing operations were £916.2 million, up 0.6%. For the fourth quarter of the year, sales were up 9.0% to £230.6 million while pre-tax profit on continuing operations of £30.9 million was up 44.4% on the same period in 2008. The company recorded a decline in pre-tax profit for the first half of 2009 but noted a ‘marked turnaround’ from the start of the second half. For the year as a whole, sales for the company’s polymer additives sector were at the same level as in 2008 in spite of the recession. Croda is the global market leader in
4
Additives for Polymers
slip additives for polyolefins and is also strong in a number of other additives such as antistatic agents. Contact: Croda International plc, Snaith, DN14 9AA, UK. Tel: +44 1405 860551, Web: www.croda.com/pa
Bayer MaterialScience introduces CNTs with improved dispersibility
B
ayer MaterialScience has introduced a new grade of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under the trade name Baytubes® C 70 P. Compared with the existing product Baytubes C 150 P, the new CNTs are characterized by improved dispersibility, making them highly suited to use in mechanically sensitive polymers, the company says. Developed in response to requests from customers, the new trial product was unveiled at February’s Nanotech trade show in Tokyo. The new product is more easily incorporated than Baytubes C 150 P, as reflected by its greatly reduced bulk density of just 45–95 kg/m3. Baytubes C 70 P are therefore ideal for direct incorporation into mechanically sensitive thermoplastics, explains Dr Heiko Hocke, a CNT specialist at Bayer MaterialScience. Furthermore, economic advantages can result from the shorter times required to disperse the nanotube agglomerates in water and other low-viscosity liquids, the company claims. With regard to their other properties, the two Baytubes grades are virtually the same, Hocke says. Multiwall CNTs, with their very large lengthto-diameter ratio, display very high tensile strength and exceptional electrical and thermal conductivity. Baytubes are agglomerated CNTs and offer a very high degree of purity, Bayer says. The agglomerates can be easily and safely handled and efficiently processed. Even small amounts are capable of imparting new properties to dispersions, plastics, metals and other materials. Bayer MaterialScience has very recently inaugurated a new pilot plant for CNTs with an annual capacity of 200 tonnes at its Leverkusen site (see p. 6). Contact: Bayer MaterialScience AG, Building K12, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Allee, 51368 Leverkusen, Germany. Tel: +49 214 301, Fax: +49 214 3096 38810, Web: www.baytubes.com
April 2010
immiscible with PMMA and ABS, such as nylon. Several different grades of Xiran SMA additives are commercially available to provide broad flexibility in adjusting base resin properties for ABS and PMMA. Grades for injection moulding or extrusion are offered in granulate form, and a liquid form is also available for fibre-coating treatments. Typical letdown percentages range from 20–40 wt% SMA, with a maximum of 60% used depending on the application requirements, Polyscope reports. Compounding can be done on most conventional equipment with good temperature control, the firm says. Other additives, reinforcements and colorants may either be dry-blended at the start or introduced via side or top feeders during compounding. Typical automotive applications where SMA additives are currently used to enhance the properties of PMMA or ABS resins include instrument-panel carriers, air ducts and high-precision parts such as speaker frames. Common non-automotive uses in these resins include food packaging, chrome-plated sanitary parts, and components for building & construction, electrical and electronics, appliances/white goods, and lighting applications. ‘SMA is such a versatile and cost-effective polymer modifier that we see its use as an additive in acrylics and ABS as well as other thermoplastic systems increasing as customers learn of the many benefits it brings’, says Patrick Muezers, managing director of Polyscope. ‘It’s exciting to see a low-value product such as scrap ABS be converted into a high-value product such as high-heat ABS simply by using SMA to improve thermal performance’, he adds. Polyscope is working to expand both its capacity and product offerings to meet customers’ current and future needs for SMA additives, Muezers says. Contact: Polyscope Polymers BV, Chemelot Gate 7, Koolwaterstofstraat 1, 6161 RA Geleen, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 46 47 63989, Fax: +31 46 47 63990, Email: [email protected], Web: www.polyscope.eu
Plastics Color launches ecofriendly colour concentrates
S
upplier of colour concentrates and additive masterbatches, Plastics Color Corp (PCC) has unveiled a new line of colour concentrates made partially with post-consumer and industrial plastic content. According to the firm, this
April 2010
provides manufacturers with a way to meet recycled material requirements while protecting valuable natural resources. The recycled colorants are offered in a variety of resin types and a wide range of colours. The recycled content of the concentrate formulations ranges from 25% to 82%, depending on their colour. The new colour concentrates are suitable for many applications including playground equipment, construction material, furniture, pallets, packaging and house wares, PCC says. The product line was developed in response to customer requests for products that aid in their sustainability initiatives, explains Joe Byrne, PCC’s VP of sales and marketing. ‘Every pound of post-consumer resin we use helps to reduce consumption of virgin material, therefore minimizing the impact of depleting our limited resources’, Byrne says. The company has been developing and testing the new colorant products for several months, according to PCC’s director of operations Wes Woldt. Vendor selection and qualification for sources of postconsumer regrind was critical in the process, he explains. Contact: Plastics Color Corp, 142nd & Paxton Avenue, Calumet City, IL 60409, USA. Tel: +1 216 401 9009, Web: www.plasticscolor.com
