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Australian company FGR launches initial graphene product range
MATERIALS
...Continued from front page people worldwide and operates technical and colour development centres and manufacturing sites throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe. The company provides a broad range of custom colour, special effect, black, white and speciality additive masterbatches for flexible and rigid extrusion processes and applications.
ing films, particularly for dry foods such as pasta and bread, as well as packaging for pet food. Tosaf was established in Israel in 1986 by Amos Megides, who still leads the company as its CEO. Today, it is a global organization with more than 1000 employees and 11 plants in seven countries. It has sales offices and customers in more than 50 countries across Europe, North America, South America, Asia and the Middle East.
More information: www.ampacet.com More information: www.tosaf.com
MATERIALS Tosaf develops matte additive for polyolefin films
I
sraeli firm Tosaf, a manufacturer of additives, colour masterbatches and compounds for the worldwide plastics industry, has introduced MT7636PE, an additive that is capable of creating a matte effect on oriented and non-oriented polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) films. Addition of the newly developed product to an ultra-thin (2–5 μm) top layer significantly changes the haze, clarity and gloss of the polyolefin film without the need for a further converting process and the extra associated costs, the company reports. MT7636PE is based on a ‘special polymer mixture’ that does not contain fillers, according to Tosaf. The haze and gloss properties of a film can be controlled depending on the loading of the additive in the skin layer; at the maximum loading it can provide a very high haze of ≥80% combined with a low gloss of <10, the company claims. Additional advantages include excellent rheology for easy processing and low die build-up, Tosaf reports. With the use of MT7636PE, converters can easily achieve a ‘luxurious look’ thanks to a uniformly continuous light transmission with a ‘perfectly consistent’ transparency level over the entire surface of the film, the company says. However, if desired, specific areas of the treated matte film can be rendered transparent by applying a lacquer coating or by gluing a clear label on top of the matte layer, Tosaf reports. The matte additive provides an excellent substrate for printing with such lacquers or other inks thanks to its high surface roughness, which supports good adhesion to the film, the company explains. Suggested applications for MT7636PE include food packag-
2
Additives for Polymers
Australian company FGR launches initial graphene product range
F
irst Graphene Ltd (FGR), previously known as First Graphite and based in Nedlands in Western Australia (WA), has introduced its first range of commercially available graphene products targeting applications in polymer composites, rubbers, paints and inks, among others. Launched under the registered trademark PureGRAPH™, the new range consists of three products with different, tightly controlled graphene platelet sizes, the public company reports. Detailed supporting data is available in the form of product information sheets. The three initial graphene grades, with lateral sheet sizes of 20 µm, 10 µm and 5 µm, have been developed to address specific market requirements, FGR explains. PureGRAPH 10, with a lateral size of 10 µm, is reported to be particularly suitable for use as a reinforcing agent in polymer-based materials. The product is readily dispersed into polymer resins and rubbers and provides ‘excellent reinforcing properties’, the company claims. Recommended applications include the reinforcement of carbon fibre- and glass fibrefilled polymer composites, as well as rubbers. PureGRAPH 20, with a lateral size of 20 µm, is said to be ideal where fire retardancy barrier, thermal conductivity and reinforcing properties are required. Suggested applications for this grade include fire retardant paints, concretes and geotextiles. Finally, PureGRAPH 5 (lateral size = 5 µm) is particularly useful for formulations in low viscosity systems such as inks where solution stability and final film appearance are important, FGR reports. It is designed for applications in electrically conductive inks and coatings. According to the company, further size options will be added in the future. FGR also says that, due to its ‘unique process’, it would be able to meet customer requests for graphene with larger lateral sheet sizes.
