ADDITIVES | ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE
Figure 2: Surface resistivity of polycarbonate loaded with various carbon-based conductive additives Source: Nanocyl
sectors such as wind energy, fuel cell technology or the hydrogen pressure vessel market.“ The result- ing growing imbalance between supply and demand, further supported by the high price of virgin carbon fibre and its highly unfavourable inherent CO2
footprint, offers tremendous opportu-
nities for recycled carbon fibre – with comparable performance to virgin carbon fibre, but at only a fraction of its cost and CO2
footprint. Availability of
Right: Semi- conductor carrier trays are moulded in conductive formulations
recycled feedstock – both post-industrial as well as end-of-life waste – by far exceeds current short carbon fibre demand, underlining the potential for the substitution of incumbent materials with recycled carbon fibre compounds,” according to the
company.Procotex, through its subsidiary Apply Carbon, sources high-quality, soft post-industrial waste from major producers and processers of carbon fibre. It says that to maximise product performance it puts considerable effort into development of new sizing chemistries suitable for the different matrix polymers, adding that it has made some recent advances in this area targeting non-polar polymers such as polypropylene. Apply Carbon is also taking an innovative
approach to the feedstock types it is using to produce its recycled products. A key target market for the company is IC chip trays, which are generally injection-moulded from polycarbonate or polyphe- nylene oxide/polystyrene compounds. “The dependency on continuous fibre carbon bobbin waste poses a challenge in view of the volumes required by this market,” according to Dr Hans Miltner, who provides Technical Market & Business Development Services for Procotex. “Apply Carbon has therefore developed a range
of milled and granulated products that offer a comparable performance spectrum, at even more competitive cost. Mixed fabric waste is used as a
20 COMPOUNDING WORLD | February 2021
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feedstock for these granulates and is first milled, then compacted and compatibilised for more convenient handling and dosing and for more efficient dispersion in the polymer matrix,” he says. Similar concerns from other emerging volume markets — especially automotive — have provided the incentive to extend this approach to other products more relevant to these industry segments, such as polypropylene and polyamide, Miltner says. Apply Carbon has, for example, put substantial effort into developing a range of recycled materials in granulate form. “These allow for dust-free handling and offer good flowability for easier dosing, but without compromising on the ease of dispersion within a polymer matrix,” he says. “This strategy is now being extended further with the development of pelletised long-fibre products based on recycled carbon fibres,” Miltner says. “These products, that will have millimetre- long recycled fibres instead of the 300 µm fibres used so far, will offer the handling and processing benefits of the chopped and granulated short-fibre products, but with significant additional perfor- mance benefits owing to the higher fibre length, especially with regard to impact performance and electrical conductivity.”
Carbon black moves Carbon black specialist Cabot Corporation has introduced a number of new conductive formula- tions, compounds and concentrates for the styrenics market, including solutions tailored for carrier trays and industrial packaging. “We con- tinue to see the electrification trend increase in many critical applications, and as a result, demand for products that enable a safe and hazard free production environment is critical for many conductive applications,” says Global Market Segment Manager Sebastian Heitkamp.
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IMAGE: CABOT/SHUTTERSTOCK
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