Clarifying Additive For PP For Use In Extrusion Blow Molding Yields Excellent Results In Optics And Productivity

Clarifying additive for PP for use in extrusion blow molding yields excellent results in optics and productivity

27-Oct-16

At K 2016, specialty chemicals supplier Milliken & Co. plans to showcase a variant of its well-established Millad® NX™ 8000 clarifying additive for polypropylene that it has tailored for use in the extrusion blow molding (EBM) process. This new additive performs significantly better in higher melt-flow-rate (MFR) grades of PP, and yields excellent results in both optics and productivity.

With the introduction of Millad NX 8000E, transparency in extrusion blow molding is no longer limited to PVC or PET. Millad NX 8000E has been designed specifically to provide a step change in optical properties with standard Ziegler-Natta polypropylene EBM resins. The additive enables PP to replace more expensive, less functional, or difficult to process materials. Millad NX 8000E yields polypropylene bottles with improved optical properties, specifically better clarity, superb gloss both inside and outside, lower haze, a low yellowness index, and an overall fresher look.

The optical properties of Millad NX 8000E resins also are less dependent on processing, he noted. Therefore, standard mold surface finishes (such as a glass-blasted finish) and processing temperatures for PP can be used without compromising quality. “With high MFR grades (MFR around 3),” Gabriels said, “this clarifier delivers a complementary effect that results in excellent optics and productivity.”

These attributes open up new market opportunities for brand owners and their converters. Millad NX 8000E can allow users to:

Upgrade current polypropylene grades into Milliken’s NX™ UltraClear PP
Replace PET, PVC and PC in various blow molding applications; and
Develop new glass-replacement applications such as easy-squeeze bottles.

In tests conducted using two clear bottles of the identical size and design -- one made of PET, and the other of Millad NX 8000E-clarified PP -- the additive also revealed another key advantage: it empties its contents much faster, and more completely. The PP bottle contained 3 grams less of leftover product, which translates into 30 tonnes less waste (based on annual usage of 10 million such bottles).

In blow molding, the high clarity of NX UltraClear PP makes this material an innovative replacement for polycarbonate in baby bottles and an attractive alternative to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in personal-care bottles and detergent bottles. NX UltraClear PP makes it is possible to integrate handles, include soft-touch properties and create complex, eye-catching designs in a blow-molded bottle that is also easier and faster to empty than other solutions.