MATERIALS
MATERIALS dosing technologies for the plastics industry. The company
ColorMatrix unveils light-blocking
technology for dairy packaging
L iquid colorants and additives firm ColorMatrix
unveiled a novel light-blocking technology
for PET dairy packaging at Drinktec 2009 held in
Munich, Germany, in September. Lactra™ is an
opaque white liquid technology that is claimed
to ensure high-performance light blocking at low
addition rates while maintaining enhanced con-
tainer aesthetics. The new product is suitable for
both single- and multi-layer PET containers.
According to ColorMatrix, Lactra ensures protection
from UV and visible light at wavelengths of up to 550
nm, which is critical for extending the shelf life in dairy
applications such as milks, yoghurts and dairy beverages.
While traditional opaque white colorant systems are typi-
cally dosed at around 20%, the company says that Lactra
provides equivalent light-blocking performance at an addi-
tion rate of only 6–8%. This is achieved thanks to the
‘advanced dispersion capability’ of ColorMatrix’s ‘latest-
generation’ CoolRun liquid carrier system, which enables
the optimization of pigment particle size, to achieve maxi-
mum light reflection from minimal product. The carrier
system also ensures highly stable processing, consistent
colour distribution and can also help to minimize acetalde-
hyde levels, which can cause off-taste, the firm says.
Depending on the degree of opacity, visual appearance
and container type required, a range of grades is available.
Aesthetic finishes include matt or silk. Lactra:SILK and
Lactra:MATT offer high opacity with good aesthetics,
while Lactra:eXtraShield boasts higher light-blocking capa-
bilities, ColorMatrix explains. Lactra also offers maximized
production flexibility as the technologies are compatible
with any PET grade, enabling brand owners, dairy proces-
sors and packaging technologists to develop customized,
highly cost-effective PET barrier solutions for their prod-
ucts, the company says. The Lactra range is fully compli-
ant with EU and FDA food contact legislation.
ColorMatrix also used the Drinktec show to launch
its Amosorb® SolO2 oxygen-barrier technology for PET
beverage packaging [ADPO, August 2009].
Founded in 1972 in Cleveland, OH, USA, ColorMatrix
employs more than 300 people globally in the develop-
ment and manufacture of liquid colorant, additive and
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Additives for Polymers
has research, manufacturing and technical support facilities
in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.
Contact:
ColorMatrix, Berea, OH, USA. Tel: +1 216 622 0100,
Web: www.colormatrix.com
Or contact: ColorMatrix Europe Ltd, Knowsley, UK.
Tel: +44 151 548 3100, Web: europe.colormatrix.com
Clariant introduces gas barrier
PET masterbatches, new liquid
colours for blow moulding
C lariant Masterbatches has introduced two
new masterbatches that are said to offer
long-lasting protection against oxygen (O2) and
carbon dioxide (CO2) permeation in polyethyl-
ene terephthalate (PET) bottles. In addition, the
division’s Rite Systems business unit has devel-
oped a new family of liquid colours based on a
proprietary non-mineral-oil carrier that allows
their use in the extrusion blow moulding of
high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
Available under the Cesa®-absorb brand name, the new
PET masterbatches use a combination of ingredients that
remains stable during handling and processing and avoids
the need for special nitrogen treatment, which is often
required when using other oxygen absorbers, Clariant
says. Cesa-absorb OCA0050134-ZN is an all-in-one
masterbatch that incorporates a polyamide (PA) polymer
additive that forms a passive barrier to help prevent CO2
escaping from bottles filled with carbonated soft drinks
and beer. The additives, as active ingredients, also initiate
an oxidation reaction in the PA so that it absorbs oxygen,
thus protecting sensitive products inside the bottle. This
masterbatch is typically added with let-down ratios of
4–5%, the company reports.
Cesa-absorb NTA0050139-ZN does not include PA
in the masterbatch, allowing processors to control load-
ing by introducing the PA separately, Clariant explains.
Added at a rate of just 1–1.5%, this masterbatch then
functions with the PA as in the all-in-one product. Both
products can be supplied as a combibatch, incorporating
not only the oxygen reduction and CO2 barrier addi-
tives, but also UV stabilizers, acetaldehyde scavengers and
November 2009

colorants. Because certain colorants and pigments can
inhibit the functionality of other additives, a tailor-made
combibatch solution can be a substantial benefit for
processors, according to Clariant Masterbatches.
