Plastic masterbatch is made of excess additives and carrier resin through a special processing method, through pre-mixing, melt plasticization, and fully disperse the additives in the carrier resin to make uniform particles.
The most commonly used key raw materials in plastic processing
The masterbatch contains the auxiliary components required in plastic molding processing, but its performance is different from resin and additives, but it cannot be directly used to make molded products, so it can only be used as an intermediate in plastic processing Material.
However, due to the similar shape of the plastic masterbatch and the molding resin, it is easy to use, dust-free and pollution-free; the functional components have been uniformly dispersed in the carrier resin, and high-quality molded products can be obtained; easy to measure and manage, batch High stability between times. Therefore, plastic masterbatch has the advantages of environmental friendliness, process stability, quality reliability, and convenience of use. Therefore, it has become the most commonly used key raw material in plastic processing.
Plastic packaging material is one of the important uses of plastics. This type of packaging material has the advantages of light weight but good mechanical properties, suitable barrier and permeability, good chemical resistance and stability, good molding performance and low processing cost. Due to its secondary processing and decorative properties, it has become the most widely used packaging material in metal, ceramic, paper, plastic and fiber packaging materials.
Plastic masterbatch provides solutions for improving the application suitability of plastic packaging materials
The purpose of the packaging is to protect the item, facilitate its use, and provide product information. In the molding and processing of plastic packaging materials, by adding plastic masterbatch, not only can the required color be provided to the packaging material, but also the processing performance and fastness properties of the plastic can be improved (such as light resistance, heat resistance, migration resistance), in addition It can also add other application functions (such as flame retardant, antibacterial, antistatic, barrier properties), which provides a perfect solution for improving the application suitability of plastic packaging materials.
Plastic masterbatch
It is the most widely used coloring method in plastic coloring. Different colorants impart different color properties to plastic products. Such as hue, tinting strength, hiding rate, transparency, color fastness (such as light fastness, weather resistance, solvent resistance, migration resistance, heat resistance) and other characteristics.
For plastic packaging materials, the purpose of coloring is not enough to meet the requirements of ordinary color identification. What is more important is to attract consumers’ attention, win customers’ attention to packaging products, and promote product sales. Plastic masterbatch, with tailor-made functions, can provide packaging manufacturers with the required color.
In addition to the traditional white, black and gray non-color series and the common red, orange, yellow, green, blue, cyan, purple and brown color series, it can also provide various special color effects such as pearl effect, metallic texture effect, multi-angle discoloration effect, Thermochromic effect, photochromic effect, whitening effect, luminous effect, fluorescent effect, marbling effect, imitation wood grain effect, sparkling point or speckle effect, etc., provide a unique visual appearance for packaging products, enhance the product attractiveness.
Functional masterbatch
It is a masterbatch that contains other functional additives other than color. The specific function depends entirely on the active ingredients contained. These functions can be simply grouped into three broad categories:
The first category: to improve the performance of plastic molding.
Such as processing aid masterbatch to reduce die scaling and eliminate melt fracture; cooling masterbatch to reduce molding temperature; dry masterbatch to absorb moisture in raw materials; smooth masterbatch for easy demoulding of injection molded parts; Anti-slip masterbatch that slips during rewinding; anti-blocking masterbatch that prevents the film from sticking between films when unwinding; cleaning masterbatch that saves materials for color-changing cleaning machines, etc.; using this type of functional masterbatch, It not only facilitates the operation of forming and processing, but also improves the quality of products, and at the same time, it can improve production efficiency and reduce energy consumption.
The second category: improve the physical and chemical properties of plastics.
For example, anti-oxidative masterbatches to improve heat aging and inhibit yellowing of the color of parts; anti-aging masterbatches to improve weather resistance of finished parts; nucleation masterbatches or antireflection masterbatches to improve the rigidity or transparency of molded parts; Toughening masterbatch for mechanical properties of plastic parts; smooth masterbatch for reducing the surface friction coefficient of molded parts; opening masterbatch for reducing cap opening torque; thermally conductive masterbatch for improving thermal conductivity of plastic parts; conductive masterbatch for improving electrical conductivity, improving Mechanical properties of plastics and filler masterbatches to reduce costs, etc.
The third category: increase product application functions.
