New additive line of bio-based polyesters
Thursday, 31. March 2011 Additive solutions to expand the range of applications of bio-based polyesters. The new product line under the trade name BioAdimide™ of the Rhein Chemie’s Engineering Plastics Division enables the production of renewable, bio-based polymers for durable applications with a lower environmental impact.
Mannhein, Germany – The new product line under the trade name BioAdimide™ of the Rhein Chemie’s Engineering Plastics Division enables the production of renewable, bio-based polymers for durable applications with a lower environmental impact.
BioAdimide™ additives are specially suited to improve the hydrolysis resistance of bio-based polyester, specifically polylactide (PLA), and to expand its range of applications. Currently, there are two BioAdimide™ grades available. The BioAdimide™ 100 grade improves the hydrolytic stability up to seven times that of an unstabilized grade, thereby helping to increase the service life of the polymer. In addition to providing hydrolytic stability, BioAdimide™ 500 XT acts as a chain extender that can increase the melt viscosity of an extruded PLA 20 – 30 percent compared to an unstabilized grade, allowing for consistent and easier processing.
“By hydrolytically stabilizing PLA, you open up the possibility to make PLA a suitable candidate for durable markets previously out of reach,” says Don Stengel, Group Manager of Rhein Chemie’s Engineering Plastics Division in the US. “By improving the melt viscosity of an extruded PLA, you make it more stable and easier to process in extrusion, blow-molding or filament applications.
The two grades can also be combined, providing both hydrolysis stabilization and improved processing, for an even broader reach of applications.
The BioAdimide™ line comes out of Engineering Plastics’s Global Product Development Group that has been researching plastics additives for more than 25 years, and continues to explore new areas of polymer stabilization development to meet the market’s growing demands.
Rhein Chemie’s Engineering Plastics Division has already introduced its new line of plastic additives at this year’s Bioplastics Compounding & Processing international conference in Miami, Florida, on March 29 and 30.
About Engineering Plastics Division
Additives from the Engineering Plastics Division are used to protect polymers from hydrolysis and the premature aging associated with this process. The company’s product portfolio also includes catalysts and activators for the manufacture of cast nylon and modifiers that improve the impact resistance of polyamides. In addition, highly developed catalysts, crosslinking agents and stabilizers from Rhein Chemie are used in the manufacture of flexible and rigid polyurethane foams.
About Rhein Chemie:
Rhein Chemie develops, produces and sells additives, specialty chemicals and service products for the rubber, lubricant and plastics industries. In fiscal 2010 Rhein Chemie achieved sales of EUR 283 million and has approximately 1,000 employees worldwide. The company is headquartered in Mannheim, Germany and has production facilities in Europe, Asia and North and South America. Rhein Chemie is a wholly owned subsidiary of the specialty chemicals group LANXESS, Leverkusen, Germany.
Mannheim, 31. March 2011
bit (2011-03-804EN)
Forward-Looking Statements
This company release contains certain forward-looking statements, including assumptions, opinions, expectations and views of the company or cited from third party sources. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause the actual results, financial position, development or performance of LANXESS AG to differ materially from the estimations expressed or implied herein. LANXESS AG does not guarantee that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this presentation or the actual occurrence of the forecast developments. No representation or warranty (expressed or implied) is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, any information, estimates, targets and opinions, contained herein, and no liability whatsoever is accepted as to any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein, and accordingly, no representative of LANXESS AG or any of its affiliated companies or any of such person's officers, directors or employees accept any liability whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from the use of this document.
