additives feature | Coupling agents & dispersants
and dispersants. And with the ability of these additives to boost formulation performance, compounders are also finding greater opportunities for new business.
Bring in the reinforcements In the coupling agents arena, Evonik has been busy expanding its work in silanes this year. The company, which has headquarters in Essen, Germany, announced in July a major investment in a new silanes research facility in Rheinfelden, Germany. Earlier this year, the company acquired US-based Silbond, which produces silicic acid esters, key ingredients in the development of coatings and other products. Evonik’s manager of silane innovations, Kerstin
Evonik ‘broke ground’ last month to start construction of its new Silanes research facility
sive raw materials that could be converted into marketable products. The problem was that poorly sorted and contaminated plastics and other scrap were as likely to end up in landfills in China, as elsewhere. With public outcries growing over this issue, Green Fence became an important way for the government to respond to the problem. The impact was immediate. In the first half of 2013,
the value of plastics scrap exported to China by the US, one of the largest such suppliers, declined by 11%. In the second quarter of 2013 alone, China imported 20% less plastic scrap from the US than in the same period in 2012. The value of that rejected scrap was put at US$300 million by Chinese authorities. With a major market like China closed to a lot of
commingled scrap, and many countries such as the US emphasizing single-stream recycling, the supply of mixed scrap began building. This has increased the need for more additives that can compatibilize different resins in the waste stream and effectively disperse other materials such as barrier resins from packaging scrap throughout compounds. Consumer scrap isn’t the only material driving this
effort. Over the years many converters have come to recognize the value of their relatively clean production scrap to their operations and to those of recyclers. The result has also been demand for coupling agents and related compatibilizers that can boost the reuse value of this materials stream. Regulations are also driving the development of
coupling agents and dispersants. Ongoing rules pertaining to flame-resistant materials in public buildings, low VOC (volatile organic compound) levels in the workplace, the elimination of hazardous chemis- tries such as heavy metals in formulations, and sustainability in product design are influencing plastics compounds. The result of all this activity is that compounders are finding more options when it comes to coupling agents
34 COMPOUNDING WORLD | August 2014
Weissenbach says that developments in coupling agents “go hand-in-hand” with these investments. The company’s products in this area include specialties like the multifunctional Dynasylan Oligomers for wire and cable, moisture-cured, crosslinked PE and mineral- filled polyolefins; Dynasylan Silfin, tailor-made materi- als for wire and cable, pipe and other thermoplastics; and Dynasylan Hydrosil, multifunctional water-based silane systems that Evonik formulates in a proprietary process.
Some product groups have benefits beyond coupling functionality. One advantage, says Ioana Elena Mihailes- cu, who works in applied technology silanes for plastics and fillers, is reduced, and in some cases zero, VOC emissions during compounding. Dynasylan Oligomers, for example, are characterized by significantly reduced alcohol release. Dynasylan Hydrosil releases no solvents during processing or in the finished product. These properties are important in areas where
regulatory rules limit VOC emissions, and where companies want to promote their green credentials through the use of environmentally friendly materials. Evonik plans to add more Hydrosil grades. The company is also doing a growing amount of
custom work with compounders who want “one-on-one developments,” Weissenbach says. “We are talking with leading innovators to learn how to support them with tailor-made solutions.” These innovators are companies that are expanding
their material selections to include non-halogenated FRs, natural fibres, bio-plastics and other specialty materials that meet emerging application needs. That they are factoring tailor-made coupling agents into their process equations shows that the pace of development for such specialty modifiers is increasing to meet demand. More examples of how coupling agents substantially
increase the performance of compounds can be seen in two new grades from Dow Corning. The company has
www.compoundingworld.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80