Such as antistatic masterbatch to reduce the surface resistance of molded parts; flame retardant masterbatch to improve the fire resistance of the material; antibacterial masterbatch to increase the anti-microbial attack of plastic; Masterbatch; degradable masterbatch to reduce plastic pollution; deodorant masterbatch to remove odor; flavor enhancement masterbatch to add fragrance to plastic; anti-fog masterbatch to reduce fog on the inner surface of food packaging films; Anti-rust masterbatch for rust; laser masterbatch for laser coding effect; matte masterbatch for matte effect or even frosted effect, foam masterbatch for weight reduction, heat insulation, sound insulation and shock absorption, etc.;
Generally, the plastic masterbatch is single-function. For example, color masterbatch only provides color function; antistatic masterbatch only provides antistatic function; sometimes according to the requirements of the end application of the product, dual-function or even multi-function is required, for example, it is necessary to color the plastic packaging material and improve the application. For properties such as anti-aging properties, colorants and anti-aging additives can also be compounded in one masterbatch, that is, multifunctional masterbatch.
What are the implications to consider when formulating a masterbatch?
Plastic masterbatches, especially for plastic packaging materials, are mostly tailored to the requirements of the end product. When masterbatch manufacturers formulate product formulations, they usually need to understand: end application requirements, shape of end product, type and specification of molding resin, molding method and process conditions, addition ratio of masterbatch, product regulatory compliance Requirements, control requirements and inspection methods for key performance, and acceptable prices and expected usage, etc.;
For example: if you need a blue masterbatch for beverage bottle caps, when designing the formula, you need to know: which type of beverage (carbonated beverage? juice beverage? tea beverage? water?), which material (PP) ? HDPE?), which cover type (single-piece cover? Two-piece cover? 38 cover? 28 cover?), which molding method (injection molding? Compression molding?), highest processing temperature, masterbatch addition ratio, Color judgment method (visual judgment? Instrument measurement?), if using instrument measurement, measurement conditions (form of sample, thickness of sample, light source, color space selection, color difference range), whether secondary processing (printing) is required , assembly), regulatory compliance requirements (whether it complies with relevant Chinese standards for food contact materials, or EU standards or US FDA regulations), etc.
Because a color can be realized by a variety of color matching schemes, but different colorants have different properties and prices. Even for the same type of colorant, the properties and prices of products provided by different manufacturers are also different. However, even if the colors obtained by several schemes are very similar, other properties such as heat resistance, dispersion, migration resistance, dimensional stability, etc. are not guaranteed to be similar. Therefore, their suitability for use is not necessarily the same. . Of course, there may be large differences reflected in the cost of masterbatch.
High-quality plastic masterbatch usually has several characteristics:
Good compatibility with molding resins; good dispersibility of functional components; good molding processability; non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and meet the regulatory requirements of related industries; high dilution ratio (ie, less addition); product quality batch good stability; cost-effective;
The future development of plastic masterbatch
In recent years, due to the development of production, the abundance of materials and the renewal of people’s consumption concepts, higher requirements have been placed on the packaging of products. The use of new materials and outstanding packaging design have improved brand awareness and stimulated product consumption. Among them, plastic masterbatch plays a key role.
Consumers not only pay attention to beautiful, luxurious and elegant colors, but also increasingly pursue the quality protection of packaging materials and intelligent packaging. For example, the use of active packaging to keep food fresh and extend the shelf life of products. The functional masterbatches used in these packaging materials can actively remove the residual oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor in the packaging container through chemical reactions to prevent food spoilage; Unpleasant gases and ethephon and other ripening agent gases used in fruit thinning items; some can emit ethanol substances to add special flavor to baked goods; there are also nutrients such as functional energy drinks, advanced skin care products There is a risk of photolysis for the active ingredients in the packaging materials, and most of these packaging materials use transparent materials.
The addition of active packaging masterbatches can prevent the photolysis of nutrients or active ingredients; the use of plastic packaging materials with antirust masterbatches can prevent the packaged electronic components from rusting due to water vapor, and protect the sensitive electrical components of electronic components. performance. Intelligent packaging materials mainly include temperature-sensitive, humidity-sensitive, gas-sensitive and light-sensitive packaging materials, that is, such packaging materials will change color when the environment reaches a specific temperature or humidity; some will change color when they encounter a specific gas or light; It can be applied in the fields of food packaging, pharmaceutical packaging or anti-counterfeiting packaging.
Green packaging, active packaging and smart packaging require innovative plastic packaging materials. Plastic masterbatches play a key role in achieving these functions, which will also become the development direction of plastic masterbatch innovation.