ADDITIVES | COMPATIBILISERS
Table 1: Property profile of different blends of PA6 and ABS incorporating 2% Xibond 315. Properties are dependent on the raw material selection Test
Method
Charpy notched -30˚C Charpy notched 23˚C Tensile Modulus
Elongation (strain) at break Tensile stress at break HDT A Vicat B
MFI 240/10 Source: Polyscope
Right: Power tools are a potential application area for ZeMac Link NP from Vertellus, which allows formulation of alloys of PA/PET
20
Copolymer options Last year, speciality chemicals company Vertellus added two new additions to its range of Zemac ethylene-maleic anhydride copolymers — ZeMac Extend P and Zemac Link NP. ZeMac Extend P is a chain extender intended to help upgrade recycled PET, and possibly other polyesters, by increasing molecular weight and intrinsic viscosity. “Delivering improved melt viscosity and increasing melt strength, ZeMac Extend P reduces sagging of the extrudate, resulting in faster production,” Vertellus says. The company says it also counteracts hydrolytic degradation and improves impact strength. According to Vertellus, ZeMac Extend P can be used in a breadth of target applications where it can deliver performance close to that achieved using 100% virgin materials. Examples include staple and filament fibre production; injection moulding; film, sheet, tape and profile extrusion; bottle blow moulding; and production of strapping and foamed sheet. Meanwhile, Zemac Link NP is a compatibilising additive that is claimed to incorporate a new Vertellus technology, which the company says “allows compounders and moulders to reduce costs and boost sustainability efforts while integrat- ing previously incompatible materials into their alloys.” Used at very low addition rates, the new additive permits the inclusion of PA and polyester materials, including post-consumer recycled PET, in the alloy production process. “ZeMac Link NP is well suited for use in a breadth of alloy applications including office furniture, fasteners, hand tools, outdoor equipment, textile bobbins and automotive accessories such as hubcaps,” says Prasad Taranekar, Marketing Manager at Vertellus. Glass fibre, minerals and impact modifiers may also be
COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2019
used with ZeMac Link NP. The Compound Company – another company
with roots in DSM (which divested its Yparex business in 2011) – offers polyolefin-based cou- pling agents and compatibilisers with very low amounts of residual maleic anhydride under the Yparex brand. Frank Huijnen, Business Develop- ment Manager Yparex within the company, says: “We notice an increase interest in biobased and biodegradable compatibilisers and coupling agents. Our biobased grades are being used in an increasing number of applications, and our biodegradable compatibilisers will be released later this year. There is quite some interest from both the injection moulding segment and the flexible packaging segment for biodegradable compatibilisers.” Last December, The Compound Company announced it would build a new plant in Enschede, in the Netherlands, to double its capacity. “The investment was required because of significant growth we have seen in demand for our com- pounds and grafted polyolefins,” says Huijnen. “This plant has started production meanwhile.” The company has also made a recent acquisition, taking a controlling stake in Transmare Compound- ing in Roermond, also in The Netherlands.
Mixing up PE/PP A team of researchers from Cornell University and the University of Minnesota led by Geoffrey W Coates are continuing their work on compatibiliis- ing polyethylene and polypropylene – which, despite their similar chemical make-up are incompatible. They have developed ethylene-propylene multi-block copolymers (BCPs) with tuneable molecular weights that
allow the creation of a new and
www.compoundingworld.com
ISO 179/1eU ISO 179/1eA ISO 527 ISO 528 ISO 529 ISO 75-1 ISO 306 ISO 1133
40/60 Blend 17
NB
1600 180 36 69 92 30
50/50 Blend 6 9
2300 220 45 72
108 47
70/30 Blend 5 8
2500 380 52 58
140 60
PHOTO: VERTELLUS
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