ADDITIVES | PROCESS AIDS/LUBRICANTS
Performance goals However, it is not all about sustainability. With pigment and manufacturing costs continuing to climb, Neuber says adoption of novel processing aids and lubricants that improve dispersion – resulting in reduced loadings of costly pigments and increased production rates – will continue to grow. “We can also see an increasing demand for solutions
that provide excellent heat and colour stability even when used in
E :
Above: Clariant is using renewable feedstocks produced by Neste in its Terra product line
aggressive processing conditions of high N
temperature engineering polymers,” he says. Neuber says improving pigment dispersion is the first target of many Clariant customers. “When they can improve an FPV [Filter Pressure Value] result of a difficult-to-disperse pigment from, say, 6 to 2 [bars pressure rise/gram pigment], it opens the door to film and fibre applications, while also allowing a reduction in the dosage of a costly pigments needed to achieve the target colour and chroma,” he explains. “An added benefit of the faster production is the
reduced need to change extruder screens, while enjoying more consistent and reduced extruder pressure profiles. These two effects reduce the overall cost of materials and production, while delivering higher quality products, which means better physical integrity of the finished articles,” he says. High heat stability – which in this case means
Right: Clariant’s Licocare RBW waxes are produced from rice bran and are pitched as montan ester wax
alternatives
resistance to discoloration and volatilisation – and a clean initial colour are also needed to allow quick colour matches that stay consistent over long, aggressive extruder runs at the masterbatcher or compounder, Neuber adds. “These requirements are also needed at their clients’ facilities, when they use high temperatures and elevated barrel pressures to assure complete distribution of masterbatches into their polymers and the fastest production rate possible.” Performance is critical. “Lubricants and dispersants must not discolour, degrade or volatilise during the production of final articles that have to pass industry tests on such things as volatility [for automotive interiors] and still maintain a blemish-free surface with the desired gloss or finish,” Neuber explains. The Licocare RBW Vita range, which is a follow- up to the Licocare RBW range introduced by the company two years ago, is intended for use with engineering polymers and polyolefins. It gained Clariant a Gold level Material Health Certificate from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation
42 COMPOUNDING WORLD | April 2020
Institute. “It fully supports the market requirement for additives that go beyond current sustainability requirements, without compromising on the high-performance requirements in customer applications,” says Neuber.
Bio-based waxes Licocare RBW Vita waxes were originally developed to match or improve the performance of Clariant’s long-standing montan ester waxes, which are derived from brown coal. They are based on the same structures and made in the same reactors as montan waxes. Clariant says the bio-based raw materials are cleaner, however, which Neuber says means that analogous structures are brighter and perform equal to, or better than, the incumbent montan ester waxes.
“Clariant has performed dozens of comparative tests such as melt flow, mould release, dispersion and colour development to support the positive properties and superior colour [less yellow] of products made with the new RBW’s in a variety of polymers, including polyamides, polyesters, PC/ABS, and PLA,” he says. “Our Licocare 360 Vita TP even speeds up the cycle time when injection moulding polyamides, due to its nucleation effect on the PA. It causes the polymer to crystallise more rapidly, which reduces the cooling time of the injection moulding cycle and also reduces shrinkage and warpage, problems often encountered when using trouble- some pigments and long cooling times.” The Licocene Terra range is a renewable feed- stock version of Clariant’s existing Licocene range, which includes two waxes for plastic processing as well as for LPP performance polymers used as hot melt adhesives. Licocene PE 4201 Terra is a lubricant for polyolefins and a nucleating agent for EPS; Licocene PP 6102 Terra is an external lubricant for PVC extrusion and a dispersing agent for
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