materials | Colours & masterbatch


colourful, thanks to masterbatches that are themselves biodegradable. Clariant introduced Renol-natur colour masterbatches as long ago as 2007. Options can include natural colours drawn from renewable sources like plants, or conventional, man-made ingredients in a compatible carrier produced in compliance with standards governing compostability and toxicity. At K 2016, Clariant announced it had become the first producer of quinacridone pigments based on bio-suc- cinic acid. PV Fast Pink E/E01 offers bright colours for everyday products from toys to food packaging and textiles, it says. Now AF-Color, a branch of Akro-Plastic, has added a


Above: Clariant’s PV Fast Pink E is bio-based


or additive in containers by blending them in with identi- cal material during refilling,” says Kevin Cabana, vice president of process technologies. “In addition, liquid colours and additives by their nature disperse more readily in polymer than concentrates, exhibit better flow at lower temperatures and screw torques, and take less time for purging. This enhanced processability means greater productivity, lower energy consumption, and reduced scrap.” In early July, PolyOne said it had acquired Mesa, a North American producer of colour and additive materials and services. Mesa produces both solid and liquid colorant technologies and operates facilities in Phoenix, Arizona and Fort Smith, Arkansas. Mesa serves a diverse range of end markets including packaging, consumer products and outdoor equipment. It is PolyOne’s fourth specialty colour acquisition in the last eight months. Robert Patterson, head of PolyOne, says the company continues to focus on “bolt-on” opportunities where it can invest to grow and leverage its expertise.


More bio-based masterbatches Bioplastics like polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyal- kanoate (PHA), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and starch- based resins like Novamont’s Mater-Bi can be more


broad range of biodegradable masterbatch carriers to its AF-Eco product portfolio. The company says that with bioplastics, pigmentation is an increasingly important aspect. “We aim to rise to the challenge of growing complexity in bio-based plastics applications, and this is how we plan to succeed. It will allow us to minimise interactions with other polymer components in a compound,” says sales director Dirk Schöning. R&D director Inno Gaul adds: “Now there are virtually no limits to our customers’ colour requirements for bio-masterbatches.” According to the manufacturer, just about every colour objective can be realised – even pearlescent effect colours. The bio-masterbatches are marketed exclusively by


sister company Bio-Fed, which specialises in marketing bio-based and biodegradable plastics under the brand name M·Vera.


Medical applications Foster Corporation, which specialises in materials for medical devices, has introduced a new line of colour concentrates using FDA 21CFR 7 and 74 subpart D pigments for medical device applications. In support of medical customers in early stages of product develop- ment, Foster’s MediBatch colour concentrates are


Colour calibration for polyolefins


Clariant has developed a calibration database with its PV Fast and Graphtol pigments. The database can easily be integrated into Matchmycolor’s Colibri software and used together with the premium grade portable and bench-top spectrophotometers from Konica Minolta to colour match polyolefin articles. The service targets not only masterbatch producers and compounders, but also designers and brand owners. Clariant has provided Matchmycolor and Konica


Minolta with the data set of 60 organic pigments from its PV Fast and Graphtol ranges in different


36 INJECTION WORLD | July/August 2017


concentrations in high density polyethylene (HDPE), to allow fast and precise colour matching using Konica Minolta spectropho- tometers.


“With this set of data, masterbatch producers and their customers can significantly reduce the number of laboratory and testing steps normally required to replicate a colour, resulting in time savings, cost- and energy-savings, and high matching rates that improve the quality of the end result,” Clariant says.


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