Milliken Chemical Features Enhanced Lineup Of Polymer Additives At NPE 2006
Visitors to Milliken's booth No. 3018 in McCormick Place, South Hall, will have an opportunity to meet with marketing and technical specialists to discuss Hyperform® HPN-20E, which is designed to optimize the use of PE in blown film applications. Performance enhancements made possible by Hyperform HPN-20E - the first in a series of Milliken offerings for PE - include improved clarity and physical properties, increased film throughput and reduced manufacturing costs.
In addition to Hyperform HPN-20E, Milliken will feature its latest innovations for PP at NPE, including technology for two-stage Injection Stretch Blow Molding (ISBM) that allows beverage containers to be manufactured from clarified polypropylene (cPP) on the same equipment and at comparable production rates as PET. A key element in this program has been the use of Milliken's Millad® 3988 clarifying agent, which not only makes polypropylene clear, but also speeds crystallization, resulting in pre-form production rates competitive with PET.
Milliken's extensive lineup of innovative polymer-based plastics additives featured at NPE includes:
- Millad® 3988 - Enabling the highest transparency commercially possible, Millad 3988 is the world's most widely used clarifying agent for PP. It is recognized across the globe for superior clarity and processing advantages. Millad clarified PP also has many benefits compared to other clear plastic materials including a lower density, strength and cost effectiveness.
Millad has been instrumental in the expansion of polypropylene into many value added applications, such as cosmetic bottles and food storage containers. This extension of end use applications for clarified polypropylene is continuing with a recent push by Milliken in support of extremely clear packaging for optical media storage, including the rapidly expanding DVD market, and injection stretch blow molding (ISBM) bottle market for fresh juices and dairy products.
- ClearTint® Colorants - Designed specifically to work in conjunction with Millad, ClearTint colorants provide the brightest, cleanest and most transparent colors available for polypropylene. Benefits of ClearTint include deep rich shades unavailable with traditional pigment colors, which are FDA compliant, non-migrating and non-extracting. ClearTint provides users with consistent color matching capabilities on a global basis.
Applications for ClearTint colorants include diverse markets such as colorful packaging for detergents, shampoos and cosmetics, food storage containers and soft drink container closures. These products can also be formulated to meet USP requirements for light transmission in pharmaceutical packaging. Recent research conducted on behalf of Milliken showed bottled beverages with a see-through plastic cap are much more likely to be chosen by consumers than those with opaque caps, with 62 percent of all respondents preferring the see-through plastic cap.
- ClearShield is a homogenous, non-settling liquid polymer created exclusively as an additive for PET containers to provide maximum protection against damaging UV rays without imparting color to the package. It protects against loss of flavor, nutritional value and color of beverages. Incorporated during the resin manufacturing process or during container molding, ClearShield does not impact the color or clarity of PET containers and will not migrate into beverages, food or other products. It is FDA compliant.
ClearShield can be found in food and beverage containers whose contents are sensitive to UV exposure, such as juices, fortified waters, milk and nutritional beverages.
- Hyperform® Nucleating Agents - Hyperform high-speed nucleating agents promote extremely fast crystallization times for a variety of applications using polypropylene or polyethylene.
Hyperform HPN-68L enables improved processing speed and increased productivity in polypropylene. Hyperform HPN-68L also enhances product quality through improved dimensional stability, isotropic shrinkage and physical property balance. Hyperform HPN-68L applications include closures, automotive parts, lawn furniture, returnable plastics packaging and appliance parts.
Hyperform HPN-20E provides unique nucleation of polyethylene, improving the clarity of PE while also retaining its physical properties, increasing throughput and reducing costs. Designed specifically for extrusion applications, Hyperform HPN-20E creates a more efficient, easily handled alternative to the current technology of blended LDPE and LLDPE in flexible packaging film constructions.
Hyperform also offers faster processing speeds and increased productivity of high density polyethylene (HDPE) in extrusion blow molding (EBM). Use of Hyperform technology in HDPE packaging applications can yield cycle time improvements of 10 to 15 percent while maintaining critical bottle specifications.
SOURCE: Milliken Chemical