COMPATIBILISERS | MATERIALS


titanate coupling agents compatibilise fillers with polymers, then why cannot titanate and aluminium be used as a catalyst and coupling agent for compatibilising the fillers and polymers (both addition and condensation) used in plastics to be recycled. “Current plastic recycling and sustainability goals


are limited by the intrinsic incompatibility of many polymers and the negative effect of fillers and impurities on end-product properties,” says Monte. “This requires a high degree of expensive sorting, separating and cleaning. Another barrier is the melt processing of polymers that causes chain scissoring resulting in recycled and regrind materials having inferior properties compared to virgin.” He says current compatibilisers offered to


recyclers are based on co-polymers or maleic anhydride modified polymers and both have drawbacks, such as the requirement for sorting mixed polymer waste streams. The Kenrich ap- proach to compatibilisation is completely different. Monte says: “We use either a monoalkoxy or neoalkoxy titanate in combination with Al2


SiO5


mixed metal catalyst in powder and pellet forms for in-situ macromolecular repolymerisation and copolymerisation in the melt. This in-situ organo- metallic catalysis results in polymer compatibilisa- tion as the neoalkoxy titanate also proton coordi- nates with inorganic fillers and organic particulates to couple and compatibilise the dissimilar inter- faces at the nano-atomic level, thus reducing the need for expensive sorting of materials in recycled plastics.”


He continues: “In addition, many compounders are schooled in the art of silane coupling agents,


limiting filler and organic interface coupling to hydroxyl bearing materials such as silica and fibreglass. This categorises fillers such as CaCO3 BaSO4


, , carbon black and organics such as oils as


contaminants. In addition, silane art requires knowledge of hydrolysis mechanisms and tech- niques usually outside the realm of melt recycling compounders. Nano-titanium technology applied at the interface of dissimilar materials can be the ‘Holy Grail’ of plastics recycling.”


CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: � www.exxonmobilchemical.com � www.kraton.com � www.ampacet.com � www.4kenrich.com � https://brightgreenplastics.com


Above: Kenrich Petrochemicals’ approach to compatibilising PP and PE uses titanate ester catalysts


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