4Additives for Polymers August 2013

compatibility of the colorants used in PA and PET, the company’s experts have also found a way to create an alternative formulation for PP with the same effect, it says. Applications for the cool black technology are in the field of smart textiles, covers, floor mats and upholstery fabrics for seats in the automotive industry, as well as in building interiors with increased exposure to sunlight.

Both innovations were introduced at the Techtextil 2013 event in June. GRAFE also used the show to present its expertise in luminescent masterbatches for plastics, available in brilliant red, green, yellow and blue. The company says it develops a solution for each product individually in collaboration with the customer. In product development, special focus is placed on the impression created by the luminescent colour on the end-consumer in daylight. The majority of applications are in the toy industry, as well as in fashion and advertising.

GRAFE is a family-run masterbatch producer founded in 1991 by four brothers. Its activities are organized in three business units: GRAFE Color Batch GmbH and GRAFE Additiv Batch GmbH specialize in the optical modification and physical modification of plastics, respectively, while GRAFE Polymer Technik GmbH produces conductive plas-tics as compounds. The company currently has a production volume of about 10 000 tonnes/year and employs 230 staff, of whom 70 are in R&D. Its masterbatches and specialist compounds are exported to more than 30 countries.

Contact: GRAFE Advanced Polymers GmbH, Waldecker Straße 21,

99444 Blankenhain, Germany. Tel: +49 36459 450,

Fax: +49 36459 45145, Email: grafe@grafe.com,

Web: www.grafe.com

Shepherd Color launches special effect pigments

Cincinnati-based Shepherd Color Co has intro-duced two new special effect pigments in its

StarLight® series: StarLight FX 15 and StarLight FX 25 [ADPO, September 2003]. The new pig-ments, made with Shepherd’s Micro-Mirror® technology, are highly reflective silver-coated glass flakes. They are reported to be suitable for use in plastics and coatings.

Attributes of the new pigments include ‘brilliant spar-kle and glitter effects’, especially in strong sunlight, the

company claims. They are also resistant to tarnishing and easy to disperse, it says. With an average flake diameter of around 15 microns for FX 15 and 25 microns for FX 25, these one-micron-thick mirrors are ‘exceptionally well suited’ for coatings applications, according to Shepherd. The FX pigments provide sparkle and flash effects at relatively low loadings (<1%) in non-opaque colour base coats, or as additives in clear protective topcoats. They are compatible with almost all resins and solvents, the company reports.

While very useful in coatings, FX 15 and FX 25 can be successfully employed in most plastic systems, Shepherd says. Their high heat stability (maximum 500°C) makes them very useful in the higher-temperature engineering resins, it comments.

Contact: Shepherd Color Co, Cincinnati, OH, USA. Tel: +1 513 874 0714,

Web: www.shepherdcolor.com

Polyscope terpolymer helps engineering plastics take the heat

Dutch company Polyscope Polymers BV has further extended its portfolio [ADPO, April

2013 & April 2010] with the addition of terpoly-mers consisting of styrene, maleic anhydride and N-phenylmaleimide. The new products are com-mercialized and branded as Xiran® IZ grades.

Two new grades, Xiran IZ1018M and Xiran IZ0721M, which differ in the ratios of the styrene, maleic anhydride and N-phenylmaleimide constituents, are designed to increase the high heat performance of many engineering plastics. They were developed to respond to the increas-ing trend within the plastic industry to create styrenic engineering plastics with high temperature resistance and low volatile residuals, Polyscope explains. The new grades exhibit a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 175°C or higher and can be exposed to higher processing temperatures, with excellent miscibility in styrenic poly-mers such as ABS, the company reports. Furthermore, the processablity of the final product is very likely to improve, it says. Overall, the price and performance for this new class of terpolymers is very attractive, according to Polyscope.

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August 2013 Additives for Polymers5

In order to produce these new products, the company has upgraded its state-of-the-art continuous polymeriza-tion process in Geleen, The Netherlands. This enables it to engineer ‘an exceptional terpolymer’ with a high ther-mal stability and excellent adhesion properties due to the presence of the maleic anhydride groups, resulting in ‘the optimal balance’ between thermal improvement, mechan-ical properties and cost performance, Polyscope claims.

The company and its customers are continuously exploring new opportunities and applications for Xiran IZ grades, which could potentially be used in combina-tion with other polymers, it says. ‘Within Polyscope we strive for innovation excellence, by offering pioneering products to our partners in the plastic industry. These new products have been developed by further build-ing on our manufacturing and material development expertise in combination with intimate customer interac-tion’, explains Peter Tackx, business director Engineering Plastics at Polyscope. ‘As experts in styrene maleic anhy-dride copolymers and their chemistry, Polyscope is always ready to apply its in-depth knowledge in order to find new materials and bring these to the market. By working in close collaboration with our clients, we are able to cus-tomize our Xiran portfolio to fully meet their needs and develop new and exciting applications’, he concludes.

Contact: Polyscope Polymers BV, Geleen, The Netherlands.

Tel: +31 46 750 0010, Web: www.polyscope.eu

BYK-Chemie presents styrene suppressant and air release additives

Germany’s BYK-Chemie, part of the Altana group, has unveiled two new environment-

friendly additives. The first is a ‘green’ styrene emission reducer for unsaturated polyesters and vinyl ester systems with food contact legal sta-tus, and the second an air release agent based on renewable sources intended for unsaturated polyester resins as well as solvent-borne and solvent-free systems.

BYK®-S 760 is a new universal styrene suppressant additive for unsaturated polyesters and vinyl ester resins. These resin systems are often used to produce containers

and pipes that are later used in the food industry. BYK-S 760, which is composed of a combination of waxes with polar components, complies with standard food regula-tions in the EU, USA and China. Moreover, the content of ‘green’ raw materials in the new additive is greater than 85%, the company reveals. More than 70% of the ingre-dients contain unsaturated groups, which react with the resin during polymerization. The additive is a low-vis-cosity paste and therefore easy to use, according to BYK. Moreover, it shows no negative influence on interlaminar adhesion, the company reports.

The additive is recommended for use in ambient cur-ing systems, including orthophthalic resins, resins con-taining DCPD, isophthalic resins and vinyl ester resins. An addition level of 0.3–1.0% additive (as supplied) based upon the resin is suggested as a starting point ‘for orientation’, followed by determination of optimal dosage levels through a series of laboratory tests. BYK-S 760 can be added to the resin at any time. If the viscos-ity is too high during processing, it can be melted at 40°C so as to reduce the viscosity, the company advises.

Air release agent BYK-A 505 is a silicone-free mixture of foam-destroying polymers based on renewable sources. In recent years a trend towards environmentally friendly polyester resin systems has emerged, the company reports. BYK-A 505 is the first air release additive for these systems that is based completely on ‘green’ renew-able raw materials, it claims. The product’s performance is on a par with traditional air release agents but the additive is VOC-free and the ingredients do not compete with food production, BYK says.

According to the company, BYK-A 505 is an ‘excellent’ air release additive in hand lay-up and spray-up applica-tions without impact on UV resistance. It is recommended for use with ambient-curing unsaturated polyester resins and in particular for ‘green’ resins as it is entirely based on renewable resources. It is also recommended for use with solvent-borne and solvent-free systems. The suggested addition level is 0.3–1.0% additive (as supplied) based upon the total formulation, though again the optimal levels should be determined through a series of laboratory tests. While the additive can be incorporated during any stage of the production process, including post-addition, it is recommended to add it to the resin at an early stage.

Contact: BYK-Chemie GmbH, Wesel, Germany. Tel: +49 281 670 0,

Web: www.byk.com/additives

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