Clariant launches a polymer stabilizer to improve the rate of scrap reused in plastic films

When making the plastic films used for keeping cookies, pasta and many other products fresh and clean, the process generates a lot of similar scrap and only a fraction can be reused for production. Team of experts from Clariant’s Business Unit Additives created AddWorks® PKG 906 Circle – a special polymer stabilizer able to substantially boost the rate of scrap reused in polyolefin films. This polymer stabilizer allows reintroducing reground scrap at a rate of 20% and higher into virgin PP and PE resins without notable loss in quality or process efficiency.

The stabilizer additive consists of free-flowing white granules that are approved for food contact – and virtually as simple to add to scrap as a sprinkle of flour to re-rolled dough.

Similar to human cells, polymers are damaged when they form free radicals under heat, stress and oxidation – and AddWorks PKG 906 Circle catches these radicals and also prevents certain chemical alterations in other ways. An addition of 0.1 to 0.2% of our stabilizer additive can be enough to greatly reduce the risk of gels, spots and breakage, maintain high line speeds, and obtain clear, untained product in the end. In our tests, this even worked at scrap contents of up to 30%, and the additive also proved better at ensuring good melt flow of BOPP resins than similar products.

While being particularly suited for BOPP films, AddWorks PKG 906 Circle also works with cast and blown film, and can easily be dosed to fit different scrap rates and resin qualities. It allows film makers to not only substantially reduce waste and use of virgin resin, but also to cut costs without compromising quality. Due to these benefits, the product is specially featured in our EcoCircle initiative, with which we support the shift to a circular plastics economy and is the first to carry our “Circle” designator, indicating advantages for reuse and recycling.

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