ADDITIVES | POLYMER FILMS
Right: Additives are enabling mono-layer structures to deliver extended shelf-life and low vapour transmission performance for sensitive products
Long-term thermal and UV resistance will also continue to remain a major focus of development, adapting to ever changing conditions of exposure and environmental contaminants. The company will also support downgauging, closed loop recycling opportunities and regulatory trends.
Switching structures PolyOne is observing a significant upward trend in the current market for film additives and masterbatches as components used in film production become more homogeneous. “Producers are switching from multilayer films to fewer layers and single materials to facilitate recycling. The recycling stream cannot manage materials such as polyamide in the middle of a multilayer film, so we are seeing producers working on improving the performance of polyolefins and seeking additive solutions to make that happen. They need to change the vapour transmission rates, odour control, meet longer shelf life expectations for fresh packaged meats, filter UV, and a variety of other requirements. Additives are making these goals possible,” says William Reynolds, Senior Industry Manager. “In addition, commitments to the circular economy are now being made by brand owners and OEMs. These commitments require more recycled content in their products. For example, Walmart has created a scoring system for its suppliers’ packaging that gives higher scores for recycled materials and reduction of materials. As a result, there is a demand for more recycled materials that perform similarly to virgin resin. We are also evaluating the components in our additives to make sure we are not
Right: Clariant has partnered with Merck and SABIC to improve laser marking of flexible packaging materials
contaminating the downstream recycling path of the final product,” he says. “The European Union has a good model for
recycling, while the US is evaluating what future steps to incorporate to allow for
increased recyclability in a period of lower
recycling activity. However, there is still no economic incentive or direction around recycling in the US. OEMs are not being penalised, but instead they are stepping up and saying that we need to do something,” Reynolds says. On the technical front, he says that downgauging of plastic films is happening and that additives are required to ensure they perform the same as thicker multilayer films with the same properties for outgassing, odour control and sealing capabilities, all of which is required at a cost that is the same or lower than thicker films.
Marked improvement Clariant is collaborating with pigment supplier Merck and resin producer SABIC to develop laser-marking technology and materials to ease the recycling process for flexible polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE) packaging film. “There is growing demand for clean, high-quality recycled PE,” says Chun-Yip Pang, Clariant’s Global Product Manager Additive Masterbatches – Laser. “While recycling rates for PE films continues to increase, there are still a number of challenges that need to be overcome. This collaboration is focused on eliminating the printing ink used for tracking, shelf-life, bar codes and other variable information that must be placed on almost any package on the market. Less ink means less contamination when it comes to recycling.” The companies say their collaboration demonstrates a complete supply-chain solution for laser-marking of films. SABIC contributes the polymer technology that delivers the properties required in the film packaging (and can supply circular-certified polymers), laser-sensitive Iriotec pigments and marking expertise is provided by Merck, while Clariant developed the
additive masterbatch formulations. Most plastics
are transparent to the radiation used in the laser-marking process, so additives are needed to achieve a visible reaction in the film. The visible marks are permanent and resistant to water, oil, grease or fatty foods. They can be applied to the surface of a mono-layer film or to a laser-sensitive
32 COMPOUNDING WORLD | January 2020
www.compoundingworld.com
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