Bonding without boundaries

LICOCENE® PERFORMANCE
POLYMERS FOR HOT MELT
ADHESIVES
The challenge The solution
IN HOT MELT ADHESIVES FOR ALL YOUR ADHESIVE NEEDS

A multitude of challenges There are many challenges in working with hot melt adhesives. A too high
viscosity of the adhesive slows blending and impedes wetting, while a high
asks for a multitude of density necessarily leads to high consumption. Some adhesives do not work
solutions with high polymer content formulations, so the hot melt would not be able to
profit from the benefits of a high polymer content like e.g. increased flexibility,
toughness, and maximum bonding strength. Insufficient thermal stability can
lead to gelling and charring, plugging nozzles and therefore causing machine
downtime and maintenance issues. Noticeable adhesive joints are unattractive.
Other issues are invisible, but no less unwelcome: some adhesives emit health
hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and undesirable odors.

Licocene® performance polymers for

hot melt adhesives – custom-tailored
to meet your specific requirements

The innovative Licocene® performance solutions are polyolefins

manufactured with the help of Metallocene catalysts. This
revolutionary Clariant process enables us to produce custom-
tailored solutions for the most individual needs in hotmelt
bonding. Selective tuning of melting point and viscosity allows
us to offer a broad range of homo- and/or co-polymers with either
highly crystalline to nearly amorphous mechanical properties.

They have low molecular weight yet high mechanical strength

and are valued for providing a perfect balance between adhesion
and cohesion, achieving desired properties even at low processing
temperatures. Excellent thermal stability means less charring, less
gelling, and enables higher productivity, generated by reduced
cleaning downtime and increased mileage due to its low density.
The tailored Licocene® toolbox with formulating guidelines
creates easy formulating options allowing formulations with less
resin.

2 LICOCENE® PERFORMANCE POLYMERS FOR HOT MELT ADHESIVES 3

The perfect balance
OF ADHESIVE POWER GAIN AND KEEP FAR MORE COHESION POWER WITH LICOCENE© COMBINATIONS

10

Adhesion [MPa]
9

8 2602 +5% Licocene® PP MA

Pinpoint any target on the adhesion 6

scale as Clariant’s Licocene® performance 5

2602 +5% Conventional resin

polymers already give you a better start 4

than other solutions. 3

PP 2502
PP 2602
PP 3602

2 PP 1602

Polyolefins based on
1 C2C3, C2,C8, APAO, EVA

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Cohesion [MPa]

Backbone Conventional resin Adhesion promotor

Cohesion: Tensile test according ASTM D638, ISO 527

Regarding the perfect ratio of cohesion and adhesion, our Licocene® Adhesion: Lap Shear Test (beechwood) according DIN EN 1465
backbone polymers give far more cohesive strength and adhesive power
to the formulation than the alternative products. The addition of 3–5%
grafted Licocene® PP MA is already sufficient to give formulations a
significant adhesion boost compared to standard resins. And if you need HOW TO GET YOUR PERFECT RATIO OF VISCOSITY AND SOFTENING POINT WITH LICOCENE®
the ideal balance between viscosity and softening point, our Licocene®
backbone polymers allow you to start already at a target level, while Licocene® types
alternatives like amorphous polyalphaolefin (APAO) or Ethylene- 170

Softening point °C
octene-1 copolymer (C2C8) are far less close to an optimal ratio. PP 7502 APAO*
160 PP MA 7452

150 PP 6102 PP 6502

140 PP MA 6252 PA MA 6452

130 PE 4201 PE 5301

120
PE MA 4221 PE MA 4351
110 PP 2502 PP 3602

100 PP 2602

PP 1302
90
PP 1602
80 PP 1502
PP MA 1332
70 C2C8
60

50

40

30

20

10 PPA 330 TP
0
1,00 1,50 2,00 2,50 3,00 3,50 4,00 4,50 5,00
Log viscosity mPa·s

Backbone Open and setting time Viscosity reducer * selected grade

Heat resistance Adhesion promotor Plasticizer

4 LICOCENE® PERFORMANCE POLYMERS FOR HOT MELT ADHESIVES 5

A broad portfolio
TO COVER ALL YOUR NEEDS

Our Licocene® performance polymers are available in

Nomenclature of the Licocene® solutions
a multitude of variations, both as pure versions and
7= high
chemically modified by grafting with MAH (maleic

Softening point

(1 = PE, 2 = PP)
6= -

Test product
Modification
anhydride) or alkoxysilane. Our proprietary production 5= -

Monomer

Monomer
4= medium

Viscosity
process allows high grafting levels for the latter. The 3= -
2= -
resulting broad range of compositions, physical forms, 1 = low
viscosity and other properties make sure that we can cover Licocene® PP 2 6 0 2 TP 0= no

all your needs for powerful and efficient hot melt adhesives.