The reaction initiated by the new Cesa-absorb master-
batches to prevent oxygen permeation develops over several
weeks after processing; it does not start immediately as is
the case with several other oxygen absorbers, the company
claims. As a result, there is no need to keep the masterbatch
itself in sealed containers or to use equipment that sur-
rounds the moulded preforms and bottles with nitrogen.
Laboratory testing on bottles produced with the recom-
mended let-down ratios of Cesa-absorb shows that the
O2-barrier properties of the new masterbatches begin devel-
oping about three to four weeks after processing and reach
their full potential in about five weeks, Clariant reports.
Oxygen transmission then remains close to zero for at least
six months. Tests also show very little loss of clarity when
using these masterbatches with PET colorants, it says.
At September’s HBA 2009 exposition in New York
City, Clariant featured new liquid colour masterbatches
from Rite Systems that are suitable for the extrusion
blow moulding of HDPE. The new colours will be
available initially in North America.
According to Clariant, many plastics processors and pack-
aging developers like liquid masterbatches because they can
be less costly, and colour changeover times are frequently
much reduced compared to solid concentrates. However,
until now, liquids were rarely used in HDPE blow moulding
because the mineral-oil carrier caused parison stability prob-
lems, and screw slippage hindered colour distribution. In
some cases, the colour would pool in the feedthroat of the
extruder, and resin would emerge from the die with little or
no colour at all, the company says. Consequently, the use of
liquid colours in HDPE was limited to injection moulding
and then only at concentrations of 0.5%.
However, Clariant Masterbatches says that with its new
liquid colours, processors can use as much as 2.5% without
affecting screw performance. Other problems associated
with using conventional liquid carriers, such as issues with
label adhesion, printability and sidewall stress cracking,
are effectively eliminated, it claims. The ‘revolutionary’
new carrier allows ‘pretty much anything you could do in
HDPE with solid masterbatches’ to be done with these liq-
uid colours, says Peter Prusak, head of the North American
Packaging Segment for Clariant Masterbatches. Finished
product testing, he says, shows that the new liquid master-
batches have no adverse effect on top-load tests, and con-
November 2009
MATERIALS
tainers easily pass standard 7-foot drop tests. The new carrier
has the added advantage of acting as an antistat, eliminating
the need for those additives in many applications.
Clariant Masterbatches also used the HBA 2009 show to
demonstrate advances in its Enigma® Fade special effects
technology for multilayer blow-moulded bottles, as well as
highlighting new ‘colour-travel’ pigments that are claimed
to provide an economical alternative to refraction-based
pigments for designers seeking a colour-flip effect.
Contact:
Clariant Masterbatches Division, Muttenz, Switzerland.
Tel: +41 61 469 6170, Web: www.clariant.masterbatches.com
Oxea launches adipate
plasticizer for flexible PVC
G erman oxo-chemicals supplier Oxea GmbH has
broadened its range of plasticizers with the
launch of its latest product, dioctyladipate (DOA),
which is also known as di-2-ethylhexyladipate. The
product is manufactured at the Amsterdam esters
plant acquired by the company in August this year
from ExxonMobil Chemical Holland BV. DOA is
immediately available.
DOA is mainly used in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as a
plasticizer, providing excellent low-temperature proper-
ties, good resistance to weathering and heat stability,
Oxea says. End applications are in clear food film, garden
hoses, gaskets and tubing. According to Miguel Mantas,
the member of Oxea’s executive board responsible for
sales and marketing, increasing demand from customers
for esters has led the company to develop new products.
‘DOA is our newest addition in this interesting field of
activities’, he says. The company adds that it intends to
take advantage of its technologies and manufacturing
capabilities to ‘further expand its value chain’.
Established in March 2007, Oxea is a global supplier of
solvents, polyols and oxo derivatives such as carboxylic acids,
olefin derivatives and alkylamines. The company has annual
sales worth about E1.2 billion and employs approximately
1300 people in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Contact:
Oxea GmbH, Otto-Roelen-Strasse 3, 46147 Oberhausen,
Germany. Tel: +49 208 693 3100, Fax: +49 208 693 3101,
Web: www.oxea-chemicals.com
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Additives for Polymers