additives
ISSN 0306-3747 June 2017
FOR
POLYMERS
Clariant’s latest Cesa products target clear PP
and improved PET, PLA recycling
S peciality chemicals major
Clariant has expanded its line
of Cesa®-nucleant masterbatches
designed to improve the perfor-
mance of polypropylenes (PPs)
for clear packaging applications.
The company has also introduced
additional Cesa-extend formula-
tions that are said to be capable of
restoring important material prop-
erties to recycled condensation
polymers, including polyethylene
terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid
(PLA) and polycarbonate.
According to Clariant, global demand for
clear PP packaging has increased sharply
as food producers recognize its advantages
– in terms of transparency, cost, weight
and heat-tolerance – relative to PET for
the rigid packaging of microwaveable and
convenience foods. Meeting this demand
requires that the common PP processing
problems of haziness and dimensional insta-
bility are surmounted, which entails the use
of nucleating agents, the company explains.
However, as Clariant head of marketing
for North America Peter Prusak explains,
many global resin producers have trimmed
their product portfolios by eliminating
modified materials, including PPs, in favour
of ‘neat’ (additive-free) resins. Clariant’s
Cesa-nucleant masterbatches can help to
fill this market need as they offer processors
‘an alternative to the costs of acquiring and
managing custom-compounded material
for the production of clearer PP packaging’,
Prusak comments.
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Contents
Containing nucleating and clarifying
technology, the new masterbatches are suit-
able for use with homopolymer, random
and copolymer PPs, Clariant reports. With
them, processors no longer need to source
and manage modified PP supplies from resin
producers or custom compounders, it says.
Instead, they can ‘simply add’ concentrated,
pelletized Cesa-nucleant masterbatches
into natural PP resin just prior to process-
ing, according to the company. The new
products are available in standard or custom
formulations designed for clarification and/
or nucleation. Nucleating agents improve
processing by helping PPs to run at lower
temperatures and fuse more quickly, so parts
can be de-moulded sooner and cycle times
thereby reduced, Clariant explains.
The company is also now offering
enhanced Cesa-extend masterbatches that
are reported to improve the properties of
recycled PET, PLA and polycarbonate. It
is claimed that these new masterbatches
provide a ‘simple, low-cost solution’ for
increasing molecular weight and restoring
the physical properties, melt strength and
processability that are lost when PET and
PLA polymer chains break down during
processing and recycling.
When added during the processing of
recycled PET and PLA, the Cesa-extend
masterbatches react with and re-link
broken polymer chains, Clariant reports.
Long polymer chains are essential in the
extrusion of both PET and PLA because
they give the processed material the
Continued on page 2...
MATERIALS
Clariant’s latest Cesa products target clear
PP and improved PET, PLA recycling 1
Tosaf’s new white masterbatch reduces
smoke and odour in extrusion coating 2
Emery Oleochemicals develops new additives
range for C-PVC, plus food-safe antifog
agent 3
Ampacet extends paper effects range with
SynWrap 4
Addivant receives FDA approval for use of
Weston 705 antioxidant in infant food
packaging 5
European plastics converters alliance warns
of TiO2 shortage impact 5
COMPANY STRATEGIES
Songwon opens new innovation centre
in South Korea 6
AkzoNobel unveils separation strategy for
speciality chemicals; posts gains in 1Q
2017 7
Omya inaugurates Malaysian technical
services laboratory 7
Oxea starts construction of US propanol
and propionaldehyde unit 8
Chromaflo establishes colorants and
chemical dispersions facility in India 9
Sibelco sells Belgian talc operation to
IMI Fabi 9
FINANCIALS
Clariant posts strong sales and EBITDA
growth in 1Q 2017 9
Huntsman reports first quarter sales and
income gains 10
EQUIPMENT
Atlas opens new European weathering
test lab; extends instrument range 11
EVENTS CALENDAR 12
8
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 MATERIALS
MATERIALS
...Continued from front page
tensile strength necessary for good performance when
formed into packaging materials, the company explains.