Italmatch extends Phoslite flame retardant range
E
uropean phosphorus derivatives manufacturer Italmatch Chemicals SpA has expanded its Phoslite range of fully colourable flame retardants for polymers with the addition of Phoslite B85AX. The company reports that its Phoslite technology is already ‘successfully consolidated’ in polypropylene (PP) applications and, with introduction of the new product, is now starting to expand into polyamide PA6 and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) applications. According to Italmatch, Phoslite B85AX is a ‘very effective solution’ for flame-proofing both unfilled and glass-fibre reinforced PBT and glass-fibre reinforced PA6, imparting outstanding mechanical properties and meeting UL 94 V0 at 1.6 mm and glow wire ignition temperature (GWIT) requirements at 775°C. The Phoslite product range also includes Phoslite B631C [ADPO, February 2007], which is said to
Additives for Polymers
3
MATERIALS
provide a very effective and efficient solution for UL 94 V2 polyolefins, and Phoslite B85CX for glass-fibre reinforced polycarbonate and PC/ABS alloys. Contact: Italmatch Chemicals SpA, San Benigno, Genoa, Italy. Tel: +39 010 642081, Web: www.italmatch.it
Croda’s latest slip concentrate improves product quality and process efficiency in polyesters
U
K-based Croda Polymer Additives has launched Atmer 7510, a new concentrate for polyester-based polymers that incorporates 10% of the company’s novel slip additive IncroMax™ 100 in a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) carrier system. The active component reduces surface friction by up to 60%, the company claims, leading to a range of product and efficiency improvements. According to Croda, use of Atmer 7510 concentrate in PET and other polyesters can result in improved packing and de-nesting of moulded parts, reduced scuff and scratch, and significantly reduced mould release force. It can be used to improve product quality and process efficiency in both PET film and sheet and also in injection moulding without having any visible effect on the colour or clarity of the PET resin, the company says. IncroMax 100 is a low melting point solid whereas Atmer 7510 is supplied as white, free-flowing pellets, which are easy to handle and dose. The new concentrate has both FDA approval in the USA and EU food approval. In other news, parent company Croda International achieved a strong performance in the second half of 2009 leading to record annual results, with profit from continuing operations, before tax and exceptional items, up 10.5% on 2008 levels to £106.4 million. Sales from continuing operations were £916.2 million, up 0.6%. For the fourth quarter of the year, sales were up 9.0% to £230.6 million while pre-tax profit on continuing operations of £30.9 million was up 44.4% on the same period in 2008. The company recorded a decline in pre-tax profit for the first half of 2009 but noted a ‘marked turnaround’ from the start of the second half. For the year as a whole, sales for the company’s polymer additives sector were at the same level as in 2008 in spite of the recession. Croda is the global market leader in
4
Additives for Polymers
slip additives for polyolefins and is also strong in a number of other additives such as antistatic agents. Contact: Croda International plc, Snaith, DN14 9AA, UK. Tel: +44 1405 860551, Web: www.croda.com/pa
Bayer MaterialScience introduces CNTs with improved dispersibility
B
ayer MaterialScience has introduced a new grade of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under the trade name Baytubes® C 70 P. Compared with the existing product Baytubes C 150 P, the new CNTs are characterized by improved dispersibility, making them highly suited to use in mechanically sensitive polymers, the company says. Developed in response to requests from customers, the new trial product was unveiled at February’s Nanotech trade show in Tokyo. The new product is more easily incorporated than Baytubes C 150 P, as reflected by its greatly reduced bulk density of just 45–95 kg/m3. Baytubes C 70 P are therefore ideal for direct incorporation into mechanically sensitive thermoplastics, explains Dr Heiko Hocke, a CNT specialist at Bayer MaterialScience. Furthermore, economic advantages can result from the shorter times required to disperse the nanotube agglomerates in water and other low-viscosity liquids, the company claims. With regard to their other properties, the two Baytubes grades are virtually the same, Hocke says. Multiwall CNTs, with their very large lengthto-diameter ratio, display very high tensile strength and exceptional electrical and thermal conductivity. Baytubes are agglomerated CNTs and offer a very high degree of purity, Bayer says. The agglomerates can be easily and safely handled and efficiently processed. Even small amounts are capable of imparting new properties to dispersions, plastics, metals and other materials. Bayer MaterialScience has very recently inaugurated a new pilot plant for CNTs with an annual capacity of 200 tonnes at its Leverkusen site (see p. 6). Contact: Bayer MaterialScience AG, Building K12, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Allee, 51368 Leverkusen, Germany. Tel: +49 214 301, Fax: +49 214 3096 38810, Web: www.baytubes.com
April 2010