Additives supplier Baerlocher USA (Cleveland) has shared information about how its materials expertise helped Canadian compounder FD Plastics (Dorval, QC) overcome manufacturing challenges. FD Plastics is exhibiting at PLAST-EX next month in Toronto.
A customer of FD Plastics, which supplies additive masterbatches and color concentrates to customers throughout the Americas, was experiencing plate-out issues. High loadings of phosphite antioxidants in FD’s linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) masterbatches were causing the phosphite to leach out of the solution, leaving residue (plate-out) on the processing equipment. This irritated workers’ hands, caused part rejects and interrupted production throughput because of the need for frequent cleaning, said Baerlocher USA in a press release. The phosphite was replaced with Baeropol DRS 6812, which offers higher solubility and can be used in “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) applications. The material comes in the form of low-dust sprayed prills, which minimize airborne particles that can cause skin irritation.
“Baerlocher USA’s Baeropol DRS 6812 additive provided an environmentally safe, cost-effective additive material that allowed us to address some of our key processing concerns,” said Sylvain Séguin, Technical Sales and Product Manager at FD Plastics. “Additionally, Baerlocher USA provided us with excellent customer service and technical support that have been extremely helpful to us in our efforts to find the right solution.”
Baerlocher USA also was able to help FD Plastics develop a stabilization technology for a customer that meets stringent oxidation induction time (OIT) requirements under two different standards: ASTM D5885-06 and ASTM 3895-14.
Baerlocher USA explained that the customer required a stabilization masterbatch to produce high-molecular-weight LLDPE geo-membranes for the mining and petroleum industries. These critical parts had to withstand harsh temperature and chemical extremes and still deliver an extended useful life. The phenolic and phosphite antioxidants FD Plastics had been supplying to this customer for less demanding applications could not meet the required ASTM D5885-06 OIT standard.
Baeropol T-1111 is a blended synergistic polymer stabilizer pre-formulated to provide stabilization for most polymer applications including films, pipe, wood-plastic composites and automotive applications, said Baerlocher USA. The stabilizer enabled FD Plastics to develop a highly loaded masterbatch that was tested by the geo-membrane customer in an approval process requiring a number of scale-up production trials, with subsequent product testing.
“We are very pleased with the OIT test results from Baeropol T-1111 because it proves that the product meets our geo-membrane customer’s tough requirements,” Séguin, said. “This technology also offers us huge potential for sales growth in geo-membrane applications and may be of interest to customers in other sectors.”
The Baeropol DRS 6812 and Baeropol T-1111 additives offered FD Plastics customizable solutions to address its customer’s key concerns, while Baerlocher USA’s extensive test data on resin stabilization technology (RST) also avoided the need for additional testing. Further, since RST can be used for GRAS applications, the material is suited for FD Plastics’ target products such as toys, maple syrup tubing and food packaging film.
PLAST-EX comes to the Toronto Congress Centre on June 4 to 6, 2019. Visit FD Plastics in booth 356.
Image courtesy FD Plastics.
