Sustainable Plastic Slides

Sustainable Plastic Lubricants

Sustainability plays a key role when it comes to plastic compound process aids and lubricants. Additives are consistently used to facilitate compound production and the final product process, and now the additives themselves are becoming environmentally conscious. Sustainability is one of the main concerns for many of our customers. Clariant's non-food-competitive and sustainable products such as Licocene Terra and Licocare RBW Vita are receiving considerable interest and demand from our customers. As Clariant, we have introduced to our customers mass balance certificate-based additives derived from renewable hydrocarbons, ethylene and propylene-based. Thanks to our work, our "Terra" additives are products that exhibit exactly the same properties as the originals, thus eliminating the need for retesting, certification renewal, or changes to production processes or equipment. In addition to our Terra product range, we have also launched the Vita series, comprising nine different wax products based on rice bran that are non-food-competitive and can be used in high-performance engineering plastics, bioplastic compounds, masterbatches and coating formulations. As pigment and production costs continue to rise, manufacturers are increasingly using new process aids and lubricants that improve dispersion. This allows for lower dosing of expensive pigments and increases production efficiency. Improving pigment dispersion is one of the most important issues for many manufacturers. For example, reducing the Filter Pressure Value (FPV) of a difficult-to-disperse pigment from 6 to 2 (bar pressure increase/gram pigment) opens the door to film and fiber applications while also enabling lower dosing of expensive pigments required to achieve the targeted color and chroma. A more stable and lower-pressure extruder profile with reduced need for extruder filter replacement enables faster production. Thanks to these two effects, higher quality products are produced while reducing overall material and production costs. Additionally, there is growing demand in the sector for products that provide excellent heat and color stability when engineering polymers are used under demanding process conditions such as high temperatures. Licocare RBW Vita, a continuation of the Licocare RBW series we introduced two years ago, continues to provide solutions for engineering plastics. Licocare® RBW additives are an extremely effective multifunctional lubricant and dispersion agent produced from crude rice bran wax. Our raw material, crude rice bran wax, is a by-product that arises during rice bran oil production and does not compete with food. As Clariant, we improve this by-product chemically and physically while also ensuring the full value of rice bran is utilized. The main target application areas for Licocare® RBW are engineering thermoplastics such as polyamides, polyesters or TPU, biopolymers such as PLA and epoxy resins. Our two primary products for plastic applications, Licocare® RBW 300 Vita and Licocare® RBW 102 Vita, also meet the high-performance targets set by the transportation and electrical & electronics industries. Licocare® RBW 300 is a highly heat-resistant, partially saponified wax, while Licocare® RBW 102 is a medium-polarity wax type. These products improve flow and mold release during processing, enabling more homogeneous distribution of pigments and fillers and less yellowing of final products. Furthermore, thanks to their superior thermal stability, low volatility and low metal content, they provide exceptional process stability even at high temperatures. Our Licocare RBW Vita product group meets high-performance expectations while also responding to market demands related to sustainability. As Clariant, we have conducted dozens of comparative tests such as melt flow, mold release, dispersion and color improvement to demonstrate the positive properties and color advantages of new Licocare RBW products in various polymers such as polyamides, polyesters, PC/ABS and PLA [less yellowing]. The performance of Licocare RBW Vita waxes was developed with the aim of being equivalent to or even higher than the performance of montan ester waxes derived from lignite coal and already in our portfolio. In this respect, bio-based raw materials are not only cleaner and brighter than existing montan ester waxes of similar structure, but also demonstrate equivalent or better performance. Licocare RBW 360 Vita TP shortens cycle times during polyamide injection molding due to its nucleation effect on PA. This effect enables faster crystallization of the polymer and reduces the cooling time of the injection molding process. Additionally, shrinkage and warping, problems frequently encountered when using difficult pigments and long cooling times, are also minimized.  

Göknur Çıtır Middle East and Africa Region Sales Manager Clariant