FILM PRODUCTION | ADDITIVES
Additives are being used to produce films more efficiently, as well as making them more effective for their end-use and for re-use in the circular economy. Jennifer Markarian reports
Adding performance to films
Polymer films rely on an extensive variety of additives to enable them to be processed faster and made thinner, and that ensure good surface properties and high strength that lasts as long as necessary. In such a competitive and demanding area such as film production, additive suppliers and masterbatch producers have become experts at listening to the voices of their customers to identify where additives can be tweaked to help even more for a particular application. From greenhouse films to high barrier packaging, new and improved additives are playing their part in more efficient production and enhanced performance. And, because films are often components of single-use packaging or other disposable products, they are also being used to improve recycling and to enhance the processability of recycled materials. Greenhouse films depend heavily on additive technologies, including antifogs and stabilisers, to deliver optimal film performance that creates the right conditions of light for plants while holding up under harsh environments where the film is exposed to weather and chemicals. Additives that protect the films from degradation due to ultravio- let light include UV light absorbers (UVA) and hindered amine light stabilisers (HALS). Film applications in “plasticulture” continue to
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grow, according to BASF, which cites uses such as netting and substrate bags in addition to green- house and tunnel films. In November last year, the company completed construction of a new manufacturing plant for its high molecular weight NOR technology thermal and light stabilisers for agricultural films at its existing site at Pontecchio Marconi in Italy. The new facility will use digital technologies such as remote maintenance and troubleshooting and has been designed for energy efficiency. The Pontecchio site produces HALS and NOR HALS additives, as well as being the location for BASF’s global testing hub for agricultural applications and its regional weathering center. During AMI’s Agricultural Film Virtual Summit in October last year, Hanna Schwartz, R&D Manager at Kafrit Group, explained that greenhouse films must have high chemical stability to resist degrada- tion when in contact with pesticides and fumigants. In field trials, the company has examined the resistance to sulphur, commonly found in agro- chemicals, of several UVA masterbatches and said it has found that its proprietary UV masterbatches showed equivalent or better performance to typical NOR or nickel and HALS-based UV stabilisers. She said it had also seen good results using experimen- tal UV masterbatches for PE films designed to
Main image: “Plasticulture” applications such as greenhouse films are driving
demand for performance enhancing polymer additives
January 2021 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 17
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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