October, 5, 2007 – As part of a product initiative to address the emerging demands of manufacturers across a wide range of customer packaging applications, Basell has introduced three new, innovative polypropylene (PP) resins.
Marketed under the trade names Adstif HA740J, Higran RS1684 and Moplen EP310K, the new resins are selected by customers for use in food packaging applications.
“Competitive trends in the packaging industry to improve productivity and reduce weight and cost are driving the development of innovative PP resins increasingly replacing more traditional material such as PET or glass,” said Rainer Mantel, head of Basell’s Innovative Business Solutions team. “We are seeing new customer requirements for improved barrier properties and aesthetics with low odour and taste, as well as the right balance of rigidity and impact resistance.”
AdstifHA740J improves productivity in multi-layer food packaging
Basell’s Adstif HA740J can address the needs of customer preformed multi-layer barrier food packaging. The new resin is a nucleated, high-crystalline PP material for use in customer sheet extrusion and thermoforming applications, offering improved processing, high transparency and stiffness without loss of impact resistance.
Adstif HA740J has the potential for thermoformers to incorporate regrind into clear PP applications without compromising transparency. As Basell tests have shown, sheet containing EVOH and a tie layer exhibited no visible signs of degradation or yellowness, even after recycling numerous times.
Customer trials have shown that the product’s outstanding processability leads to better wall thickness distribution in thermoformed packaging. “Our new Adstif resin may provide additional value to customers’, as a well-balanced wall thickness in thin-wall packaging can improve failure rates and result in the use of less material,” explains Michael Luetke, project manager of Innovation at Basell.
In addition to outstanding processability, Adstif HA740J resin exhibits higher stiffness, providing good dimensional stability in thinner gauges even after sterilization, hot-filling or microwave reheating.
The new product will enable Basell to address new markets for PP multi-layer barrier food packaging. “There is a lot of interest in using transparent barrier PP resins in food packaging to replace glass jars and metal cans, and Adstif HA740J is a prime candidate for this kind of replacement”, said Luetke. “We believe that weight reduction of up-to 30% is feasible in small portion barrier PP packaging compared to these traditional materials resulting in substantial cost savings.”
Higran RS1684 carries the load better than existing materials in foamed food tray applications
Higran RS1684 is a versatile new resin produced using Basell’s revolutionary Spherizone PP technology. This High Melt Strength (HMS) PP grade can deliver benefits in medium-to-shallow draw customer applications such as foamed food trays used in the packaging of fresh fruits, vegetables and meat.
“This HMS polypropylene resin has all of the typical food-contact benefits of polyolefins,” said Cees Besems, Innovation Manager at Basell. “Food can be packed ‘in-line’, which can minimise the risk of tray contamination during transfer from line to line. The fine-cell structure of foamed PP can produce packaging that is aesthetically attractive and comfortable to the touch.”
Besems added, “For certain producers, the resin can be used in foamed food tray production that utilises chemical foaming agents up to 0.60 densities. The resin can produce trays that are considerably less brittle than competing polymer foams, needs no seal layer and has good resistance to oils and fats. Higran also offers many advantages in Form-Fill-Seal lines. It surpasses polystyrene performance in foamed packaging, as it provides high dimensional stability during hot filling and microwave reheat-ability, along with excellent aesthetics.”
In addition to foamed tray applications, Basell’s new Higran RS1684 grade can be used by customers who require high performance in blown film extrusion. Tests show that the new resin can enhance bubble stability, thereby increasing production line output.
From refrigerator to microwave with Moplen EP310K
Moplen EP310K is a medium flow heterophasic copolymer that is used by customers in cast film applications such as retortable pouches, furniture, lamination film and low blush stationery films.
The resin contains no slip or anti-blocking agents and can be used in customer food contact applications. Tests show that Moplen EP310K can deliver impact resistance, stiffness, processability, transparency and low gel content.
According to Bernd Hoecker, innovation manager at Basell, “Good film stiffness with deep-freeze impact resistance, together with high heat resistance, results in packaging that can withstand a broad temperature range, allowing refrigerator to microwave use. In addition, the exceptionally good sealing properties can expand food’s shelf life.”
Additional features of Moplen EP310K include improved scratch resistance and reduced shrinkage combined with easy processing and low stress whitening.
About Basell
Basell is the global leader in polyolefins technology, production and marketing. It is the largest producer of polypropylene and advanced polyolefin products; a leading supplier of polyethylene and catalysts, and the industry leader in licensing polypropylene and polyethylene processes, including providing technical services for its proprietary technologies. Basell, together with its joint ventures, has manufacturing facilities in 19 countries and sells products in more than 120 countries. Additional information about Basell is available at www.basell.com.
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