Struktol Company of America, a leading global supplier of polymer additives, has developed unique process additives for polymers containing high levels of mineral fillers and increased amounts of flame retardant packages. These products are useful in a variety of resin systems from polyolefins to engineered plastics, offering greater dispersion and processability. The company announced the product introduction at NPE2015: The International Plastics Showcase (Booth #S27082) March 23-27 in Orlando, Fla.The process additives are targeted for compounds containing greater than 50% mineral fillers, as well as those utilizing higher than traditional loadings of flame retardant packages. They also are beneficial in applications involving difficult to disperse materials, such as pigments and natural fibers.
Struktol TR 451 is a unique product designed to improve the incorporation of fillers into polyolefin compounds. This product enables the user to increase filler content, reducing the overall economics of the compound. The additive also provides significant viscosity reduction, mold release, and consistent processing. Studies show that adding Struktol TR 451 to highly-filled calcium carbonate-polypropylene compounds allows for higher filler loadings without sacrificing processing or performance. Also, compounders using treated fillers may be able to substitute untreated fillers in combination with Struktol TR 451 to cut cost and realize performance benefits.
The base technology in TR 451 can be altered and/or combined with other Struktol technologies to further enhance a specific desired property. One example of this is Struktol TR 055, a combination product designed to offer more external lubricity for improved flow and metal release. It has proven to be very effective in automotive applications to replace traditional lubricants for improved processing and end product properties, including better fogging characteristics. Struktol TR 055 works well in extruded, injection molded, and thermoformed part applications.
Struktol TR 251 and Struktol TR 255 are combination products that include both surfactant and lubricant technology for enhanced functionality over EBS (ethyl bis-stearamide) and other single-component lubricants in both polyolefins and engineered plastics. Struktol TR 251 and TR 255 have proven to be very effective in improving dispersion of color concentrates while maintaining gloss properties. They also enhance flow, dispersion, and surface quality in applications containing cellulosic fillers and have exhibited good anti-stat properties in film applications. Meanwhile, Struktol TR 255 is manufactured from raw materials that enable the finished product to meet FDA requirements.
