Masterbatches trends

Workplace safety has been taken care of by the reworking of some classes of additives into more environmentally acceptable forms. Some trends are the increased use of additive concentrates or masterbatches and the replacement of powder versions by uniform pellets or pastilles which release less dust and flow more easily. Moreover, the current move to multicomponent formulations of stabilisers and processing aids in a low- or nondusting product also takes away the risk of operator error, aids quality control, ISO protocols and good housekeeping. An additional benefit is more homogeneous incorporation of the additives in the polymeric matrix. 

Photostabilization processes have not received much attention in the last year other than a multitude of review and specialist industrial articles. These include stabilization of polypropylene fibres, new stabilizer developments, sorting of stabilizers for polyethylene, trends in UV absorbers, " hindered piperidines (HALS) for polyacryUcs and urethanes, new stabilizers for polyolefins, enhanced service-life applications, stabilizer masterbatches for polyester, stabilizers for UV-cured acrylic overcoats for PVC and stabilization of clearcoats and various commercial packages. ... 

A comparable solid-like response, presumably owing to a similar filler network and same qualitative rheological trend, was observed in EVA/MMT-filled nanocomposites, but only when the EVA copolymer contained a high polar comonomer fraction (>28%). In addition, the polymer/nanoparticle interactions of PE nanocomposites prepared by diluting a EVA/MMT masterbatch in PE were substantially weaker than the ones of the respective... 

PE-g-MAH/MMT masterbatch-based nanocomposites. These trends for the EVA-based nanocomposites further attest to the effectiveness of the PO-g -MAH in stabilizing OLS filler networks. 

Ampacet identifies the main world market trends in masterbatch as (i) more customers are expanding worldwide (ii) masterbatch growth is slowing in North America and Europe and a two-tier industry will continue to evolve. 

The company has also introduced Ti02 pigments with outstanding optical and rheological performance at masterbatch loadings up to 80% pigment/20% resin (Ti-Pure), to meet a worldwide trend towards highly loaded masterbatches. 

A trend of recent years has been to supply additives processed into safe forms, in pellets, capsules, liquids and masterbatch concentrates and so, for the compounder and processor, the hazards have largely been taken out, but it is still important that they should be aware of them. For most compounders and processors of thermoplastics, the hazard from additives can now be safely contained upstream, during manufacture of the additives. In moulding and fabricating wet polymer systems, such as polyesters and polyurethanes, however, it is essential to take precautions. 

In the past, the routes in Figure 1.2(a) were very widely used, with many compounds available containing the right additives to meet particular needs and specifications. Over the years there has been a trend for additives to be incorporated at the product extrusion stage as masterbatches/concentrates in which the additives have been well mixed at a high concentration into a suitable polymeric carrier. These masterbatches, which are produced in similar equipment to that used for compounds, are added to natural polymer at a dilution which gives the required additive concentration in the... 

---