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Holland Colours reveals more intense colours for polystyrene beads
materials
‘many benefits’, Optiblo is ‘reasonably priced’, Bestall adds. According to Silvergate, Optiblo technology is available for all plastics producers in all colours and any order size. Contact: Silvergate Plastics, Wrexham, UK. Tel: +44 1978 661496, Web: www.silvergate.co.uk
New sortable colorants from Colour Tone aid recovery of plastics
U
K company Colour Tone Masterbatch has launched a new range of patent pending, sortable colorants that it believes will help the recovery of a wide variety of plastics previously undetectable by recyclers using commonly employed automated methods of identification. Such plastics include rigid black plastic packaging, plastic components in end-of-life vehicles and electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) waste. Colour Tone’s Irdent is a collection of Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP)-tested, detectable pigments that, in addition to being detectable in the waste-sorting process, also provide ‘excellent colour quality’, the company claims. In extensive studies by WRAP, including industrialscale manufacturing trials, Irdent has been found to be useable without adversely affecting the physical properties or manufacturing process conditions, Colour Tone reports. The most common automated technology used by material recovery facilities (MRFs) and plastics recovery facilities (PRFs) for the sorting of plastics employs near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to detect the polymer type. These NIR detectors are capable of accurately discriminating between items made from different polymers, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene. This sorting of polymers is essential to ensure that the resultant recycled material is commercially attractive to processors. However, a large amount of these potentially recyclable items cannot be identified by the NIR systems as they contain colour pigments that are very good IR absorbers and are therefore undetectable, Colour Tone explains. The company says it is ‘confident’ that the use of its Irdent range can increase the recovery of high-quality materials, diverting them away from landfill and enabling them to be used in place of virgin plastic to make new
February 2016
products. This not only delivers CO2 savings but also contributes to the achievement of both voluntary and legislated plastic recycling targets, it says. The Caerphilly-based firm suggests there may be approximately one million tonnes of rigid mixed plastic packaging in the UK waste stream. Of this amount, between 3% and 6% is considered to be black plastic packaging. In terms of tonnage, this is in the region of 26 000–30 000 tonnes per year and some studies have indicated that this figure could be as high as 60 000 tonnes/year of black rigid plastic packaging. Black plastic packaging is typically produced from amorphous and crystallizable PET, PP and polyethylene, which is traditionally coloured with carbon black pigment. According to Colour Tone, this sector is an example of where its innovative detectable pigment technology could make ‘a vast difference’. ‘In using only the example of this particular sector, the use of Irdent in plastic packaging allows processors of black rigid plastic packaging to ensure that their products are truly recyclable, whilst still achieving a really excellent colour’, says the company’s managing director Tony Gaukroger. ‘We have found that processors who have already tested this are particularly satisfied with the quality of the colour’, he reports. The technology required for recyclers to separate the different plastic waste streams and colours is already in use and therefore further investment would not be required to exploit the benefits offered by the Irdent pigments, the company explains. ‘We are particularly excited at the opportunities this range presents for automotive and electrical product applications. This new generation of pigments now makes the concept of ‘designing for end-of-life’ a reality and a vital part of planning for the adherence to end-of-life legislation’, Gaukroger concludes. Contact: Colour Tone Masterbatch Ltd, Bedwas, Caerphilly, UK. Tel: +44 2920 888910, Web: www.colourtone-masterbatch.co.uk
Holland Colours reveals more intense colours for polystyrene beads
C
olorants manufacturer Holland Colours NV has extended its well-established Holcobatch microbead range for thermoplastics with a new line for extruded and expanded polystyrene (XPS
Additives for Polymers
3
materials
and EPS) that is said to enable the production of more intense colours than have previously been possible. According to the company, the new series is available in the same palette of colours as its standard colorant range for EPS/XPS but produces stronger shades in the polystyrene beads. The development is down to the use of an innovative carrier system, also based on the Holcobatch technology, Holland Colours explains. With its standard Holcobatch colorants for EPS/XPS, the advised dosing level is between 0.05% and 0.5%; however, the carrier in the new products allows dosing levels above 0.5%, which enables ‘far greater flexibility’ in the colouring range, the company claims. Eye-catching colours can be utilized for a number of reasons, including product identification and corporate identity, it comments. Other product features of the new colorants, as well as their behaviour in the production process, are equivalent to those of the standard Holcobatch range for EPS/XPS, according to Holland Colours. All Holcobatch colorants for XPS/EPS are reported to be easy to handle, and are suitable for use in block moulding, sheet moulding and transfer moulding production processes. They require no additional fixing agents during the expansion process and no changes in the standard extrusion temperature profile, the company says. Key compound end-properties such as insulation and flame retardance are unaffected, it reports. In addition to the standard colour palette, customized shades can be developed for specific needs. Holcobatch colorants for XPS and EPS are currently only available in Europe, Holland Colours reports. Contact: Holland Colours NV, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 55 368 0700, Web: www.hollandcolours.com
