Today's KNOWLEDGE Share
At Fakuma 2024, Tosaf will be presenting its latest developments in the field of property-enhancing masterbatches for the plastics industry. One focus will be on the optimization of products made from PET and rPET in particular.
The company will also be presenting its new PPAX color masterbatches for coloring PPA, PFAS-free processing aids for film extrusion and halogen-free flame retardants for PP. Examples of Tosaf's commitment to sustainability will include the CO2 footprint calculator, bio-based materials, recyclates and biodegradable plastics.
Optimizing the Properties of PET and rPET:
As to be shown at Fakuma, Tosaf offers a wide variety of solutions for PET and rPET that help to optimize quality, efficiency, sustainability and costs during processing and recycling. With regard to the aesthetics and functionality of PET packaging, additives are available that correct the color and gloss of rPET or prevent water droplets from depositing on the inner walls of packaging.
Additives for absorbing and eliminating oxygen from the headspace of packaging, UV protection additives and - especially for milk containers - ultra-lightproof white masterbatch help to extend product shelf life. Acetaldehyde scavengers prevent changes in the flavor of water in rPET bottles. Processing aid additives prevent electrostatic charging or change the surface properties of PET to prevent blocking and reduce the coefficient of friction. Special IR absorbers facilitate thermoforming with uneven wall thicknesses without impairing clarity.
Additives are used to improve the properties and quality of rPET by linking shortened PET polymer chains and thus increasing the molecular weight. Compatibilizers enable the recycling of PET-PCR blends that are contaminated with polyolefins or barrier plastics such as PA and EVOH. An NIR-reflective black masterbatch facilitates sorting during recycling.
HFFR for Safe Fire Protection with PP
FR8719PP is an innovative, halogen-free flame retardant (HFFR) from Tosaf for PP pipes or molded parts that are used, for example, for laying and fixing cable conduits and for conducting liquid media. Even in low concentrations, it makes it easy to comply with strict fire protection criteria and thus enables a switch to a more sustainable solution without the products losing any of their flame retardancy and properties. Processing advantages are the good dispersing behaviour in the melt and the very low formation of dye build-up during extrusion. If halogen-free is not a priority, brominated flame retardants such as FR6413PE and chlorinated, low-cost grades such as FR0049PE from Tosaf offer high thermal stability and fire protection without compromising the product properties.
PFAS-free for Improved Processability
Tosaf's PFAS-free processing aids for the extrusion of polyolefins can be used without restriction instead of conventional formulations for film production. They meet the FDA and EFSA food contact requirements and, depending on the grade, are optimized in terms of either their rheological or their optical properties such as light transmission, haze and clarity. The unproblematic behavior of PFAS-free monomaterial PE films in recycling is an advantage.
Coloured PPA without Loss of Properties
With PPAX, Tosaf Color Service has developed a new colour masterbatch carrier system that is based on the high-performance plastic PPA (polyphthalamide) and is combined with specially selected pigments that allow high processing temperatures. This makes it possible to produce products made with it in brilliant and varied colours without reducing the high heat resistance, very good strength, stiffness and toughness, low moisture absorption and high chemical resistance. It can also be used to laser mark-coloured parts.
Documented Sustainability
Tosaf is leading the way on the ‘green path’. It quantifies and reports on its carbon footprint down to product level, utilizes solar energy and offers a portfolio of products based on renewable sources or recyclate. Thus, the company is already prepared for a further tightening of regulations. At the same time, Tosaf is fulfilling its customers' desire to maintain relationships with environmentally conscious partners. The company has already undergone global validation for the ISO 14064 standard for quantifying and reporting greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. This now covers the entire life cycle of a product and does not end at the factory gate. Tosaf calculates its carbon footprint for the production facilities as a whole as well as for the products themselves and makes the results available to customers on request to calculate their own sustainability figures.
Tosaf is also continuously expanding its portfolio of sustainable solutions. Options include bio-based concentrates that use coffee grounds and eggshells as fillers, polymers from renewable sources and recycled polymers. These are supported by a collaboration with recycling plants for various polyolefins and polystyrene.
source: Tosaf/polymer-additives.specialchem.com
The strength of composites depends predominantly on their reinforcements.I have identified from my experience in the Type 4 composite cylinder project that has been proved that the resin content directly affects the tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, Poisson's ratio and other mechanical properties of laminates.
Based on the manufacturing set up,production time &expected properties of the composites,need to select the right grade of epoxy resin with hardener.
Hardener plays a vital role in getting the suitable epoxy resin system.There's a deep understanding of the epoxy chemistries and its curatives are needed to select the right choice of hardener for the Type4 composite cylinders.
I have seen many failures when not selecting the suitable raw materials for the Type 3/4 COPV applications.Aliphatic,Aromatic and Anhydride based hardeners can be tried out before selecting the right matrix to meet the design requirements.If followed properly,half of your problems will not rise in the testing phase.
The more resin content and the high fiber content will cause more delamination/void in the final product.It is mandatory to stick with the right resin content throughout the process to have the uniform stress distribution in the entire carbon fiber laminate.I have witnessed more resin content will pass it on burst test and do show up failure on fatigue cyclic testing.Certain resin behavior will pass on initial tests but surely do showup the cylinder's efficiency in the end results on fatigue cyclic tests.
I always suggest my clients to have their own R& D team to conduct different resin content for example to say 30% or 35%/40% even higher or lower based on your customized epoxy resin system that suits for composite Hydrogen cylinder applications.Electron microscopy is used to scanned the the tensile strength results fracture morphology observed and analysed on each % resin system.
It is advisable to perform tensile strength and elastic modulus versus different percentage of epoxy resin content respectively and observed the results and find the optimum percentage of resin content that yield excellent results.This will give you the right understanding of your composite laminates and which resin system gives the better result.
Though fibers bear the stress,it is essential for the matrix to have optimum % content with not higher or lower thus leading to decrease in the mechanical properties of the carbon fiber cylinders.Interfacial bonding in between fiber and matrix need to planned well to avoid not infiltrate the fiber in the resin system thus lead to stress transfer failure and performance failures as well.
Muthuramalingam Krishnan