NPE2018 REVIEW | ADDITIVES


A performance modifier for recycled polypropylene was among a raft of additives promoted by exhibitors at the NPE 2018 show in May. By David Eldridge


New additives launched to enhance recycled plastics


Recycling and sustainability were important themes at NPE 2018 in Orlando, USA, in May. Plastics Industry Association, the event organiser, held its regular conference called Plastics ReFocus Sustain- ability & Recycling Summit during NPE. It also designated part of the exhibition floor as the ReFocus Zone to pool some of the exhibitors that supply to plastics recyclers. Machinery groups were abundant throughout the exhibition (see Plastics Recycling World March-April 2018 edition) and additives suppliers were notable at this year’s NPE for their launch of new products designed to enhance the performance of plastics recyclate. At the ReFocus Summit, Milliken introduced its new DeltaMax performance modifier masterbatch- es which can be used with virgin and recycled polypropylene compounds. Prem Patel, Global Business Development Manager in Milliken’s Plastics Additives business, said at the conference that DeltaMax was developed to solve an unmet need for higher impact PP compounds which also


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


have higher melt flow rates. DeltaMax melt flow modifier can raise melt flow by as much as five times while maintaining impact performance and stiffness in PP impact copolymer (ICP). This im- provement helps injection moulders run at higher volumes or design parts with thinner walls that need easier flow through moulds. The DeltaMax impact modifier increases impact strength by as much as three times by optimising rubber disper- sion and domain size. This higher impact perfor- mance allows compounders to decrease rubber content to reduce weight and costs. Development work on DeltaMax originally focused on enhancing virgin PP, but Milliken saw that the performance modifier could also optimise recycled PP. Use of recycled PP by injection moulders has been hampered by variability in its supply and quality. DeltaMax restores impact and melt flow properties in the recycled PP, enabling it to match or even surpass the properties of virgin PP. In a slide that Patel showed at the ReFocus


Main image: NPE 2018 in Orlando, Florida, played host to exhibitors supplying plastics recyclers and compounders


May/June 2018 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 35


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  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54