materials | Performance PP
Figure 4: Properties of Japan Polypropylene’s Waymax HMS-PP grades for film (MFX) and foam (EX) applications MFX8
MFX6
Recommended application
MFR (g/10 min), 230°C Melt strength (g), 230°C
Source: Japan Polypropylene Corp SABIC is also pushing its PP portfolio (as well as
Below: Braskem’s Amppleo 1025MA HMS-PP is intended for low density foams for automotive and packaging applications
various engineering thermoplastics) hard at automotive applications. In the run-up to this year’s VDI Plastics in Automotive Engineering Congress in Mannheim, Germany, Scott Fallon, global leader of SABIC’s automotive business, said the company was “showcas- ing answers for the industry that can ease multiple pain points. They not only help OEMs shed weight. They add value in other ways, too.” Among the examples showcased was an injection- moulded, foamed instrument panel carrier that uses the company’s Stamax long glass reinforced PP with SABIC PP resin (612MK10EE grade) in a structural foaming process. In this example, material is injected into the closed mould with a physical blowing foaming agent. The mould is then immediately cracked open to allow the foam to expand in a controlled manner. The final part is both light and stiff. “SABIC’s solution is emission-optimised and meets the VDA278 industry standard,” says the company.
HMS developments Considerable effort is also going into development of types of PP with high melt strength for applications such as foams. Borealis is generally considered the leader in HMS-PP, but several competitors are also focusing efforts in this area. Japan Polypropylene Corp introduced its Waymax family at the Polymer Foam conference (organised by Compounding World publisher
AMI in Pittsburgh, PA, US) this May, which it describes as a novel HMS-PP based on its metallocene technol- ogy. The company says the resin offers an “excellent balance of MFR and melt strength, and strong strain hardening.” MFX grades are intended for film and thermoformable sheet, while EX grades are targeted at foams, where they are said to provide high expansion ratios and a uniform and fine cell structure (Figure 4). Braskem discussed a recently commercialised HMS-PP grade – Amppleo 1025MA – at the conference. It says the branched PP resin offers an unusual combina- tion of high melt strength (49 cN) and high stiffness (2.27 GPa) and is designed for low density foam applications for the automotive and packaging market segments. Amppleo 1025MA can also be used as a performance blend additive in deep-draw thermoforming, extrusion blow moulding and blown film applications. Braskem says it is also currently developing a broad
range of PP products for current and future automotive applications in exterior, interior, and under-the-hood applications. These include TI8300C, a 30 MFR high rubber-containing PP impact copolymer that it com- mercialised earlier this year, which is intended to provide an exceptional stiffness/impact balance together with competitive cost. “Other innovation focus areas include high melt flow rate, high stiffness materials to enable light weighting efforts in addition to next generation impact copolymers that deliver an improved combination of stiffness/impact balance combined with aesthetic properties,” says Raj Krishnas- wamy, Director of Innovation and Technology at Braskem America.
Click on the links for more information: ❙
www.materials.manchester.ac.uk ❙
www.bradford.ac.uk/ei ❙
www.hpfminerals.com ❙
www.milliken.com ❙
www.clariant.com ❙
www.polymers.total.com ❙
www.sabic.com ❙
www.borealisgroup.com ❙
www.pochem.co.jp (Japan Polypropylene) ❙
www.braskem.com.br
36 COMPOUNDING WORLD | August 2017
www.compoundingworld.com
Thermoformable Thermoformable sheet
1 24
sheet 2.5 18
MFX3 Film
9 5
EX8000
1.5 14
EX6000
ratio foam 2.5 9
EX4000
High expansion Medium expansion Low expansion ratio foam
ratio foam 6 4
PHOTO: BRASKEM
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