ANTIOXIDANTS AND STABILISERS | ADDITIVES Bringing stability to plastics
Requirements for polymer stabilisers are changing. Thermal and UV stability remain the prime considerations but recycling and emission performance now also come into the mix. Peter Mapleston reports
Whether next to a high power output car engine or sitting under the sun for months on end, many plas- tics need an effective stabilisation package to enable them do their job. Whether the parts are injection mouldings, or extruded pipes, wire coatings, tapes, or filaments – all benefit from extra stability. Most often in terms of stabilisation we are talking about polyolefins, but certainly not always — a great deal of effort is also put into keeping engineering thermoplastics such as polyamides (PAs) performing at their best. The importance of stabilisation is also being enhanced by legislative and consumer attitudes towards more sustainable plastics solutions. Achieving the goal of a Circular Economy, where plastics will have more than one useful life, is likely to call for improvements in stabilisation of recycled materials. A major challenge for industrial and post-consumer recycled polyolefins, for example, will be to maintain the original virgin resin proper-
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ties, such as mechanical, aesthetics, visual, and odour, to enable the recycled resins to be used in higher value applications. “From an antioxidant perspective it is critical to maximise polymer protection during the reprocess- ing encountered in recycling operations to main- tain the melt flow and colour of the resin,” says Irfaan Foster, Director - New Business Development at SI Group. Last year, the company launched an innovative new range of solutions, under the brand Ultranox LC. The grades are designed to extend colour control and melt flow protection to enable recycled polyolefins to be used in more colour- sensitive applications, and so open up new applica- tions, Foster says. Ultranox LC PP301 is described as a cost-effec- tive colour protection solution exceeding the performance of commercially available high perfor- mance phosphites; Ultranox LC PP501 is the next generation colour protection solution designed
Main image: Whatever the application, plastics must be appropri- ately stabilised to withstand exposure to heat and UV during their expected service life
September 2020 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 43
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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