MATERIALS | ADDITIVES
Techmer PM has developed rPET Revive under the company’s HiTerra sustainable solutions brand. The solid pellet masterbatch is generally added at 0.5-1% to increase intrinsic viscosity (IV) and reduce yellowness of rPET. The company says that this technology has generated the most value in thermoformed PET sheet applications where processors are incorporating both rPET and their own reprocessed scrap at high levels, especially when forming round shapes from the rectangular sheet. With HiTerra rPET Revive, processors can maximise rPET while maintaining physical proper- ties, processibility and appearance. Synthetic fibre manufacturers have historically
been heavy users of recycled PET and have also seen benefits to incorporating rPET Revive, says Techmer PM. Another use is in 100% recycled content bottles where thick neck finishes make yellowed PET more noticeable to consumers. Blue tints can mask this yellowness, but the result is a grey hue. HiTerra rPET Revive does not use any colourants and can even deliver a brighter, cleaner appearance than virgin resin, the company says. Rowa Masterbatch has developed a chain
extender for recycled plastics that reacts with the ends of polycondensate chains. The polymer chains of degraded polymer, with a low molecular weight, are combined with one another and form longer-chain polymers. The company says that studies have shown that the melt flow index (melt volume-flow rate, MVR) of degraded PET can be restored with a dose of 5% Rowalid PET-A103A SP. The impact strength of PET extruded multiple times is almost doubled, while transparency is main- tained. This means that a high proportion of regranulate can be mixed with new PET without significantly worsening the physical properties. One of the major challenges for mechanical recyclers is efficient cleaning, sorting and process-
ing of the recycled plastic waste stream, reports Evonik. To meet these needs, the company has developed the new Tego Cycle line of products designed to assist mechanical recyclers in improv- ing every step of their process and the quality of the final recycled product. Tego WA 111 is a wetting agent, improving float-
sink sorting efficiency by preventing bubble formation on plastic flakes. The company says that Tego WA 111 is also a highly effective de-inking and de-metallising aid, removing inks and metals from recyclable substrates that might otherwise contaminate the final product. Evonik also offers Tego Cycle DW 210, an effective dewatering aid for drying separated plastic after sorting and which is biodegradable. Tego Cycle DW 210 also reduces the water content of plastic flakes or particles by up to 70% compared to drying without additives, providing significant time, cost and energy savings for mechanical recyclers. According to Milliken & Company, the current
market for additives for recycled plastics is extreme- ly robust and provides exceptional growth pros- pects. Allan Randall, Global Product Line Manager Plastic Additives DeltaMax/DeltaFlow, says: “The main trends and influences driving new develop- ments in additives for the plastics recycling industry are the increasing demands from the market for specific physical properties of recycled materials. To meet these demands, it is crucial to optimise the melt-flow, stiffness, impact properties and shrinkage characteristics of these materials using additives. This provides an opportunity for further develop- ment and expertise in this space to create more value-added additives that meet the needs of the end-users in their applications.” He continues: “As a plastic resin, polypropylene has a number of desirable sustainability benefits. It has a modest carbon footprint to manufacture, is durable, relatively lightweight and inherently recyclable. What prevents recycled polypropylene from being used more widely in injection moulded components, until now, has been its shortcomings in melt-flow, impact and stiffness properties. Our products enhance the properties of rPP and make it suitable for more applications, thereby helping to close the loop in more end uses. Our goal is to enable more and better utilisation of rPP.” Milliken has developed a number of additives
MVR for virgin PET, PET that has been extruded four times and PET extruded four times with 5% Rowalid PET-A103A SP from Rowa Source Rowa Masterbatch
34 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | March/April 2023
for the recycled plastics market. The company says that DeltaMax performance modifiers for rPP simultaneously improve both impact and melt flow in recycled resins, enabling converters to make parts stronger, lighter and faster than before. They also improve the sustainability profile of the
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