MATERIALS | COMPATIBILISERS


Right: Nuttapon Kheankaew from Teamplas shows the white pellets recycled with BASF’s IrgaCycle at its recycling plant in Chachoeng- sao, Thailand


recycled materials, allowing brand owners and con- verters to produce cost-effective PCR end-products with the desired performance properties. The additive can help overcome some of the challeng- es related to more PCR entering the value chain, allowing industry players to continue incorporating greater quantities of PCR in polyolefin applications, the company suggests. Titanate-based organometallic coupling agents


are being successfully used in recycled plastics compounds as “advanced coupling catalysts,” says Sal Monte, Kenrich President and Owner and inventor of the technology. In mechanically recycled plastics streams with mixed plastics, many polymers are incompatible. Monte says that Ken-React CAPS KPR, the company’s additive for PCR, acts as a catalyst to copolymerise different types of polymers, as well as to couple inorganic fillers (e.g., calcium carbonate, carbon black, or others) with polymers. He says that the additive will enable the recycling of mixed plastics waste streams without segregation and sorting. For example, the additive can compatibilise a mix of PP, PE, and PET. Using lower process temperatures to create the shear rate conditions needed for reactive compounding is key, Monte says. In November 2023, BASF announced a collabo-


Below: Researchers from Interface Polymers testing films with compatibilisers


ration with Teamplas Group, a recycled compound producer in Southeast Asia, to use BASF’s IrgaCycle to control variation in quality and improve final part performance. IrgaCycle, part of the company’s VALERAS portfolio, consists of a series of plastic additive formulations that enable recycled plastics to be used for the production of high-value parts in combination with virgin materials. Teamplas produces pellets from waste streams including household products, electrical and electronic (E&E) equipment, and end-of-life vehicles, for use in making new electrical appliances, office equipment, and car interior parts. IrgaCycle additives compati-


bilise mixtures of polyolefin plastics and mitigate the thermal and mechanical stress of the recycling process, which minimises the impact of impurities.


Enabling PCR use With the use of IrgaCycle, Teamplas can improve the surfaces of parts produced using their recyclates— chair armrests, printer exteriors, and car stereo frames can all be produced with higher gloss and greater long-term thermal stability, the companies report. IrgaCycle can even enable these finished products to be made with 100% recycled plastic. The ongoing collaboration will also look at


packaging applications. Pongsakorn Atichatsri- sakul, Executive Director of Teamplas Group, said, “Our partnership with BASF will not only help us tackle recycling quality but contribute to the goals laid out in the Thai government’s National Road- map on Plastic Waste Management (2018-2030).” Interface Polymers is preparing to start its first


production plant for its new Polarfin di-block polymer compatibilisers in Visakhapatnam, India. The compatibilisers have been designed to help reduce flow defects and gels in mixed or cross- contaminated plastic recycling streams. In film packaging using PCR material, for


example, the additive helps to create smooth and printable surfaces. The compatibilisers are used at low levels (often less than 1%) in combinations such as polyolefins (PP or PE) with polyamides (PA), PE or PP with ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), PE or PP with PET, and PE or PP with cellulose (a biobased polymer). Package and film producers are working to


create recyclable solutions to replace conventional multilayer, multimaterial structures that are chal- lenging for recycling because the layers cannot be separated. These structures are often primarily polyolefins with PA or EVOH as a thin barrier layer.


26 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | May/June 2024 www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


IMAGE: INTERFACE


IMAGE: BASF


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