The chain-restoring action of the new masterbatches
means that the strength of the recyclate is comparable
to virgin material; therefore, even high percentages of
regrind can be incorporated with virgin resin without
significantly reducing the physical properties required
in food-contact and other high-performance packaging
applications, Clariant concludes. The company says its
new Cesa products are ‘excellent’ for packaging requiring
high recycled content. ‘Cesa-extend masterbatches give
processors an affordable, sustainable way to meet grow-
ing market demands for higher levels of recycled content
in food packaging applications. One of our customers
was even able to achieve acceptable results using 100%
regrind’, reports Prusak.
Pelletized Cesa-extend masterbatches are available in
standard and custom formulations, and can be used to con-
trol or enhance a range of material parameters, including
melt-flow index (MFI), intrinsic viscosity, hydrolytic stabil-
ity, mechanical properties and clarity, according to Clariant.
They can also be custom formulated to provide both linear
and branched chain extension, the company reports.
In other recent news from Clariant, the company is
increasing its collaboration with one of the world’s largest
manufacturers of biaxially-oriented PP (BOPP), Gettel
High-Tech Materials in Wenzhou, China, which has a
production capacity of 600 000 tonnes/year. The partners
say they will jointly promote additives and liquid feeding
technology to China’s BOPP industry. While Gettel will
continue to employ Clariant’s solutions, including the
antistatic additive Hostastat FA 68 combined with liquid
feeding technology and AddWorks LXR 408, Clariant
says it will gain better distribution of its new technolo-
gies and products. As a result of the strategic partnership,
Gettel has also decided to equip all its production lines
with Clariant’s liquid feeding technology and additive
products, reveals the company’s president Fang Wenbing.
Contact:
Clariant International, Muttenz, Switzerland.
Tel: +41 61 469 6742, Web: www.clariant.com
Or contact: Clariant Corp, 4000 Monroe Rd, Charlotte,
NC 28205, USA. Tel: +1 704 331 7000
2
Additives for Polymers June 2017
Tosaf’s new white masterbatch
reduces smoke and odour in
extrusion coating
I sraeli firm Tosaf Compounds Ltd has developed
a new white masterbatch for extrusion coat-
ing applications. According to the manufacturer,
ME800047 is characterized by increased heat
stability, which significantly reduces smoke and
odour during processing at high temperatures. In
addition, the new masterbatch contributes to an
enhanced production efficiency ‘compared to tra-
ditional products of this kind’, Tosaf says.
Extrusion coating is described as a ‘highly demanding
process’, whereby a very thin polymer layer is applied to
a substrate at processing temperatures close to the ther-
mal degradation point of the processed polymers (around
300°C). Known challenges include necking (where the
melt drips unevenly onto the sheet in a neck shape), high
smoke and odour levels due to the high processing temper-
atures, die build-up, poor dispersion and gel formation.
Tosaf’s new white masterbatch has been developed spe-
cifically to overcome these issues encountered in extrusion
coating. ME800047 withstands the extremely high process-
ing temperatures whilst at the same time maintaining its
high dispersion quality, the company claims. This results in
a consistently homogeneous coating and reduces the need
for filter changes during production, it explains. Gel for-
mation is also ‘significantly reduced’, while the opacity of
ME800047 allows for a lower addition level, even in very
thin layers, Tosaf reports. Furthermore, because the new
masterbatch does not contain migrating additives, it provides
high corona retention, good printability and reduced die
build-up, the company adds.
Established in 1986, Tosaf Group has been jointly owned
by Megides Holding and the Ravago Group since 2001 when
Ravago acquired a 30% share of the company. A producer of
additives, colour masterbatches and compounds for the plas-
tics industry, it operates 11 production sites in Israel, Turkey,
Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and China with a com-
bined production capacity of 120 000 tonnes per year. Tosaf
currently has 900 employees, 40 sales offices and distributors.
Contact:
Tosaf Compounds Ltd, Afula, Israel. Tel: +972 9 8984606,
Web: www.tosaf.com