Milliken additives receive two R&D 100 Awards
T
wo of Milliken Chemical’s recently introduced polymer additives were among the winners of the 53rd annual R&D 100 Awards announced in late 2015. Milliguard® AOX-1 and Hyperform® HPN 210M were both honoured in the Mechanical/ Materials category. According to the company, both technologies provide ‘unique solutions’ to improve materials integral to countless mar-
4
Additives for Polymers
kets, industries and products. Organized by R&D Magazine, the R&D 100 Awards is an annual international competition that recognizes the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the previous year. Milliguard AOX-1 is an antioxidant that is reported to significantly improve the chemistry used to stabilize polyurethane foams against degradation by free radicals. Unlike most stabilizers, this additive reacts into urethane systems, resulting in significantly lower volatility and migration, Milliken explains. When incorporated in polyols or added during polymerization, the antioxidant reacts into the polymer backbone to deliver reduced volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and outstanding performance at lower loadings, two very important benefits for customers, it comments. Specifically, for the automotive industry, Milliguard AOX-1 addresses more-stringent environmental, health and safety requirements, including increasingly rigorous vehicle indoor air quality standards, the company says. Test results achieved by Milliken consistently show that, compared to industry standards, the new product significantly reduces VOC content and dramatically minimizes outgassing condensation (FOG) content emission associated with the antioxidant. The technology gives polyol producers and foam manufacturers a powerful tool for interior vehicle components such as seats, door trim, carpet, instrument panels, headliners and consoles, the company says. Hyperform HPN 210M [ADPO, January 2015] is a nucleating agent for injection moulded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) applications. Described by Milliken as ‘groundbreaking’, this technology improves the mechanical performance of HDPE to levels approaching those of polypropylene (PP) impact copolymers, it claims. Hyperform HPN 210M gives moulders ‘new processing options’ for packaging and material-handling applications, the company says. The new nucleator specifically targets material-handling applications such as waste containers, totes, crates and pallets. Two further Milliken products – Millicap Reinforcement Tape, a strengthening technology for rubber, and SiVance’s XLED LED Encapsulant, a moreefficient, higher-power-density LED – were also selected as finalists for the 2015 edition of the R&D 100 Awards. The company has won seven of these prestigious awards in the past four years. Previous winners of the elite technology innovation awards have included the flashcube (1964), the Fax machine (1975) and the Quick Response (QR) Code (2002). Competition for the awards is
February 2016
‘many benefits’, Optiblo is ‘reasonably priced’, Bestall adds. According to Silvergate, Optiblo technology is available for all plastics producers in all colours and any order size. Contact: Silvergate Plastics, Wrexham, UK. Tel: +44 1978 661496, Web: www.silvergate.co.uk
New sortable colorants from Colour Tone aid recovery of plastics
U
K company Colour Tone Masterbatch has launched a new range of patent pending, sortable colorants that it believes will help the recovery of a wide variety of plastics previously undetectable by recyclers using commonly employed automated methods of identification. Such plastics include rigid black plastic packaging, plastic components in end-of-life vehicles and electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) waste. Colour Tone’s Irdent is a collection of Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP)-tested, detectable pigments that, in addition to being detectable in the waste-sorting process, also provide ‘excellent colour quality’, the company claims. In extensive studies by WRAP, including industrialscale manufacturing trials, Irdent has been found to be useable without adversely affecting the physical properties or manufacturing process conditions, Colour Tone reports. The most common automated technology used by material recovery facilities (MRFs) and plastics recovery facilities (PRFs) for the sorting of plastics employs near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to detect the polymer type. These NIR detectors are capable of accurately discriminating between items made from different polymers, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene. This sorting of polymers is essential to ensure that the resultant recycled material is commercially attractive to processors. However, a large amount of these potentially recyclable items cannot be identified by the NIR systems as they contain colour pigments that are very good IR absorbers and are therefore undetectable, Colour Tone explains. The company says it is ‘confident’ that the use of its Irdent range can increase the recovery of high-quality materials, diverting them away from landfill and enabling them to be used in place of virgin plastic to make new
February 2016
