POLYOLEFINS | MATERIALS
From better barrier film formulations to new ways of increasing the use of recyclate, the polyolefin film market is moving as fast as ever
Latest applications of polyolefins in film
Polyolefin film may be a commodity product, but there are constant efforts to improve the performance of its many forms. Speakers at the recent Polyethylene Films
conference, organised by AMI, had plenty to say on the use of PE in film applications. Emily Silber, applications development and technical service engineer in film and extrusion coating applications at Lyondell Basell in the USA, explained how nucleated HDPE might be used to improve the performance of multi-layer barrier film. The company designed two studies to assess the use of LLDPE and/or HDPE in the core layer of a co-extruded film. (The core layer was LLDPE, HDPE or a blend of the two.) Nucleated HDPE was proposed as the barrier skin layer. In the first study, using LLDPE rather than HDPE in the core layer changed a number of properties of the finished film. Overall, adding LLDPE to the core layer – with a nucleated HDPE barrier skin
www.filmandsheet.com
layer – improved MD tear, reduced haze and lowered MD modulus. The slight increase in WVTR was offset by the outer barrier layer. The second study assessed the effect of M6020SB – a nucleated HDPE – as a barrier skin layer. Using LLDPE in the core increases WVTR, but also boosts MD tear strength. “The improved barrier grade [M6020SB] allows for optimisation of WVTR and MD tear strength,” said Silber.
Sealed tight Several speakers addressed the importance of sealing layers in the creation of multi-layer film. Vinod Kumar Konaganti, a product development
research scientist at Nova Chemicals in Canada, stressed the importance of selecting the correct sealant for different applications. This was informed by the fundamentals of the process – in which heat,
January/February 2020 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 31
Main image: AddWorks PKG 906 Circle from Clariant helps producers re-use their polyolefin
manufacturing waste
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50
