PROCESSING AIDS | ADDITIVES
The greening of processing aids
Recent feedstock shortages set some wax producers looking for alternatives and have led to the introduction of bio-based and enhanced performance options, writes Peter Mapleston
Speciality waxes are a staple of plastics compound- ing that are used both to improve properties such as flow and gloss and for enhancing dispersion of pigments and other additives. There are numerous types available and most are derived from fossil- based raw materials – typically oil for low molecular weight polymer waxes and brown coal (lignite) for montan waxes. With long and successful histories, these products continue to play a vital role in the compounder’s toolbox but producers continue, for reasons ranging from supply security to environ- mental, to look for alternatives. Manufacture of traditional montanic wax
products is based on solvent extraction from lignite. Commercially viable lignite deposits exist in only a few locations, including Germany in Europe, California in the US, and Yunnan and Jilin in China. Global shortages of available raw materials earlier
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this decade started a search for replacements, some of which have since come to market. Völpker Spezialprodukte in Germany is a
leading producer of montan waxes, which it sells under the Waradur brand name. It increased its offering around three years ago when it acquired BASF’s montan wax business. Lutz Matthies, the company’s Head of Business Development, says that, due to their special properties, montan waxes have been highly valued in the plastics industry as multifunctional additives for decades. They act as excellent effective viscosity reducers (flow improv- ers), mould release agents and dispersing aids for pigments and other additives, all at the same time. Montan ester and acid waxes are used in PVC, polyamides (PA), polycarbonate (PC), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and styrene maleic anhydride (SMA).
Main image: Speciality wax additives are a staple of the polymer
compounding industry, improving attributes such as processing and dispersion
� April 2018 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 59
PHOTO: VÖLPKER SPEZIALPRODUKTE
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