At last year’s K show, Baerlocher’s family of additives that boost the performance of recycled polyolefins generated considerable interest among the visitors to the company’s stand. The company is now seeking to further build on this success through its participation in the upcoming PRSE Virtual conference from 9-11 December 2020.
The portfolio of additives developed by Baerlocher´s Special Additives business unit for PP, PE and other thermoplastics, includes, among others, its Baeropol RST stabiliser, which has become the basis for a set of additive blends with particular value for polyolefin recycling applications.
Stabilisers, according to Baerlocher, should be added prior to regranulation in order to be able to produce recyclate with the quality needed for long-lasting products. Restabilising the resin decreases problems such as large variations in melt viscosity, and it enables the percentage of recyclate used to be higher, contributing to the sustainability of the polymer in its application and widening the range of products for which the recyclates can be considered.
At PRSE, the company will be sharing its most recent data documenting the efficacy of its Baeropol T-Blend range. These products are available in a dust-free pastille form and unlike additives in masterbatches, have 100% active content. The pastilles can be fed directly into the compactor unit of a film recycling line using low-cost volumetric feeders. The improvement in quality of the recyclate is apparent in a downstream film blowing line, for example, where less gelling and fewer degradation products lead to fewer bubble breakages and a more homogenous mechanical performance of the film.
Other products in the range improve cycle times and the dimensional stability of the resin as the producer moves from batch to batch; or act as a chain extender, allowing compounders to upcycle low-value HDPE for implementation in higher-value applications.
This chain extender has also been shown to eliminate the flow instabilities in recycled HDPE that cause a rough surface appearance on extruded profiles, as well as to act as as a compatibilizer in the case of PE contaminated with PP or vice versa.