MATERIALS | BIOPLASTICS
Right: This 3D printed model is produced using a PHA 3D filament made from Helian Polymers’ PHA
Focused on waste The Aimplas Plastics Technology Centre in Spain, which has more than 30 years of experience in bioplastics, is involved in a project to create new polymers from food waste. Guacapack involves making use of the waste generated from processing avocado pears when they are converted into such things as guacamole. The project aims to use this waste to create a new biodegradable packaging system that can extend the shelf life of food by 15%. The process involves extraction
of the starch from the avocado seed, then purifying it to obtain a film that can be used to make multilayer IML labels with oxygen barrier properties that can help prevent the oxidation of packaged foods. In addition, active ingredients of waste avocado skin and flesh — which have a high antioxidant capacity — are captured and used as a component of a bioplastic (PLA) that can be injection moulded to form the structure of the packaging system. This project is funded by the Valencian Innova-
tion Agency (AVI) and led by the company ITC Packaging. The Universidad de Alicante research group on Polymer and Nanomaterial Analysis (Nanobiopol-UA) is also taking part. Last year, CAI Performance Additives intro- duced a new additive to the North American market that increases the Melt Flow Index of compounds based on bioplastics such as PLA, PHA, and PBAT (it is also available in other regions from other distributors). With an addition rate of 1%, or less, ST- PA210 is said to “dramatically” increase flow,
Right: Aimplas is involved in the Guacapack project to develop bioplastics from avocado processing waste
without loss in mechanical or optical properties (Figure 1). CAI says that dispersion of other additives is greatly enhanced. “Talc and other fillers in
PLA, for example, can make the compounds too turgid. Low loadings of ST-PA210 solves this issue. We also have customers using the additive in fibre-filled PLA and in PHA,” says company CEO Richard Marshall. “This is not a traditional
wax or ‘oily’ lubricant. It is based on unique polymeric chemistry and is highly compatible with the target resins.” CAI Performance Additives recently
published a White Paper showing data collected by a third-party lab on the “burndown” performance of ST-PA210 bioplastic. This simulates the impact of processing on the additive material. The findings suggest that the additive is sacrificial, in that after processing only trace amounts of it remain. This means compounders using ST-PA210 to enhance melt flow will not see any residual effects in their output, nor would the use of such an additive affect food-contact compliance of down- stream products, the company claims. The data also shows performance of the additive
in PLA (both talc-filled and unfilled) amounts to a 170%-600% MFI increase at just 2% addition. “With PLA’s dominance of the bioplastic market currently there is likely to be significant interest in lowering viscosity in processing stages, particularly additives that will not cause negative effects down the line in finished products,” says Marshall. ST-PA210 can be used in food contact applica-
tions. “A common concern of our PLA compounding customers is how additives of any kind could impact food-contact safety in final products,” Marshall says. “Bioplastics are attracting a lot of attention right now in single use food and beverage containers, so seeing that ST-PA210 can safely be used to improve processing without affecting critical food safety compliance is great news to our clients.”
Additive combinations At K 2022 in October,Wacker Chemie will present the results of an inhouse study involving a combi- nation of silicone-based and polymeric additives. The study shows that using both additives together creates significantly more benefit for manufacturers processing bioplastics than just using one. The company’s Vinnex additive system is based on polyvinyl-acetate technology and a silicone-
54 COMPOUNDING WORLD | September 2022
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