additives feature | Clarifi ers and nucleators
notes Acevedo. PP-catalyst producer W.R. Grace has found that using Millad NX 8000 in PP produced with its Consista C601 catalyst creates a synergistic effect in high-melt- fl ow random copolymers. The companies report a 36% reduction in haze and 40°C lower processing tempera- tures compared to previous generation clarifi ers. One thing to be aware of is that mixing resins containing Millad NX 8000 with resins containing earlier-generation clarifi ers will decrease clarity levels because nonitol is a different chemistry from other sorbitols.
Milacron’s
Klear Can uses clarifi ed PP to create a
see-through
alternative to traditional
metal food cans
energy to produce, lowers the carbon footprint.” In addition, PP thermoformed packages have an advantage over PET thermoformed packages in the recycling stream because PP can be more easily separated from PET bottles, which keeps the PET bottle stream cleaner. “In Europe in particular, recyclers prefer to have non-PET for packaging other than bottles,” says Acevedo. Clarifi ed PP is also growing in
injection moulding applications, such as personal care, with the consumer-
driven trend of making the product visible in the package. Some thin-wall, injection-moulded PP containers are being developed to replace thin-wall, injection-moulded PS, adds Acevedo.
An innovative injection-moulded application which was displayed at NPE 2015 is Milacron’s Klear Can, designed as a see-through alternative to traditional metal food cans. The can is co-injected with two layers of ultra-clear PP clarifi ed with Millad NX 8000. The companies say that the packaging solution
offers signifi cant advantages across the entire packag- ing value chain beginning with canners who are able to utilize existing downstream infrastructure, as well as the same easy-open and traditional lids used with metal cans. In addition, brand owners are said to benefi t by being able to differentiate their products at the point of purchase, and consumers can easily view the quality of fruit, vegetables and other foods through the clear container. An EVOH barrier between the two layers of clarifi ed
PP allows the Klear Can to meet industry expectations for a two-year product shelf life. “It may take some time for this type of novel package to penetrate the market- place, but it meets the customer demand for clarity,”
34 COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2015
NJC’s Geniset DXR third-generation technology is fi nding use across the range for PP packaging, housewares and medical applications, says Liam Killough, managing director at NJC Europe. He believes there is an ongoing need for clarifi ers to be more robust at lower processing temperatures without migration or compatibility issues. Killough notes that NJC has developed a system that is compatible with other sorbitols and works extremely well at lower processing temperatures, especially in high-melt resins.
Adeka’s ADK NA806A, also designed for high-melt-fl ow PP, is a DMDBS-based
clarifi er that is modifi ed with organophospho- rus salt components. This allows it to be
processed at lower temperatures in the range of 190°C, rather than the 230°C required for DMDBS alone.
“NA806A has the clarity of a sorbitol-type product
but the processing window of a nonitol-type product,” claims Peter Goman, vice president, sales and market- ing at Amfi ne, which is a joint venture between Adeka and Mitsubishi. “We fi nd that in addition to a lower processing temperature, this clarifi er has less plate- out, which allows equipment to run longer without cleaning.” For low-melt-fl ow PP (<35-40 MFR), Amfi ne
recommends ADK NA-71, an organophosphorus salt-based clarifi er. “Organophosphorus salts are particulate systems that do not melt but must be well-dispersed during the compounding step, thus they are more effective in more viscous resin. Above 40 MFR, sorbitols, which melt during processing, are more effective,” explains Goman. He notes that organophosphorus salts have a
cost-performance advantage because they can be used at lower levels (down to 200 ppm), while sorbitols require a threshold level of about 1,800 ppm. “Organo- phosphorus salts exhibit improvement proportional to
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