LICOCENE® – MODIFIED GRADES

LICOCENE® – NON MODIFIED GRADES (CHEMICAL MODIFICATION BY GRAFTING WITH MAH [MALEIC ANHYDRIDE] OR SILANE)

NAME COMPOSITION PHYSICAL FORM VISCOSITY DROP POINT DENSITY CRYSTALLINITY PROPERTIES NAME COMPOSITION PHYSICAL FORM VISCOSITY (170 °C) DROP POINT ACID VALUE PROPERTIES
Licocene© grades (170 °C) mPa•s °C (approx.) g/cm3 (approx.) Grafted Licocene© mPa•s (approx.) °C (approx.)
(approx.) grades

Licocene© PE 4201 Polyethylene wax Granules, powder 60 [140 °C] 128 0.97 High White, brittle, hard Licocene© PE MA 4221 Polyethylene wax, Fine grain 140 [140 °C] 123 18 Almost white, brittle,
Licocene© PE 5301 Polyethylene wax Granules 350 [140 °C] 131 0.97 High White, brittle, hard modified with MAH hard

Licocene© PP 1302 Propylene-Ethylene- Granules, fine grain 200 90 0.87 Low White, soft, tacky
Copolymer wax Licocene© PE MA 4351 Polyethylene wax, Granules, fine grain 350 [140 °C ] 123 45 Yellowish, brittle, hard
modified with MAH
Licocene PP 1502
©
Propylene-Ethylene- Granules, fine grain 1800 86* 0.87 Low White, soft, tacky
Copolymer
Licocene© PE SI 3361 TP Polyethylene wax, Cast in drums 150 [140 °C ] 119 - White, brittle, hard
Licocene© PP 1602 Propylene-Ethylene- Granules 6000 88* 0.87 Low White, soft, tacky
modified with
Copolymer
alkoxysilane
Licocene© PP 2502 TP Propylene-Ethylene- Granules 2000 103* 0.87 Low White, soft
Licocene© PP SI 1362 TP Polypropylene wax, Cast in drums 100 80* - White, soft
Copolymer
modified with
Licocene© PP 2602 Propylene-Ethylene- Granules, fine grain 6300 98* 0.88 Medium White, soft alkoxysilane
Copolymer
Licocene© PP MA 1332 TP Propylene-Ethylene- Cast in drums 200 80 18 Yellowish
Licocene© PP 3602 Propylene-Ethylene- Granules, fine grain 9300 111* 0.90 Medium White, soft Copolymer wax, translucent, soft, slightly
Copolymer wax modified with MAH tacky
Licocene© PP 6102 Polypropylene wax Granules, fine grain 60 145 0.90 High White, brittle hard
Licocene© PP MA 6252 Polypropylen wax, Granules 100 140 42 Yellowish,
modified with MAH brittle, hard
Licocene© PP 6502 Polypropylene wax Granules, fine grain 1700 148* 0.90 High White, hard

Licocene© PP MA 6452 Polypropylene wax, Granules, fine grain 1100 144* 41 Yellowish,
Licocene© PP 7502 Polypropylene wax Granules, fine grain 1800 165* 0.90 High White, brittle hard modified with MAH brittle, hard

Licocene© PPA 330 TP Amorphous Liquid paste, 200 -45** 0.85 Amorphous Very tacky
Licocene© PP MA 7452 TP Polypropylene wax, Granules, fine grain 1100 159* 41 Yellowish,
Propylene-Ethylene- cast in drums
modified with MAH brittle, hard
Copolymer

Softening point: ASTM D 3104 Density: ISO 1183

Drop point: ASTM D 3954
Viscosity: DIN 53019 at 170 °C [140 °C]
Softening point: ASTM D 3104
* = softening point
Drop point: ASTM D 3954
** = glass transition temperature
Viscosity: DIN 53019 at 170 °C [140 °C]
Acid value: QM-AA-351a
* = softening point
** = glass transition temperature

6 LICOCENE® PERFORMANCE POLYMERS FOR HOT MELT ADHESIVES 7

A one stop solution Playing nice with others
FOR ALL ADHESIVE DEMANDS FOR SUPERIOR BONDING STRENGTH

To make sure that the whole

is greater than the sum of its
parts, we created extremely
versatile specialists

Licocene® performance polymers are not just

great team players in their own product family.
They work excellently with others, too: Combine
them with a broad range of resins and polymers
to get exactly the bonding results you need. That
way we make sure to always deliver the perfect
combination of special skills for special bonding
projects.

