Leading polyolefins additives supplier Milliken will greet K 2013 visitors in Dusseldorf in October with a full package of value-adding product innovations and services focused around the industry’s priority themes of clarity and aesthetics, productivity improvement, property optimisation, and sustainability.

“Sustainability is a key driver across Milliken’s portfolio,” comments Allen Jacoby, business manager, plastics additives, Milliken. “Customers using Milliken additives can save material, save energy, save time and save money, all while achieving high quality end products.”

Products representing these benefits at K 2013 will include: Millad NX 8000 and NX 8500E clarifying agents for PP; Hyperform HPN 68L, HPN-20E and HPN-600ei nucleating agents for PP; Hyperform HPN-20E nucleating agent for PE, and Hyperform HPR-803i reinforcing agent.

The rapid conversion of 70 per cent of the clarified polypropylene market to Millad NX 8000, considered to be the clarifier of choice for new transparent PP applications, indicates the high value placed on its ability to deliver productivity improvements of up to 18 per cent, energy savings of up to 13 per cent and 10 per cent reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, in addition to giving a fresher, cleaner look to PP-based applications.

The clarifying innovation finally makes it possible for PP parts to be made with optical properties until now only associated with more glass-like polymers such as polycarbonate, polystyrene, and acrylics. With its lower density, PP provides a solution that is less costly and with a lower carbon footprint – in short, more sustainable. Polystyrene is already being replaced by PP containing Millad NX 8000 for thermoformed food containers and cups for cold drinks, while some coffee blenders are now using new PP grades instead of polycarbonate.

Supporting the general trend towards higher-flow and faster-processing grades of PP, the solubility of Millad NX 8000 in PP is far better than previous generations of clarifying agents. This is especially important in the production of houseware and thin-walled products, where processors are constantly searching for productivity improvements.

Millad NX 8500E is a variant of NX 8000 that has been fine-tuned for extrusion-blow moulding (EBM) polypropylene applications.

Hyperform is the first family of nucleating agents for PP that directs balanced orientation in processed parts resulting in excellent dimensional stability, improved physical properties, and reduced warpage and shrinkage. As a result, it addresses many of the critical processing, part-consistency and physical property issues facing manufacturers. In addition, the effect of Hyperform nucleating agents on PP crystallisation temperature results in up to a 15 per cent increase in productivity for convertors. Easy to use, Hyperform products disperse well, even in high melt flow resins where traditional nucleation technologies may not.

Milliken’s synthetic reinforcing agent Hyperform HPR-803i allows automotive designers to create parts that are up to 15 per cent lighter without compromising performance.