COMPATIBILISERS | ADDITIVES
and Elvaloy AC acrylate copolymers act to compati- bilise contaminants. For example, in PET-PE tray waste, Elvaloy PTW acts as a coupling agent and a compatibiliser for PE in PET that allows the PET to be used to make fibres; without the additive, the blend could not be processed at higher draw ratios, the company said. Dow now also offers versions of its Fusabond,
Elvaloy, and Elovaloy AC polymers with content made from recycled materials (CIR) or versions with bio-circular content made from bio-circular residues (REN). Both CIR and REN options use the mass balance approach and are ISCC Plus certified. Both are of interest to the automotive industry, for example. “There is a growing focus – both by the public
and regulators – on the sustainability of the materials used in cars. This drive for circular, low-carbon automotive plastics is reinforced by ambitious targets set by OEMs, including the amount of recycled and bio content that cars must contain,” the company said. Clariant said its advanced wax additives are being used to compatibilise mixed streams of PE and PP PCR. “Licocene PP 1602, Licocene PP 2602 or Licocene PP 3602 can improve the poor adherence between the two polyolefin phases. This leads to a higher, more stable melt viscosity and hence smoother plastics processing,” the company said. Another product, Licocene PE MA 4351, works as a coupling agent for organic or inorganic fillers in rHDPE; Licocene PP MA 6452 serves this purpose in rPP.
Bio-based modifiers The Compound Company, headquartered in The Netherlands, supplies compatibilisers and coupling agents, formerly known as Exxelor but rebranded as Yparex from March this year. Modifiers include bio-based materials, such as Yparex RENEW 0H17 bio-based compatibiliser, based on a maleic anhydride grafted PE (bioMAPE). The bioMAPE was used as a coupling agent between fillers and polyolefins in a recent study by RISE PFI Trondheim and SINTEF Oslo that looked at clay particles and thermomechanical pulp fibres in composites with HDPE and LDPE. Kraton announced in June 2024 that it had
received Critical Guidance Recognition from the US Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) for its CirKular+ C1000 and C1010 Compatibilisation Series and CirKular+ C2000 Performance Enhance- ment Series for use in PE flexible films. The APR Critical Guidance Protocol is a measure for assess- ing recyclability in plastic packaging design. To
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
Compatibilised PET/PE shows improvements in impact strength and elongation at break
Source: SK Functional Polymer
Compatibilised PA 6/PE shows improvements in impact strength and elongation at break
receive recognition, products must meet the APR’s strict requirements and be tested for a range of design features that affect recycling. Tests under the APR protocol showed that C1000 and C2000 can be used in PE films with up to 5% EVOH with loadings of 2% and 3% respec- tively, and C1010 and C2000 can be used in PE films with up to 10% PA 6 with loadings of 3% and 2% respectively, Kraton reported. CirKular+ additives have previously received the APR Critical Guidance Recognition for use in PP containers and HDPE bottles and have been certified as compat- ible with HDPE and PP container recycling in Europe by Plastics Recyclers Europe and the RecyClass system. Kraton’s compatibilisers are also available as the
CirKular+ ReNew Series that are made with bio-based styrenic block copolymers derived from pine wood pulping by-products and tracked using a mass balance approach. The company achieved ISCC Plus certification for its Belpre, Ohio, US
May/June 2025 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 41
Source: SK Functional Polymer
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
