Dow Corning's new masterbatch offers extended slip performance

Dow Corning is a global leader in silicon-based technology and innovation. One of its innovations introduced at CHINAPLAS 2016 is MB25-035 Masterbatch, which is designed to reduce the coefficient of friction (COF) in high-speed form-fill-seal (FFS) packaging operations.  It can be an alternative to organic additives, whose slip performance is known to degrade over time and at elevated temperatures.

Christophe Paulo, Plastics and Composite Marketing Manager of the company, said, "MB25-035 Masterbatch offers superior performance – from smooth dosing to extended slip performance to the elimination of troublesome build-up – enabling our customers to optimise their productivity and avoid the interruptions commonly caused by competitive products, particularly organics."

Because commonly used organic slip additives, including erucamide and oleamide, rapidly migrate to the film surface and dissipate in a short period of time, delays between film extrusion and FFS operations can result in a loss of slip performance. Organics also lose effectiveness at elevated temperatures, such as exposure to hot foods. They can migrate between film surfaces during rolling and storage, a common issue in film applications that can influence the downstream process that packaging materials usually undergo, such as printing, sealing and handling.

Mr. Christophe Paulo, Plastics and Composite Marketing Manager, Dow Corning
 

Unlike organics, Dow Corning’s specialized formulation prevents the migration of the slip additive between film surfaces during rolling and storage. Dow Corning MB25-035 Masterbatch retains excellent COF reduction values at low loadings – for example, 0.2 COF in film against steel contact at 3 percent loading. Additionally, the new product does not exhibit stickiness and enables smooth feeding into the extruder. Further, it does not build up on extrusion dies or deposit gels on the film surface.

Dow Corning MB25-035 Masterbatch is compliant with U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and European Union (EU) 10-2011 food contact requirements, which are emulated in many Asian nations. This masterbatch is cost-effective due to its ability to use low loadings, its incorporation in only the outer layer of multi-layer films and its effective dispersion that enhances slip performance.

Engineered for LDPE resins and blends, and designed to be compatible with linear low-density PE (LLDPE) for FFS and lamination as well, Dow Corning MB25-035 Masterbatch is supplied in easy-to-dose pellets and is available globally.  

Dow Corning Corporation
Website: www.dowcorning.com