Packaging
Get a Handle on Stress-Cracking In HDPE Bottles
One of the first applications for blow molded HDPE bottles was the replacement of glass for bleach packaging.
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New High-Performance Nylons For Automotive, Electronics, Packaging
Nylon producer Ems-Grivory America in Sumter, S.C., is reaching beyond its traditional product range to bring out new partially aromatic nylons that bridge the gap between standard engineering thermoplastics and high-performance specialty polymers.
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New Metallocene TP Elastomers Tackle Films, Fibers, TPOs
The Vistamaxx family of propylene-ethylene specialty elastomers recently unveiled by ExxonMobil Chemical (see Your Business In Brief, August 2003) holds promise in a broad range of applications from very soft fabrics and films to very hard TPOs.
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NPE News Wrap-Up: Materials
New materials at NPE 2003 target automotive, appliance, and packaging sectors. Engineering thermoplasticsdominate the news, but there were also severalnew TPEs and a few polypropylene introductions.
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Nanocomposites Broaden Roles in Automotive, Barrier Packaging
Nanocomposites are gradually gaining acceptance in the mainstream of global plastics processing. These polymer compounds, containing relatively low loadings (under 6% by weight) of nanometer-sized mineral particles, are beginning to show up in polypropylene and TPO-based automotive exterior claddings, barrier beer bottles, nylon packaging films, polyethylene pipe and wire/cable coatings, and more.
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Metallocene PP & PE Weld Strongly to Each Other
Multilayer film applications such as packaging and diapers are just two areas that could benefit from spot welding (instead of gluing) polyethylene to polypropylene. Normally these two resins show poor adhesion to each other. But two years of research at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and at ExxonMobil Chemical in Houston show that metallocene-catalyzed polyolefins can weld to each other with bond strengths much greater than are possible with conventional Ziegler-Natta catalyzed polyolefins.
Read MoreTwo More LLDPE Families for High-Performance Blown Film
Two new families of “enhanced” hexene-copolymer LLDPE resins for blown film are said to offer excellent impact resistance and outstanding hot-tack and heat-seal properties. One resin family reportedly can replace high-end octene LLDPE while the other is said to equal or surpass the performance of VLDPE or metallocene LLDPE (mLLDPE).
Read MorePlastic Beer Bottles Are No Longer Just a Dream
Commercial success of two major foreign beer brands packaged in plastic bottles looks like the first wave in what could soon be a flood of plastic container development here and abroad. As shown in the table, at least nine plastic beer-bottle programs are commercially under way or in development.
Read MoreTPO and PP Advances Benefit Auto Parts and Food Packaging
Polypropylene and PP-based TPO elastomers were the star players of two recent conferences on polyolefins. "TPOs in Automotive '98," sponsored by Executive Conference Management, Plymouth, Mich., featured the latest materials, modifiers, and stabilizer additives for hard and soft interior and exterior automotive applications. "SPO '98," sponsored by Schotland Business Research, Inc., Skillman, N.J., highlighted developments in high-flow PP for thin-wall injection molded packaging.
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