ADDITIVES | POLYMER FILMS
applications, including incorporation of various types of recyclate. However, as more recyclate is used from disparate sources we anticipate requests to neutralise new odours that will require further solutions,” he says.
Above: Palsgaard is developing plant-based and food grade additives to provide good antistatic and antifog
performance in films
multi-layered films are challenging to recycle, even if collected. As a result, there is a trend towards developing mono-material solutions. In turn, this is driving developments for increasing the oxygen barrier in stretched PE films, for example. He says Ampacet is active in research and development on new solutions to satisfy the unmet needs of film processors in this area.
Improved recycling One recent development is the ReVive compatibiliser product line, a blend of functional additives that enable barrier film scrap to be recycled back into a polyethylene layer. The company says it has been rigorously tested internally against industry protocols for film recycling and found to effectively homogenise EVOH and PA with PE. Ampacet is also developing compatibilisers for other mixed resin streams. “Given that PE recycle streams are more developed than PP, there are on-going efforts in the industry to replace BOPP with BOPE in more applications,” says Morrison. “This requires additives tuned specifically for BOPE. As a leading supplier of masterbatch additives for oriented films, Ampacet is active in this area.” As well as ReVive, Ampacet also has new
products in its R3 Sustainable Solutions portfolio. “We recently launched a REC-NIR Black that enables black plastics to be detected by near- infrared sorting equipment critical for materials recovery facilities. In the same vein, we also have a new masterbatch that enables films to be detectable by metal detectors. In order to improve the appearance of plastics that have been slightly discoloured through the incorporation of recyclate, we have developed BlueEdge and GreenEdge masterbatches,” adds Morrison. “Future developments will include a portfolio of odour scavengers developed for multiple
28 COMPOUNDING WORLD | January 2020
Optimised additives Danish company Palsgaard A/S is seeing a steady increase in film additive and masterbatch market activity as the standard of living increases worldwide, leading to increased demand for many consumer products. “As legislation tightens, and the demand for recyclability grows, the polymer additive industry faces the challenge of making optimised and safe additives and masterbatch solutions,” says Christina Normann Christensen, Product and Application Manager, Non-Food. “In particular, unhealthy additives and additives based on chemistry of increasing concern need to be replaced to offer the end consumer a safer solution. For Palsgaard, this means developing plant-based and food grade additives which match or surpass the performance of conventional additives with antistatic and antifogging effects,” she says. “Two of our developments stand out as they are
highly efficient antistatic agents, Einar 411 and Einar 601. Both products, like the rest in the Einar series, are plant-based, food grade and produced in carbon dioxide neutral facilities,” she says. Einar 411 gives both short and long-term antistatic effects and is said to be effective in challenging applications, such as impact copolymer polypropylene and BOPP film. Einar 601 is said to perform well across a broad range of PE applications at low loading levels and in low humidity conditions. As a result of tightening legislation, Palsgaard cites the example of a customer that wanted to replace ethoxylated amines in food packaging but had been struggling to find an alternative with comparable performance. “After testing and validation of Einar 411, the customer approved it and has now completely replaced ethoxylated amines in critical applications and eliminated any safety concerns,” says Christensen. “The main applications for Einar products are in polyolefins, polyethylene and polypropylene, as they are predominantly migratory. However, we are also starting to look at a broader range of polymers, both in masterbatches but also as coatings for PET and EPS.” According to BASF, film applications continue to
experience solid growth globally as they offer an economical and sustainable solution to protect goods of much higher value and increase their service life. “Additives and masterbatches are
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IMAGE: PALSGAARD
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