COLOUR | PIGMENTS


Mesgo adds PCR pearlescent portfolio


Italy’s Mesgo Iride Colors, a business division of Hexpol High Performance Compounding that specialises in production of pigment masterbatches, has extended its range with a new line of colour pearlescent-effect products based on post consumer recycled LDPE. Primarily aimed at packaging


applications and carrying the CSI recycled plastics mark, the SunShine masterbatch line is available in red, orange, gold, green, turquoise, blue and violet. They are suitable for


The company worked with Italian


IMAGE: MESGO IRIDE COLORS


packaging producer Ramaplast to develop a range of pearles- cent bottle and jar samples to demon- strate the effectiveness of the formulations in cosmetics applications. Mesgo Iride Colors can also provide RAL / Pantone /NCS or custom colours in special effect


use in most production processes, including injection and blow mould- ing, with typical addition levels in the 2-4% range.


(150 ppm zinc, 50 ppm for copper, 25 ppm for nickel). The allowable amount of colorant can be calculated based on the proportions of the individual elements expected to be in the pigment, but the actual amount must be checked by meas- urement.


In some cases, several iterations are required to find a formulation that is within the specifications, says Schulze. “With the difficult requirements of the [compostability] standard and a polymer with a strong inherent colour, not every colour can be realised. Brilliant shades, in particular, are difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, we are still in the phase in which we are learning a lot and trying to achieve every colour. We see an increased demand for pastel shades, which give the customer the feeling of being based on a natural resource through its colouration in the end product,” he says. Grafe worked with Golden Compound, a


Right: Grafe developed a powerful and compostable masterbatch to pigment Golden Compound’s dark bioplastic coffee capsules


versions, including metallics and pearlescents, without affecting the CSI certification. � https://www.mesgo.it/en/


German supplier of a novel bioplastic, to develop colour masterbatches that could over-colour the dark polymer base used in a formulation for home compostable coffee capsules. The bioplastic is based on fibres from sunflower seed shells, maize starch, and a rock flour mixture of mineral filler, which results in a dark brown colour. Grafe created nine colours that have been given the “OK com- post HOME” certification by TÜV-Austria. The need for food-contact approval was one


restriction on the development of the coffee capsule masterbatches, as was the ability to overcome the inherent colour of the material. The dark base colour creates a high demand for colorant but the compostability standard limits the colourant concentration that can be used, says Schulze. In addition, because the bio-based plastics are sensitive to temperature and shear, the processing window was very narrow. Grafe experi- mented to find processing conditions that would stress the material as little as possible and achieve these requirements. The company says it is currently working on developing a range of colour masterbatches for a home-compostable PHBV [poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co-3-hydroxyvalerate] polymer.


CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: � https://www.heubachcolor.com/ � https://www.sunchemical.com/ � https://www.shepherdcolor.com/ � https://epolin.com/ � https://www.vibrantz.com/ � https://www.grafe.com/en/


20 COMPOUNDING WORLD | September 2022 www.compoundingworld.com


IMAGE: GRAFE


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