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Tuesday 3 January 2017

High-performance additives to improve polymeric materials

In an interaction, Hermann Althoff, Senior Vice President, Performance Chemicals, Asia Pacific, BASF with Chemical Today magazine discussed his views about the new generation of light stabilisers.
By Shivani Mody
Launch of new generation of light stabilizers
The performance of the plastic additives business is tied to those of the plastics industry as a whole. In many instances, it takes high-performance additives to pave the way for polymeric materials to become what they are today.
Let me give you an example: a few decades ago, polymers exposed to the outdoor environment (like seats in a stadium) used to become yellow and brittle within just a few years. Nowadays, UV-absorbers made by BASF stabilize transparent plastics that are used outdoors for many, many years.
As a result, these modern additives not only ensure that the material remains attractive for a long time but they also help to extend its service life and thus save valuable resources. Or just think of modern greenhouses, which are instrumental in ensuring the food supply for a growing world population. The plastic films used in these greenhouses can only achieve the required lifespan thanks to efficient UV-stabilizers.
Global plastic additives market
Asia dominated the plastic additives market in 2015 and accounted for 42 percent of the market share, by volume. Country-wise, China accounts for more than half the market in Asia followed by Korea with a 14 percent share. We expect the market will show attractive growth rates in the medium to long term in line with the expected polymer growth of 3 to 4 percent per annum, driven by the diverse applications ranging from packaging, construction, consumer goods, and automotive, among others.
Growing GDP, rapid pace of industrialization, increased consumption of plastic materials, consumer goods, and packaging products remain key growth driving forces for this market. Future growth in the market hinges heavily on developing economies in Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe. Plastic additives will continue to gain in importance in the future, not only because of the steadily rising technical standards required of polymeric materials, but also because our customers are under increasing pressure to keep on raising productivity.
New generation of light stabilizers at K 2016
Our core competence lies in light, thermal and process stabilization, allowing polymer producers and converters to maximize plastics properties retention and extension. With Tinuvin 880 and Tinuvin XT 55, BASF launches the latest generation of light stabilizers at K 2016. These products are undergoing testing at our customer’s location even in Asia. We serve our customers through our global production network with sites in all regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and North America. This increases the robustness of our supply security, and ensures continuous and reliable supply of plastic additives for our customers in the polymer industry.
All sites are ISO 9001 certified and the core antioxidants are Kosher as well as Halal certified. Based on our strong application know-how we support innovation in all regions through process specific support from our technical centres. Our advanced global laboratory set-up allows us to regularly test customers’ formulations for the most important applications prior to production scale-up helping them to reduce consumption of valuable resources and develop innovative solutions.
© Chemical Today Magazine
Read More: High-performance additives to improve polymeric materials

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