additives feature | PVC plasticizers
attention with short-chain furan ester plasticizers, or difuroates, that it is currently producing on a pilot plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The plant, which also produces long-chain furoates for possible use as biofuels, uses sugar as its principal feedstock. xF Technologies says that in future it will be able to use biomass that does not compete with the foodchain. The company licenses IP and process technology. The company’s CTO Aviad Cahana says difuroates have
xF Technolo- gies is produc- ing short-chain furan ester plasticizers using this pilot plant in Albuquerque
application areas include non-fogging automotive interior components, special sheets, profiles and gaskets and base stock for lubricating oils.
New bio-based plasticizers Matrìca, the biomaterials joint venture between Italian companies Novamont (best known for its Mater-Bi biodegradable plastics for packaging) and Eni subsidi- ary Versalis, introduced Matrilox bio-plasticizers at the Plast exhibition in Milan in May, although it was giving few details away. The plasticizers are derived from thistles grown close to the company’s plant in Sardinia. Matrìca says they will offer a “high-performance, non-toxic, eco-sustainable alternative to traditional plasticizers (phthalates). These plasticizers, which have high molecular weight and low release levels, are able to achieve excellent plasticization and guarantee exceptional thermal stability.” Bio-plasticizers are also the subject of the EU-spon-
sored Placard project, again based in Italy. Intended mainly for applications in construction, these plasticiz- ers are produced by chemical modification of cardanol, an industrial grade yellow oil obtained by vacuum distillation of cashew nut shell liquid. Antonio Greco, assistant professor at the University
of Salento in Italy, reports that pilot production of the Placard plasticizer has been carried out by R&D company Serichim, whilst tests were conducted by the University of Salento, comparing properties from different high and low molecular weight phthalates and non-phthalates plasticizers. “Placard results showed better plasticizing efficiency than DEHP and DOTP,” he says. “Processability and an energy cost reduction were other parameters that demonstrated better perfor- mance compared to selected commercial plasticizers. Remaining tested parameters were comparable with other selected plasticizers and showed good stability of properties over time.” American start-up xF Technologies is attracting
26 COMPOUNDING WORLD | August 2015
properties similar to dibenzoates – the principal differ- ence being that furoates contain a furan aromatic ring rather than a benzene ring – but have higher polarity that could make them more compatible with PVC. He says some producers of dibenzoates are already evaluating the xF Technologies product, which it markets as Di-408. Difuroates are created by combining a diol and two
molecules of chloromethyl furfural, CMF, derived from sugar. xF technologies has created several, but Cahana says the one that currently appears to show the most potential as a plasticizer is dipropylene glycol difuroate, DPG di-408. This is an analogue of propylene glycol dibenzoate.
Cahana also notes that bibenzoates are normally used
in combination with other plasticizers. “We think that any co-plasticizers, even if we need them, would probably be our own products,” he says. These are monofuroates. PolyOne launched Geon BIO Flexible Solutions in
March. These are “formulated with a bio-derived plasti- cizer and in compliance with phthalate-restrictive regulations, such as California’s Prop 65 and the Consumer Product Safety Initiative Act of 2008 (CPSIA),” it says. Geon BIO materials use PolyOne’s plant-based reFlex
300 plasticizer, which has been tested and certified by the United States Department of Agriculture’s BioPre- ferred Program to be 99% bio-based. Some formulations are pre-certified to meet biocompatibility requirements for United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Class VI protocols. “Customers can avoid compromising performance to
meet regulatory and sustainability objectives,” says Michael Garratt, president of PolyOne’s Performance Products and Solutions business. “Customers benefit as this plant-based, truly non-phthalate flexible vinyl performs at levels equal to or better than materials containing traditional petroleum-based plasticizers.”
Extra capacities BASF’s Hexamoll DINCH is another benchmark non-phthalate plasticizer, which came onto the market in 2002. Originally developed for use in sensitive applications with intimate human contact, such as medical devices, toys and food packaging, this diison- onyl cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate is now used in many
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