MATERIALS | ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE
Right: Cargill says its
Ionphase U5 dissipative additive is designed to provide permanent protection against static in colorable and translucent injection moulding applications
lightweight electrostatic dissipation with design flexibility for varying electrical properties. Megally said that several customers have already tested and approved the products. Cabot’s Cabelec CA3817 conductive compound for conductive jacketing is meeting needs in the growing cable industry, added Megally. “Global megatrends, including renewable energy generation, the digital transformation, and power grid enhancements, are driving the need for reliable cables capable of managing increased electricity demand and bidirectional energy flow. Conductive thermoplastic compounds play a critical role in meeting these demands, offering solutions for energy transfer, grounding, and shielding,” she said. In packaging and in automotive applications,
there is a growing demand for using recycled polymers. Megally said that Cabot’s concentrates are being successfully used in applications with recycled content. The medical and healthcare market has
traditionally been one that requires prevention of static buildup to maintain cleanliness, avoid risk of spark in a potentially explosive environment (ie, in an ATEX environment), and in some cases maintain functionality. Pipette tips in automated liquid handling, for example, have stringent requirements, says compounder Premix, which displayed its PRE-Elec PP compounds at NPE 2024 in a demonstration on Sumitomo Demag injection moulding equipment. Premix, which is headquartered in Finland, announced in October 2024 that its Rajamäki site received ISO 14001 certification for its environmental management systems. In 2024 the company expanded services to North America and has been constructing a greenfield compounding plant in Apple Creek, North Carolina, US, that will double the company’s production capacity. The facility is scheduled to begin production in 2025.
Safety Cargill says its Ionphase U5 dissipative additive is designed to provide permanent protection against static in colorable and translucent injection moulding applications. It is suitable for reducing the surface resistivity of plastic parts as required to meet various ESD or EX safety standards or for dust prevention. The technology is permanent, non- migrating, halogen-free and not dependent on ambient humidity to function. In electronics packaging, the Ionphase U5 additive reduces ESD risk. In applications where living hinges are employed such as silicon wafer
28 COMPOUNDING WORLD | January/February 2025
boxes, the additive improves the impact strength of the material and has been shown to have minimal contribution to stress whitening, where other static control solutions are known to cause brittleness, says Cargill.
Ionphase U5 is suited for use in PP but it can also be used in SEBS, SEBS-PP and TPE, and in biopolymers such as PLA, PBAT and PBS. Additional grades of Ionphase static dissipative polymeric additives are available for compatibility with other resins or for use in films. Carbon black supplier Orion offers a wide range
of carbon blacks, including those designed for formulating electrically conductive or antistatic thermoplastic compounds. These specialty conductive carbon blacks have a balance of specific surface area and structure, which enables the additive to effectively create a conductive pathway (ie, percolation) in the compound at a low concentration. Orion’s Printex kappa 100 Beads acetylene-based conductive carbon black additives provide both colour and conductivity for wire and cable as well as pipe, film, fibre, packaging, and automotive applications. The company says the product offers excellent dispersibility and high cleanliness, purity and conductivity, which makes it particularly suitable for high-voltage electric transmission cables. The company currently produces high-purity acetylene-based carbon blacks at a facility in France and is building a second and much bigger facility in La Porte, Texas, US, that will begin operation in late 2025. Jennifer S. Stroh, Orion Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for the Americas, explained that the feedstock is a waste- stream from Texas refineries and the acetylene process is highly efficient, both of which reduce carbon footprint significantly if compared to
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IMAGE: CARGILL
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