November 2018
MATERIALS
The initial products are supplied in powder form. However, agglomeration of the powders is low, the company confirms, as a result of their method of manufacture and the tightly controlled particle size distribution of the products. The PureGRAPH grades are therefore readily dispersible in a range of solvent and polymer resin systems, FGR claims. Evaluation of the graphene products is well underway with FGR’s university partners (The University of Adelaide, Flinders University and Swinburne University of Technology) as well as with the company’s commercial partners, it reports. Orders from commercial customers for kilogramme-scale development quantities are already being supplied, the company reveals. In a press release announcing the introduction of the PureGRAPH range, FGR’s managing director Craig McGuckin describes the launch of its graphene products with a ‘fully locked down specification’, alongside the detailed product information sheet, as ‘a significant step forward’ in the commercialization of graphene. ‘Our customers can now be confident of the quality of the graphene products they are purchasing and assured that their product development has a reliable raw material supply to build from. Our competitive research has revealed that no other manufacturers have been prepared to present the detail of product information shown by FGR’, McGuckin reports. FGR produces high-quality graphene from graphite via an electrochemical exfoliation process. The graphite is sourced from its mine in Sri Lanka, and then shipped back to Australia for conversion into graphene. The company opened its first commercial-scale graphene manufacturing facility in Henderson, near Perth (WA) in November 2017, with a capacity of 100 tonnes per year. FGR reports that in the intervening months its management worked with various universities and on its own production processes, as well as engaging in ‘exhaustive product tests’ and discussions with current and potential users, to ensure it could consistently produce a suitable range of products for market launch. FGR says it seeks to position itself in the ‘lowest cost quartile’ of graphene suppliers worldwide. More information: firstgraphene.com.au
Gabriel-Chemie presents masterbatches certified to halal and vegan standards
I
n order to satisfy the increasingly ethical and health-conscious demands of consumers,
November 2018
Austrian masterbatch manufacturer GabrielChemie GmbH has developed a new range of products that comply with internationally recognized halal and vegan standards. The new, certified masterbatches are likely to be of particular interest to the medical, food and beverage, and cosmetics packaging sectors. The company reports that it can now manufacture masterbatches according to special requirements that ensure the products can be certified as 100% free of raw materials that are of animal origin, which satisfies the constraints for both halal and vegan labelling. Furthermore, to qualify for halal compliance, the raw materials in the new product range are certified as being 100% alcoholfree. In order to underline the quality and transparency of the content, Gabriel-Chemie uses both the globally recognized certification of the European Halal authority Halal Quality Control (HQC) and the ‘V-label’, an internationally recognized symbol for the labelling of vegan and vegetarian products, on its new masterbatch range. Gabriel-Chemie is committed to fulfilling the demands of both consumers and customers in terms of social and environmental responsibility, explains company spokesperson Sabine Nicolaus. ‘That’s why Gabriel-Chemie must act responsibly and strive for sustainable solutions that are also in line with our economic development as a company’, she says. In other news, Gabriel-Chemie is part of the SolPol consortium that recently received an Austrian Solar Prize from charity EUROSOLAR, as well as a ‘Sustainability Award 2018’ from Austria’s Federal Ministries of Education, Science and Research, and Sustainability and Tourism earlier this year. Launched in 2009 by the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, and involving numerous industrial partners, the SolPol project aims to develop a solar thermal system (for the generation of hot water from solar radiation) made entirely of polymers, capable of reaching a service life of at least 20 years and recyclable at the end of its service life. Within the scope of this project, Gabriel-Chemie and its industrial partners developed new stabilizer packages that can withstand the high temperatures and contact with hot water, thus ensuring a long service life. Due to the combination of properties, the masterbatch products developed by Gabriel-Chemie for the SolPol project can be used in many different applications, the company says. More information: www.gabriel-chemie.com More information: halaloffice.com More information: www.v-label.eu
Additives for Polymers
3
...Continued from front page people worldwide and operates technical and colour development centres and manufacturing sites throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe. The company provides a broad range of custom colour, special effect, black, white and speciality additive masterbatches for flexible and rigid extrusion processes and applications.
ing films, particularly for dry foods such as pasta and bread, as well as packaging for pet food. Tosaf was established in Israel in 1986 by Amos Megides, who still leads the company as its CEO. Today, it is a global organization with more than 1000 employees and 11 plants in seven countries. It has sales offices and customers in more than 50 countries across Europe, North America, South America, Asia and the Middle East.
More information: www.ampacet.com More information: www.tosaf.com
MATERIALS Tosaf develops matte additive for polyolefin films
I
sraeli firm Tosaf, a manufacturer of additives, colour masterbatches and compounds for the worldwide plastics industry, has introduced MT7636PE, an additive that is capable of creating a matte effect on oriented and non-oriented polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) films. Addition of the newly developed product to an ultra-thin (2–5 μm) top layer significantly changes the haze, clarity and gloss of the polyolefin film without the need for a further converting process and the extra associated costs, the company reports. MT7636PE is based on a ‘special polymer mixture’ that does not contain fillers, according to Tosaf. The haze and gloss properties of a film can be controlled depending on the loading of the additive in the skin layer; at the maximum loading it can provide a very high haze of ≥80% combined with a low gloss of <10, the company claims. Additional advantages include excellent rheology for easy processing and low die build-up, Tosaf reports. With the use of MT7636PE, converters can easily achieve a ‘luxurious look’ thanks to a uniformly continuous light transmission with a ‘perfectly consistent’ transparency level over the entire surface of the film, the company says. However, if desired, specific areas of the treated matte film can be rendered transparent by applying a lacquer coating or by gluing a clear label on top of the matte layer, Tosaf reports. The matte additive provides an excellent substrate for printing with such lacquers or other inks thanks to its high surface roughness, which supports good adhesion to the film, the company explains. Suggested applications for MT7636PE include food packag-
2
Additives for Polymers
Australian company FGR launches initial graphene product range
F
irst Graphene Ltd (FGR), previously known as First Graphite and based in Nedlands in Western Australia (WA), has introduced its first range of commercially available graphene products targeting applications in polymer composites, rubbers, paints and inks, among others. Launched under the registered trademark PureGRAPH™, the new range consists of three products with different, tightly controlled graphene platelet sizes, the public company reports. Detailed supporting data is available in the form of product information sheets. The three initial graphene grades, with lateral sheet sizes of 20 µm, 10 µm and 5 µm, have been developed to address specific market requirements, FGR explains. PureGRAPH 10, with a lateral size of 10 µm, is reported to be particularly suitable for use as a reinforcing agent in polymer-based materials. The product is readily dispersed into polymer resins and rubbers and provides ‘excellent reinforcing properties’, the company claims. Recommended applications include the reinforcement of carbon fibre- and glass fibrefilled polymer composites, as well as rubbers. PureGRAPH 20, with a lateral size of 20 µm, is said to be ideal where fire retardancy barrier, thermal conductivity and reinforcing properties are required. Suggested applications for this grade include fire retardant paints, concretes and geotextiles. Finally, PureGRAPH 5 (lateral size = 5 µm) is particularly useful for formulations in low viscosity systems such as inks where solution stability and final film appearance are important, FGR reports. It is designed for applications in electrically conductive inks and coatings. According to the company, further size options will be added in the future. FGR also says that, due to its ‘unique process’, it would be able to meet customer requests for graphene with larger lateral sheet sizes.
