In more news out of the Bonn-based machine manufacturer, officials at extrusion blowmolding machine manufacturer Kautex Maschinenbau (Bonn, Germany) say that tests by their company have verified the ease with which Styrolux 3G 46 styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBC), a grade introduced last year by plastics supplier BASF (Ludwigshafen, also Germany), can be extrusion blowmolded.

   

“We were surprised to realize how easy it is to process Styrolux by extrusion blowmolding. The transparency and high stiffness of this plastic are impressive,” said Markus Holbach, who runs Kautex’s technical laboratory in Bonn. BASF introduced the material as a potential successor to both PVC and, more significantly, PET, with the SBC offering lower molecular weight compared to both established materials.

According to BASF, processing bottles with an integrated handle using this material is easy, as the weld line can be formed without much effort. The Styrolux grade also can be processed at lower processing temperatures and with shorter cycle times than the more established plastics, claims BASF.—[email protected]