RESINS
++ Aliphatic, hydrogenated hydrocarbons
++ Partly aromatic, full and partly hydrogenated
hydrocarbons
++ Abietic acid, rosin
++ Esters from rosin
++ Polyterpenes and terpenphenols

CLARIANT PROVIDES ALL INGREDIENTS FOR Licocene® performance

TAILOR-MADE HOT MELT FORMULATIONS POLYMERS
polymers allow you to tailor ++ Amorphous Poly-alpha-olefins (APAO)
hot melt adhesives exactly ++ Other Polyolefins C2C3, C2C8 etc.
to your need ++ Styrene Ethylene Butylene Styrene (SEBS)
Backbone polymer COHESION ++ Plasticizers (phthalates, paraffinic oil,
polyisobutylene)
Tackifier wax ADHESION

Plasticizer FLEXIBILITY Start with a backbone polymer to lay the founda-

tion for excellent cohesive properties. Choose
Antioxidant THERMAL STABILITY
from a variety of tackifier waxes to adjust the
Functional filler FUNCTIONALITY matching adhesion. Wax modifiers let you set
viscosity, heat resistance, and open time. Add
VISCOSITY
antioxidants for thermal stability, and plasticizers
Wax modifier HEAT RESISTANCE
OPEN TIME for flexibility which can also enable the formula-
tion of pressure sensitive adhesives. And finally
round the whole package up nicely, tweaking the
functionality by throwing in some filler – and
admire your tailor-made hot melt adhesive!

8 LICOCENE® PERFORMANCE POLYMERS FOR HOT MELT ADHESIVES 9

Convincing benefits
TO TAKE YOU TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF
ADHESIVE POWER – SUSTAINABLY

As bonding strength alone is

not enough nowadays, Licocene®
performance polymers offer an
excellent sustainability profile
as well

Our Licocene® performance polymers provide the

complete toolbox needed to design better hotmelts for
Products that offer outstanding sustainability ad- the most needs. They possess an extraordinarily high
vantages are awarded our EcoTain® label – like our adhesive strength, bond quickly physically and hence
Licocene® solutions PP 2502, PP 2602, PP 3602, accelerate the bonding process. In addition, they also
and PPA 330 TP. These products have undergone offer possibilities for an adhesion boost to support
a systematic, in-depth screening process using formulators’ switch to using less tackifying resin in
36 criteria in all three sustainability dimensions: Ethylen/Propylen based hot melt adhesives.
social, environmental and economic.
In other words, they are extremely effective, enabling
EcoTain® products significantly exceed sustainability you to achieve more with less and enjoy higher
market standards, have best-in-class performance productivity, which directly translates into saving
and contribute overall to the sustainability efforts of time and money. Perfectly complementing these
the company and our customers. We are determined outstanding characteristics, reduced volatile gases
to keep expanding the number of EcoTain® products are generated during production and in the finished
and continue to screen our product portfolio. product.

Discover EcoTain®:
CLARIANT.COM/ECOTAIN

COLORLESS AND EXCELLENT WETTING OF

IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY LOW DENSITY
NEGLIGIBLE ODOR FILLERS/FILLING MATERIAL

REDUCTION ON PRODUCTION COSTS REDUCED VOCs FAST SETTING LOW VISCOSITY

SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS ON EXCELLENT ADHESION HIGH COMPATIBILITY WITH EXCEPTIONAL

WATER AND ENERGY AND COHESION POLYMERS AND RESINS THERMAL STABILITY

10 11
CLARIANT PLASTICS & COATINGS LTD
Rothausstrasse 61
4132 Muttenz
Switzerland

BUSINESS UNIT ADDITIVES

BUSINESS LINE WAXES
Phone + 41 61 469-6640
Email waxes@clariant.com

CLARIANT.COM/ADDITIVES
CLARIANT.COM

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tion of our products and their possible applications. Clariant makes no warranties, express or implied,
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