November 2018
MATERIALS
The initial products are supplied in powder form. However, agglomeration of the powders is low, the company confirms, as a result of their method of manufacture and the tightly controlled particle size distribution of the products. The PureGRAPH grades are therefore readily dispersible in a range of solvent and polymer resin systems, FGR claims. Evaluation of the graphene products is well underway with FGR’s university partners (The University of Adelaide, Flinders University and Swinburne University of Technology) as well as with the company’s commercial partners, it reports. Orders from commercial customers for kilogramme-scale development quantities are already being supplied, the company reveals. In a press release announcing the introduction of the PureGRAPH range, FGR’s managing director Craig McGuckin describes the launch of its graphene products with a ‘fully locked down specification’, alongside the detailed product information sheet, as ‘a significant step forward’ in the commercialization of graphene. ‘Our customers can now be confident of the quality of the graphene products they are purchasing and assured that their product development has a reliable raw material supply to build from. Our competitive research has revealed that no other manufacturers have been prepared to present the detail of product information shown by FGR’, McGuckin reports. FGR produces high-quality graphene from graphite via an electrochemical exfoliation process. The graphite is sourced from its mine in Sri Lanka, and then shipped back to Australia for conversion into graphene. The company opened its first commercial-scale graphene manufacturing facility in Henderson, near Perth (WA) in November 2017, with a capacity of 100 tonnes per year. FGR reports that in the intervening months its management worked with various universities and on its own production processes, as well as engaging in ‘exhaustive product tests’ and discussions with current and potential users, to ensure it could consistently produce a suitable range of products for market launch. FGR says it seeks to position itself in the ‘lowest cost quartile’ of graphene suppliers worldwide. More information: firstgraphene.com.au
Gabriel-Chemie presents masterbatches certified to halal and vegan standards
I
n order to satisfy the increasingly ethical and health-conscious demands of consumers,
November 2018
Austrian masterbatch manufacturer GabrielChemie GmbH has developed a new range of products that comply with internationally recognized halal and vegan standards. The new, certified masterbatches are likely to be of particular interest to the medical, food and beverage, and cosmetics packaging sectors. The company reports that it can now manufacture masterbatches according to special requirements that ensure the products can be certified as 100% free of raw materials that are of animal origin, which satisfies the constraints for both halal and vegan labelling. Furthermore, to qualify for halal compliance, the raw materials in the new product range are certified as being 100% alcoholfree. In order to underline the quality and transparency of the content, Gabriel-Chemie uses both the globally recognized certification of the European Halal authority Halal Quality Control (HQC) and the ‘V-label’, an internationally recognized symbol for the labelling of vegan and vegetarian products, on its new masterbatch range. Gabriel-Chemie is committed to fulfilling the demands of both consumers and customers in terms of social and environmental responsibility, explains company spokesperson Sabine Nicolaus. ‘That’s why Gabriel-Chemie must act responsibly and strive for sustainable solutions that are also in line with our economic development as a company’, she says. In other news, Gabriel-Chemie is part of the SolPol consortium that recently received an Austrian Solar Prize from charity EUROSOLAR, as well as a ‘Sustainability Award 2018’ from Austria’s Federal Ministries of Education, Science and Research, and Sustainability and Tourism earlier this year. Launched in 2009 by the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, and involving numerous industrial partners, the SolPol project aims to develop a solar thermal system (for the generation of hot water from solar radiation) made entirely of polymers, capable of reaching a service life of at least 20 years and recyclable at the end of its service life. Within the scope of this project, Gabriel-Chemie and its industrial partners developed new stabilizer packages that can withstand the high temperatures and contact with hot water, thus ensuring a long service life. Due to the combination of properties, the masterbatch products developed by Gabriel-Chemie for the SolPol project can be used in many different applications, the company says. More information: www.gabriel-chemie.com More information: halaloffice.com More information: www.v-label.eu
Additives for Polymers
3