APPLICATIONS | WOOD PLASTIC COMPOSITES
name of its composite decking, which is made from 95% recycled wood fibre and PE and includes uncapped and capped WPC variants. The company recently introduced two new colours using its CoolDeck technology, which it says reduces heat absorption by up to 35% compared to convention- al capped WPC.
Above: Fiberon WPC profiles are capped on three sides with HDPE
accelerated at a faster pace than expected with our recent introduction of the Enhance decking products. This has required that we accelerate our planned capacity expansion by one year,” says Trex President and CEO James E Cline. As a consequence, in June this year the company announced plans to invest approximately $200m between 2019 and 2021 to increase production capacity of WPC profiles by approximately 70%. The investment will include a new facility at its existing Winchester site in Virginia and additional produc- tion lines at its Fernley facility in Nevada. It may seem surprising but Trex claims to be one
Right: MoistureShield WPC products are made with up to 95% recy- cled content
of the largest PE recyclers in the US, using plastic grocery bags as well as other PE films – such as bread bags, dry-cleaning bags, and shrink and stretch wrap – in its decking. Earlier this year, the company announced a new name for its retail recycling collection program: NexTrex. It said it hopes this will “elevate awareness and further expand its reach by engaging even more retailers and collection sites.” Trex says its manufacturing process reuses
“nearly 100 percent of runoff” and salvages more than 500m pounds (227,000 tonnes) of plastic film and reclaimed wood each year. In April, the company was named the “greenest” decking in the Green Builder Media’s 2019 Reader’s Choice Awards for the ninth year in a row. AZEK Building Products is also expanding. In
April, the company officially opened the Tim- berTech Recycling Plant in Wilmington, Ohio, to recycle HDPE – from post consumer shampoo bottles, milk jugs, and plastic wrap – to produce the core of its TimberTech capped composite decking. The company says its goal is to recycle up to 200m pounds (90,000 tonnes) of waste material by 2020. Following its acquisition by US-based CRH
Company’s Oldcastle APG in 2017, Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc has been renamed MoistureShield. This is also the
46 COMPOUNDING WORLD | August 2019
www.compoundingworld.com
Additive options One factor in the growth in demand for WPCs is the improved performance and in that additives play a crucial role, whether for production of compounded pellets or directly extruded into parts such as deck boards. Stabilisers (antioxidants) prevent polymer degradation during processing and end use. Coupling agents are frequently used to improve adhesion of the polymer to the wood or natural fibre. Because formulations are typically 50–75% wood or even more fibre/flour, lubricants and processing aids are crucial for aiding disper- sion as well as improving extrusion and reducing the energy to process. And, since many WPC applications are intended for long-term outdoor use, UV stabilisers and pigments are also key parts of the recipe. A variety of negative issues can result from
moisture absorption by the wood – or natural – fibres. This risk is minimised in “capped” profiles, where an all-polymeric cap layer formulated specifically for weatherability is co-extruded over a core WPC layer. Concentrating additives in the outer layers is also more cost-effective, although the co-extrusion process is more complex. Americhem’s e-Cap is a branded, custom-de- signed, pre-coloured compound designed to meet
PHOTO: FIBERON
PHOTO: MOISTURESHIELD
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