MATERIALS | POLYOLEFIN ADDITIVES
Above: BASF’s additives plant at Kaisten in Switzerland is one of two sites piloting its ISCC Plus Biomass Balanced (BMBcert) product introductions
protect plastics need to be upgraded across the value chain to work not only with the extended lifetime challenges of the polymers but also the recycled-stream challenges to which they will be applied. It says it has invested significant capital over the past three years — including commission- ing of a new R&D facility at Houston in the US — to make improvements to antioxidants and UV stabilisers in these areas. One of the biggest challenges to fulfilling
market demand for recycled resins is availability of good quality feedstock and proper sorting pro- cesses at scale. “More flexibility in feedstock sourcing will support the growth of the mechanical recycling industry,” said Frederix. “Understanding the relation between feedstock impurities, or cross-contaminants, and the performance of both stabilisation packages and polymer is crucial. In addition, chemical recycling mid-term will play a crucial role in the circularity of plastics, provided key hurdles in the policy domain like acceptance of the mass-balance approach are overcome. With these virgin-like polymers hitting the market, there is an opportunity to rethink with the polymer producers how to properly stabilise and enable resins for a more circular future.” Last year, SI Group launched the first generation
of its Evercycle additive products, designed to support circular economy-based goals such as performance enhancement and recyclability initially in PET and polyolefin applications. It says it is now focusing efforts on improving and expanding the portfolio to additional specific, tailored solutions such as multilayer film and automotive compound- ing. This will increase coverage across different additional feedstock types and recycling streams. Slower activity in antioxidant and UV stabiliser demand is also reported by BASF, although the company’s expectation is that this will recover in the medium term and that sustainability will be a
18 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | December 2023
key driver in that. “Sustainability and regulation are clearly driving all new developments in plastics and the additives that protect them. As the plastics industry becomes more circular, renewable, bio-based, and increasingly regulated, antioxidants and UV stabilisers must adapt to these new expectations,” said Dr Achim Sties, senior vice president, plastic additives. “The public is learning to ask more questions about the safety and content of their consumer goods. This requires a new approach from the industry to demonstrate the safety of their prod- ucts, beyond what is already required for the legal production and sale of additives to the market. The combination of these two trends is inspiring resin producers to develop new sustainable materials,” he said. “While many existing additive solutions can readily be used in these applications, there is also a need for new, more sustainable antioxidants and UV stabilisers to match these polymers.”
Parallel solutions However, Sties adds that plastics recycling rates have not scaled with the rate of production. He says several parallel solutions are needed to address this larger problem. Most importantly, recycled plastics must be able to perform at, or near, the same level as virgin resins. This is technically possible, particu- larly with advances in collection and sorting infrastructure, but the inherent damage to plastics from their first life must still be mitigated by an appropriate additive package to prevent further damage during processing. Sties also notes that research into biodegrad- able or bio-based plastics has exploded. While these materials are often used in limited applica- tions, the same technical needs for processing stability and UV protection are expected. Additives need to be tailored accordingly, he says. According to BASF, there is a great need to find additive solutions to support an accelerating plastics recycling market. “Technically, recycled plastics present more challenges than virgin materials because they have suffered and aged through their first life. Therefore, new antioxidant and stabilisation solutions are needed to address the challenges of each application and material stream,” said Sties. As part of the company’s broader Valeras sustainability portfolio, it has introduced a range of additives under the IrgaCyclebrand to address the mechanical recycling market. Five core products address some key challenges for recycled polyole- fins — gel formation, processing instability, UV sensitivity and other mechanical failures. Knowing
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IMAGE: BASF
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