New injection molding and extrusion Ingeo grades available from NatureWorks

NatureWorks now offers three new Ingeo biopolymer grades designed for injection molding and extrusion applications. The company says that this will allow formulations comparable in performance to engineering thermoplastics at a cost lower than any previous high-biobased content polymers on the market.

These new Ingeo grades allow faster cycle times and production rates, a 15°C improvement in heat deformation temperature, and a three-to-four fold increase in bulk crystallization rate. NatureWorks expects to see these Ingeo grades in applications such as consumer durable and semi-durable products as well as food serviceware such as cutlery and hot cup lids. Compounders can use their expertise to introduce durables with the "highest bio content ever achieved on this cost-effective commercial scale," the company said. 

"Commercializing these new grades follows the very positive market feedback NatureWorks received from customers during pilot sampling over the last year," said Frank Diodato, NatureWorks durables industry global segment manager.

The three new grades extend the Ingeo property range and enable users to tune crystallization rate and stiffness (above the glass transition temperature) for custom formulations. The high-flow Ingeo 3260HP and the medium-flow Ingeo 3100HP provide broader molding temperature windows, leading to a reportedly more robust process parameters for injection molding. Higher viscosity Ingeo 2500HP is designed to provide higher heat performance for extruded products.

 "Our focus is to bring cost competitive, market-driven solutions to reality," said NatureWorks President and CEO Marc Verbruggen. "These new grades are the result of intensive research and development and significant