MATERIALS
...Continued from front page
of the packaging industry through the continued devel-
opment of increasingly higher performing, differentiated
slip agents for flexible packaging to help its customers
to achieve faster production, consistent high quality and
enhanced printing capabilities, comments Christophe
Paulo, Industrial and Consumer strategic marketer, EMEA.
‘Our goals go beyond simply solving longstanding issues
associated with traditional slip additives in that we also
strive to deliver greater value with each solution, whether
it’s expanded food contact compliance or compatibility
with the latest graphical technologies’, Paulo explains.
Dow Corning MB25-235 Masterbatch together with Dow
Corning HMB-6301 Masterbatch, which reduces COF in
bi-axially oriented polypropylene film and was introduced
in 2017 [ibid., January 2018], are the latest additions to the
company’s growing portfolio of silicone-based masterbatches
for flexible packaging. While packaging films are the pri-
mary application area for the new Dow Corning MB25-235
Masterbatch grade, it is also targeted for use in LDPE and
LLDPE agricultural mulch, greenhouse and silage films
to optimize processing and handling while maintaining
mechanical properties such as tear strength and tensile elon-
gation, Dow Performance Silicones reports.
More information: www.dupont.com/industrial/multibase.html
MATERIALS
Ampacet develops process aid
masterbatch for outdoor blown
film applications
I nternational masterbatch and additive manufac-
turer Ampacet has launched process aid master-
batch Proflow 400 (1000400-E), which is designed to
ease the processing of blown films that are intended
for outdoor use and therefore incorporate UV light
stabilizers. According to the company, its new mas-
terbatch outperforms the best-known competitive
process aids and market references in blown films.
Agricultural greenhouse and tunnel films, silage stretch
wrapping film and industrial packaging are among the out-
door applications that require the combination of polymer
processing aids (PPAs) and hindered amine light stabilizers
2
Additives for Polymers December 2018
(HALS) in order to, respectively, enable the use of high-
performance resins and enhance the heat stability of the film
to extend its service life. However, the use of HALS may
affect the efficiency of PPAs and Ampacet’s new process aid
masterbatch is therefore specifically designed for optimized
performance in the presence of UV light stabilizers, the com-
pany explains. The product reportedly demonstrates mini-
mized interactions with various HALS, providing excellent
results in terms of limiting the generation of die build-up
and suppressing shark skin effects, Ampacet claims.
Proflow 400 (1000400-E) is approved for food contact
applications in Europe and the USA, and has a shelf-life
of 18 months, the company reports. Ampacet recently
created the Proflow brand name for its range of process
aid masterbatches.
More information: www.ampacet.com
Huber expands alumina-based
range of thermally conductive
additives for polyamides
H uber Martinswerk, part of J.M. Huber Corp’s
Huber Engineered Materials division, has
introduced Martoxid® TM-4250, the latest grade
in its Martoxid TM-4000 series [ADPO, December
2016] of alumina-based thermally conductive fillers
specially designed for polyamides. The new addi-
tive is claimed to increase orientation-independent
(isotropic) thermal conductivity in PA6 and PA66 up
to 2.5 W/mK, both in-plane and through plane.
In addition to boosting thermal conductivity, incorpora-
tion of the additive at loading levels of up to 75 wt% –
combined with low viscosity and excellent flowability – also
results in higher throughput during extrusion of the com-
pound while providing lower energy consumption, accord-
ing to the company. Moreover, Huber reports that tests
carried out at Fraunhofer LBF in Darmstadt, Germany, on
PA6 compounds confirm that its new filler is much less
abrasive than those that have a lower Mohs hardness, such
as aluminosilicate and glass fibre. Furthermore, Martoxid
TM-4250 is said to possess ‘unique engineered morphology
and surface treatment qualities’, which allow formulators to
achieve enhanced compound performance, including ‘excel-
lent mechanical properties’ such as Charpy impact strength
and elongation at break.