USE OF ACRAWAX C AS A DISPERSING AGENT IN COLOR CONCENTRATES AND OTHER FILLED POLYMER SYSTEMS

BACKGROUND A major problem associated with compounding large amounts of non-soluble materials into a polymer is dispersing the materials evenly throughout the polymer. One critical area where this problem occurs is in color concentrates. The pigment loading in color concentrates can be as high as 80%. Another problem area is filled polymers where up to 40% fillers are added to a polymer to modify properties such as stiffness, flammability, etc. and also to reduce the cost. The reason for needing good dispersion in filled polymer systems is to improve the physical properties of the end product. Poor dispersion in filled polymers can result in large agglomerates of filler randomly scattered throughout the polymer matrix. These agglomerates act as stress concentrators, causing a decrease in physical properties such as tensile strength. Color contentrates are normally let-down into unfilled polymers, and large agglomerates of pigment in the finished part do not normally cause any physical strength problems. However, the more uniform the dispersion of the pigment, the less pigment is needed to produce the desired color. Generally pigments are the most expensive ingredients in a polymer formulation, and less pigment can result in significant cost savings. Acrawax C has been found to improve the dispersion of pigments and fillers in polyolefin polymers. One common example of the use of Acrawax C as a dispersing agent is in filled polypropylene white lawn chairs. The major producer of these chairs adds 0.5% Acrawax C to the polypropylene at the molding machine. This gives a significant improvement in tensile strength. EXPERIMENTAL In our laboratories we have developed a test protocol to demonstrate the effectiveness of Acrawax C as a dispersing agent in color concentrates. This protocol consists of:  Preparing a color concentrate in a Waring Blender. This concentrate consists of LDPE (low density polyethylene) powder, 10% TiO2, 0.5% phthalocyanine blue, 1% calcium stearate, and either 0 or 2% dispersing additive (Acrawax C for the purpose of this Technical Bulletin). This concentrate is then pelletized using a W&P twin screw extruder.  Letting the concentrate down into PP (polypropylene) at a 1:9 ration using a W&P twin screwn extruder. This results in polyolefin pellets containing 1% TiO2, 0.05% phthalocyanine blue, 0.1% calcium stearate, and either 0 or 0.2% Acrawax C. These pellets are then injected molded into color disks, which are 2 in diameter and 1/8 thick.  Measuring the color on randomly selected sets of disks. The color is measured in C.I.E. L*a*b* color space. Here the L* value is a measure of lightness/darkness; the a* value is a measure of red/green; and the b* value is a measure of blue/yellow.  Calculating the standard deviation for the three color parameters for each set of disks.
The seller makes no warranty, expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy of any results to be obtained from the use of this information and no warranty is expressed or implied concerning the use of these products other than indicated within. The buyer assumes all risks of use and/or handling. No statement is intended or should be construed as a recommendation to infringe any patent Printed in the USA REV 11-2-06

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The smaller the standard deviation, the more evenly the pigments are dispersed throughout the polymer matrix. The results for Acrawax C are shown in Figure 1.

RESULTS As can be seen, the standard deviations for L* and b* in the set of polyolefin disks containing Acrawax C are significantly less than for the set of disks containing no Acrawax C. These are the two values one would expect to be most affected by the dispersion as the L* value is strongly related to the phthalocyanine blue content. Customer experience in the case of filled polyproplene lawn furniture, and the above work in the case of color concentrates, are examples of the effectiveness of Acrawax C as a dispersing agent in polyelfin polymers. If you have any questions concerning other uses of Lonzas Acrawax C in polyolefins or other polymers, please call out TECH SERVICE hotline at 1-800-365-TECH (8324).

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Lonza Inc Tel 800 365 8324 90 Boroline Road Fax 201 785 9989 Allendale, NJ 07401, USA www.lonza.com