Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 28

K 2019 preview

All the world's stage
In the buildup to K 2019, prW takes a look at key trends driving some of the
hardware and technology launches expected at the mega trade show

Milliken's Millad NX 8000 clarifier can
be used to produce clear, durable,
reusable plastic products

WWW.PRW.COM | september/october 2019

he world's largest polymer trade
fair, K 2019, will be returning to
Messe Dusseldorf from 16-23 October. The show will bring together about
3,200 exhibitors from across the global
plastics and rubber industries. In addition to the wide variety of machine and
technology displays, the show will include
meetings to discuss issues affecting the
industry.
While new technologies are key to driving business efficiencies, sustainability is
of critical importance. This includes development of best-practise for integrating
circular economy plans. Decisions made
now about implementation of sustainable
solutions have the potential to influence
how the general public and legislative
bodies interact with the polymer industry
for years to come.
With that in mind, polymer compounders will be showing a range of new material breakthroughs supporting improved
sustainability, including polymer formulations supporting ease of recycling and
reuse.
In one such case, German polymer
producer Covestro (Hall 6, stand A75)
will be showing a series of innovations
which, while delivering added customer
value, are also intended to reduce any related environmental impact.
As part of this the company will be
demonstrating the new Cardyon product. This innovative material is designed
for production of flexible polyurethane.
Made using carbon dioxide (up to 20%
of the material structure), the formulation helps to permanently lock the

greenhouse gas into a solid structure.
Speaking about the Cardyon product, Dr. Berit Stange, venture manager at
Covestro, said: "Our product represents
a scientific breakthrough since it is made
with up to 20% CO2. Tests have shown
that carbon-based products have better
properties than conventional solutions,
or at least comparable ones. We are very
excited about the potential of our technology and the applications for Cardyon;
flexible foam is just the beginning."
Similarly, US-based Milliken Chemical (Hall 6, stand A27) will be introducing a new series of product grades at the
upcoming K fair. These will include the Millad NX 8000 clarifier for PP resins. Milliken
states that this product can transform PP
into a lightweight alternative to glass. To
help build its environmental credentials,
the product can be processed at lower
temperatures.
Grades of the Millad product have been
optimised to support a variety of processes, including injection moulding, thermoforming and blow moulding. Further,
modified PP can help converters to deliver
a more recyclable, mono-material product.
"As we all work to limit excess plastics
use, support the recycling of polypropylene and move toward a circular economy,
Milliken is fully supporting these efforts
with sustainable technological innovations that impact colour, care, clarity and
performance," said Herrin Hood, global
product line manager of Milliken's Plastics
Additives business.
›› Continued on page 30

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Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019

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