ADDITIVES | NATURAL FILLERS


moulding temperatures. Detroit, Michigan, US-headquartered startup


Heartland Industries is producing commercial quantities of its Imperium engineered hemp fibre additive with production capacity across the US, Canada and Mexico. The company is also looking at the potential for expansion into the EU next year with its existing partner base, said Tim Almond, Chairman and Founder of Heartland.


Above: Pellets and test strip with 25% FiberX corn stover fibre at 60 mesh


size, for use as a functional filler in thermoplastics. Corn stover is an agricultural residue consisting of corn stalks, leaves, cobs and husks. In a plastic compound, the FiberX fibre reduces carbon footprint by capturing carbon from the crop residue, as well as reducing reducing cost of goods for the end-product. In PP, PE, PHA and PLA compounds, the fibre can double the strength and improve rigidity by about 50%, which may allow the material to replace glass fibre in many applica- tions, said Dave Skibinski, President and CEO of FiberX. Potential uses are expected to include products where increased strength is important, such as boards or fluid handling equipment, or to reduce cost and help businesses achieve their goals of reducing the use of petroleum-based resins, Skibinski said.


High fill rate The company recently completed testing of their material at fill rates as high as 50% in a PHA for an application where the PHA is a biodegradable compatibiliser. The ability to improve physical properties and reduce cost in bio-based polymers is beneficial for increasing the availability of biobased materials. “It’s a big win-win-win for resin manufacturers,


brand owners and consumers as corn stover fibre’s advantage is to increase physical performance, reduce cost-of-goods, and support biodegrada- tion,” Skibinski said. The company is primarily focused on nationwide distribution in the United States and Canada, and will look at partnerships to reach markets on other continents. FiberX is also exploring testing a de-lignified form of corn stover fibre that could further improve physical properties, improve the colour spectrum of resulting compounds, and potentially allow higher extrusion and injection


16 COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2025


US hemp For use in thermoplastics, Imperium is provided as a functionalised, highly loaded masterbatch pellet designed for easy handling in plastics processing. Almond said that the masterbatch has resolved challenges historically associated with natural fibres, including thermal stabilisation, dispersion in polymers, and moisture during transportation and processing. Heartland has successfully used the masterbatch in PP, HDPE, rigid PVC, PA6, and ABS formulations, and is currently working on PC for electronics. “Right now, we are in the process of launching Masterbatch 2.0, which will improve processability for compounders and introduce a new component of press-ready reinforcement,” said Almond. The aim is to allow part producers to use the master- batch directly at the injection moulding machine or extruder, which will be beneficial for highly cost-sensitive products, such as pallets, he ex- plained. Currently, the Imperium masterbatch is being used commercially in applications outside of automotive, and automotive vehicle components are in development. Major OEMs operating in the US and many Tier 1 suppliers are currently devel- oping natural fibre reinforced compounds as a first step to reduce raw material emissions and costs, said Almond. “The goal is to provide the same performance, lighter weight, and lower emissions plastic, all without breaking the bank,” he noted. Tracking emissions is a key part of capturing the


value of bio-based additives. Heartland had been using an in-house spreadsheet method for carbon reporting and has recently introduced this tracking method as a product in itself. “Productising our carbon reporting datasets into


Carbon Report was a natural evolution of Heart- land’s ambition to be a decarbonisation partner for our customers,” Almond said. “The challenge we identified over the years is that Scope 3 emissions have been fantasised as this impossible problem, causing stagnation and confusion across the entire plastic marketplace. Scope 3 emissions are quite simple when broken into small chunks. In any value


www.compoundingworld.com


IMAGE: FIBERX


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