Packaging manufacturers and brand owners aiming for sustainability goals and reduced costs are expressing interest in the newest HYDROCEROL chemical foaming agents (CFAs) from Clariant.
The finer and more durable foam-cell structures make it possible to cut resin use and reduce part weight without significant loss in mechanical properties.
HYDROCEROL CFAs play a critical role in a Clariant initiative to help packaging producers develop more sustainable containers by enhancing recyclability, promoting reusability, increasing acceptance of compostable and bio-based polymers, and reducing overall plastics content.
Added to plastics during processing, HYDROCEROL chemical foaming agents decompose to produce bubbles in the polymer matrix when pressure is reduced as the resin enters the mould or exits the extrusion die.
Because gas displaces the polymer, it takes less plastic to make a bottle, and material use reductions of ten per cent or more have been reported in mono-layer and coextruded bottles and sheet.
At the same time, the CFA plasticises the resin in the processing machine, so less heat needs to be added to melt it, and less heart has to be removed during cooling, so cycle times are also reduced, often by ten to 15 per cent.