12 March 2008 BASF has developed a copolymer acetal (POM) material with considerably enhanced melt stiffness, enabling POM to be easily processed for the first time by extrusion blow moulding.
BASF displayed a piggy bank moulded from the material at a briefing on the eve of its participation at the VDI plastics in automotive engineering conference and exhibition in Mannheim last week,
Wolfgang Wilhelm, BASF s technical specialist for its POM materials, told PRW.com: According to our knowledge, conventional high viscosity POM grades can only be processed in extrusion blow moulding with great limitations.
Rainer Anderlik, European head of marketing for BASF s Ultraform POM materials, said the new translucent and colourable Ultraform E3120 BM grade has a very high melt stiffness, which provides the high stretching capability down to thin wall thicknesses, and this is key to its ability to be easily blow moulded, also for large containers.
Optimised crystallisation behaviour of the new material was said by Anderlik to ensure cost-effective automation of the blow moulding process, due to the associated wide processing window.
Barrier properties are considerably higher than for polyethylene, the company stated, making the new material suitable for blow moulded containers requiring a high barrier to gases such as oxygen, hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
Ultraform E3120 BM has good chemical resistance to alcohol, oil, hydrocarbons, hot steam sterilisation and Ad Blue. BASF sees potential applications including: bottles for nail polish removers and cosmetics; containers for solvent and paint containers, including pressurised containers for spray application; as well as coolant and brake fluid tanks in vehicles.
The feasibility of its use in blow moulded fuel tanks is being investigated further as this application must comply with applicable emission regulations.
Wilhelm told PRW.com: While the stated superior barrier properties relate primarily to permeability rates of the gases [mentioned above], we are going to produce suitable containers with which data can be generated, to compare the permeability of monolayer containers in the new POM material with multilayer containers made in polyethylene with an EVOH barrier layer.
Wilhelm said: We will have to await these results before we can make a statement about use of POM as a barrier layer in fuel tanks for cars.
BASF said that Ultraform E3120 BM is already available in commercial quantities and suggests that aside from blow moulding, it is also conceivable for the new POM grade could be used as a barrier layer in co-extruded films.
BASF displayed a piggy bank moulded from the material at a briefing on the eve of its participation at the VDI plastics in automotive engineering conference and exhibition in Mannheim last week,
Wolfgang Wilhelm, BASF s technical specialist for its POM materials, told PRW.com: According to our knowledge, conventional high viscosity POM grades can only be processed in extrusion blow moulding with great limitations.
Rainer Anderlik, European head of marketing for BASF s Ultraform POM materials, said the new translucent and colourable Ultraform E3120 BM grade has a very high melt stiffness, which provides the high stretching capability down to thin wall thicknesses, and this is key to its ability to be easily blow moulded, also for large containers.
Optimised crystallisation behaviour of the new material was said by Anderlik to ensure cost-effective automation of the blow moulding process, due to the associated wide processing window.
Barrier properties are considerably higher than for polyethylene, the company stated, making the new material suitable for blow moulded containers requiring a high barrier to gases such as oxygen, hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
Ultraform E3120 BM has good chemical resistance to alcohol, oil, hydrocarbons, hot steam sterilisation and Ad Blue. BASF sees potential applications including: bottles for nail polish removers and cosmetics; containers for solvent and paint containers, including pressurised containers for spray application; as well as coolant and brake fluid tanks in vehicles.
The feasibility of its use in blow moulded fuel tanks is being investigated further as this application must comply with applicable emission regulations.
Wilhelm told PRW.com: While the stated superior barrier properties relate primarily to permeability rates of the gases [mentioned above], we are going to produce suitable containers with which data can be generated, to compare the permeability of monolayer containers in the new POM material with multilayer containers made in polyethylene with an EVOH barrier layer.
Wilhelm said: We will have to await these results before we can make a statement about use of POM as a barrier layer in fuel tanks for cars.
BASF said that Ultraform E3120 BM is already available in commercial quantities and suggests that aside from blow moulding, it is also conceivable for the new POM grade could be used as a barrier layer in co-extruded films.