products. This not only delivers CO2 savings but also contributes to the achievement of both voluntary and legislated plastic recycling targets, it says. The Caerphilly-based firm suggests there may be approximately one million tonnes of rigid mixed plastic packaging in the UK waste stream. Of this amount, between 3% and 6% is considered to be black plastic packaging. In terms of tonnage, this is in the region of 26 000–30 000 tonnes per year and some studies have indicated that this figure could be as high as 60 000 tonnes/year of black rigid plastic packaging. Black plastic packaging is typically produced from amorphous and crystallizable PET, PP and polyethylene, which is traditionally coloured with carbon black pigment. According to Colour Tone, this sector is an example of where its innovative detectable pigment technology could make ‘a vast difference’. ‘In using only the example of this particular sector, the use of Irdent in plastic packaging allows processors of black rigid plastic packaging to ensure that their products are truly recyclable, whilst still achieving a really excellent colour’, says the company’s managing director Tony Gaukroger. ‘We have found that processors who have already tested this are particularly satisfied with the quality of the colour’, he reports. The technology required for recyclers to separate the different plastic waste streams and colours is already in use and therefore further investment would not be required to exploit the benefits offered by the Irdent pigments, the company explains. ‘We are particularly excited at the opportunities this range presents for automotive and electrical product applications. This new generation of pigments now makes the concept of ‘designing for end-of-life’ a reality and a vital part of planning for the adherence to end-of-life legislation’, Gaukroger concludes. Contact: Colour Tone Masterbatch Ltd, Bedwas, Caerphilly, UK. Tel: +44 2920 888910, Web: www.colourtone-masterbatch.co.uk
Holland Colours reveals more intense colours for polystyrene beads
C
olorants manufacturer Holland Colours NV has extended its well-established Holcobatch microbead range for thermoplastics with a new line for extruded and expanded polystyrene (XPS
Additives for Polymers
3
materials
and EPS) that is said to enable the production of more intense colours than have previously been possible. According to the company, the new series is available in the same palette of colours as its standard colorant range for EPS/XPS but produces stronger shades in the polystyrene beads. The development is down to the use of an innovative carrier system, also based on the Holcobatch technology, Holland Colours explains. With its standard Holcobatch colorants for EPS/XPS, the advised dosing level is between 0.05% and 0.5%; however, the carrier in the new products allows dosing levels above 0.5%, which enables ‘far greater flexibility’ in the colouring range, the company claims. Eye-catching colours can be utilized for a number of reasons, including product identification and corporate identity, it comments. Other product features of the new colorants, as well as their behaviour in the production process, are equivalent to those of the standard Holcobatch range for EPS/XPS, according to Holland Colours. All Holcobatch colorants for XPS/EPS are reported to be easy to handle, and are suitable for use in block moulding, sheet moulding and transfer moulding production processes. They require no additional fixing agents during the expansion process and no changes in the standard extrusion temperature profile, the company says. Key compound end-properties such as insulation and flame retardance are unaffected, it reports. In addition to the standard colour palette, customized shades can be developed for specific needs. Holcobatch colorants for XPS and EPS are currently only available in Europe, Holland Colours reports. Contact: Holland Colours NV, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 55 368 0700, Web: www.hollandcolours.com
Milliken additives receive two R&D 100 Awards
T
wo of Milliken Chemical’s recently introduced polymer additives were among the winners of the 53rd annual R&D 100 Awards announced in late 2015. Milliguard® AOX-1 and Hyperform® HPN 210M were both honoured in the Mechanical/ Materials category. According to the company, both technologies provide ‘unique solutions’ to improve materials integral to countless mar-
4
Additives for Polymers
kets, industries and products. Organized by R&D Magazine, the R&D 100 Awards is an annual international competition that recognizes the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the previous year. Milliguard AOX-1 is an antioxidant that is reported to significantly improve the chemistry used to stabilize polyurethane foams against degradation by free radicals. Unlike most stabilizers, this additive reacts into urethane systems, resulting in significantly lower volatility and migration, Milliken explains. When incorporated in polyols or added during polymerization, the antioxidant reacts into the polymer backbone to deliver reduced volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and outstanding performance at lower loadings, two very important benefits for customers, it comments. Specifically, for the automotive industry, Milliguard AOX-1 addresses more-stringent environmental, health and safety requirements, including increasingly rigorous vehicle indoor air quality standards, the company says. Test results achieved by Milliken consistently show that, compared to industry standards, the new product significantly reduces VOC content and dramatically minimizes outgassing condensation (FOG) content emission associated with the antioxidant. The technology gives polyol producers and foam manufacturers a powerful tool for interior vehicle components such as seats, door trim, carpet, instrument panels, headliners and consoles, the company says. Hyperform HPN 210M [ADPO, January 2015] is a nucleating agent for injection moulded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) applications. Described by Milliken as ‘groundbreaking’, this technology improves the mechanical performance of HDPE to levels approaching those of polypropylene (PP) impact copolymers, it claims. Hyperform HPN 210M gives moulders ‘new processing options’ for packaging and material-handling applications, the company says. The new nucleator specifically targets material-handling applications such as waste containers, totes, crates and pallets. Two further Milliken products – Millicap Reinforcement Tape, a strengthening technology for rubber, and SiVance’s XLED LED Encapsulant, a moreefficient, higher-power-density LED – were also selected as finalists for the 2015 edition of the R&D 100 Awards. The company has won seven of these prestigious awards in the past four years. Previous winners of the elite technology innovation awards have included the flashcube (1964), the Fax machine (1975) and the Quick Response (QR) Code (2002). Competition for the awards is
February 2016