PVC plasticizers | additives feature
alternatives within its plasticizer range, including its non-phthalate Benzoflex dibenzoate products. BASF of Germany is currently expanding capacity for
its Hexamoll DINCH plasticizer, adding a second 100,000 tonnes/year production line alongside its original 100,000 tonnes/year plant at Ludwigshafen. The new line is expected to begin production during next year. The company cites growing demand for phthalate-
free plasticizers as the reason for its decision to expand Hexamoll DINCH capacity. It says initial demand from the toy industry has been supplemented by interest from producers of food packaging and medical items, where it has already shown itself suitable for production of sensitive products such as blood bags, nutrition tubes and breathing masks. The plasticizer, which BASF says offers an excellent toxicological profile, is also being used by a number of producers of vinyl coated wallpapers and flooring products. Germany’s Oxea, which added a further two grades
to its Oxsoft line of non-phthalate plasticizers at the beginning of the summer, is also increasing its non-phthalate plasticizer capabilities. The company is doubling the capacity for its Oxsoft plasticizers at its European production plant at Oberhausen, which will take maximum output to 60,000-70,000 tonnes when it comes on stream in October of this year. The company is also building a new derivatives unit
at Nanjing in China, which will come on stream in the second half of next year and will be capable of making a wide range of Oxea products including Oxsoft plasticiz- ers. Oxea’s global marketing manager for speciality esters Jacco de Haas says when the Chinese facility is up and running the company will have a global Oxsoft capacity of 90-100,000 tonnes. The move is intended to position the company to
exploit growing demand for products capable of replacing phthalate plasticizers. “It is not that the total plasticizer market is growing but it is substituting,” says de Haas. “We estimate 80% of all plasticizers used in Europe now are phthalates but are predicting that in 2014 or 2015 the phthalates market will be only 50%. It is not only that people want phthalate-free but that they now have phthalate-free options [such as DOTP] that are the same price or even cheaper.” According to de Haas, the North American market will also see a move away from phthalates in the coming years. Although the shift may not be as fast as in Europe, he says US industry groups are now distin- guishing between lower and higher molecular weight phthalate products in their communications with consumers and regulators. Oxea’s GPO (DOTP) plasticizer is a general purpose grade suitable for direct 1:1 substitution of phthalates
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such as DOP or DINP. The company also offers a range of specialty products – including TOTM - for more demanding applications such as medical devices, where low migration is a key customer requirement. However, de Haas says TOTM can be challenging to
formulate and process, prompting its development of two new products: Oxsoft Duo 1 and Duo 2. These are low migration two-component ester blends designed to provide higher levels of performance than its general purpose GPO product without the processing complexi- ties of TOTM. Both grades offer good elevated tempera- ture flexibility and relative extraction resistance; the Duo 1 product offers better low-temperature flexibility while Duo 2 provides better reduced fogging. US-based Emerald Performance Chemicals is also
investing in phthalate alternatives, with its Emerald Kalama subsidiary announcing earlier this year it is to build a new European plant to produce its K-Flex plasticizer products. It will be located on the Rotterdam site it acquired from DSM in 2010. Currently, the K-Flex dibenzoate ester products are only manufactured at the company’s US facility in Washington state. Emerald Kalama president Edward Glotch describes
the K-Flex product line as one of the company’s key growth platforms and says it is being fuelled by demand for “effective environmentally-friendly alternatives to phthalate plasticizers.” The company describes its K-Flex plasticizers as
high solvating and fast fusing products pitched at general purpose applications in areas such as flooring, coatings and sealants. Emerald Kamala says the products will be fully REACH registered before the European unit begins production later this year. The company outlined three new plasticizer products
at AMI’s PVC Formulation conference in Düsseldorf in Germany earlier this year. X-20 is a blend of three dibenzoate plasticizers optimised for PVC compounds
Oxea is
expanding Oxsoft non- phthalate plasticizer
capacity at its Oberhausen
site in Germany to 60-70,000 tonnes/year
August 2012 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 29
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