PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES
THE PERFECT BLEND
BROANMAIN PLASTICS
Well colour me pink! That’s how Masterbatch works
If you’re looking to achieve a splash of
colour, texture or even anti-bacterial into
your plastic components, chances are
your moulder is using masterbatch in the
mix. With the global masterbatch market
set to increase in value to USD 15 billion
by 2026i, Thomas Catinat, Operations
Manager at Broanmain Plastics explains
why masterbatch is so popular and how
as a moulder they go about achieving the
perfect blend to ensure consistency batch-
to-batch.
Masterbatch is commonly divided into five
segments - black, white, colour, additive
and fillers. Each formulation offers different
functions that when distributed evenly
through the polymer mix give it its unique
plastic fingerprint.
Colour masterbatch is a highly concentrated
pigment. Supplied in pellet form rather than
powder or liquid, it is blended into plastics
to create a range of end-use applications,
for example food and beverage packaging,
appliances, automotive and pharmaceutical
packaging.
Additive masterbatch offers improved
performance of plastic products, for
instance illumination, UV resistance,
anti-oxidants, antimicrobials or anti-static.
Filler masterbatch is used to create better
properties such as stiffness or a lighter
weight polymer. Chalk, for example, is used
to bulk out the plastic. Specific fillers can
also be added to make a component fire
retardant.
Black and white masterbatch are typically
used in building and construction,
automotive, consumer goods and domestic
appliances.
Achieving a special effect, such as chrome,
wood grain, stone, marbling and even
sparkle is also possible. These types
of compounds are often used to boost
consumer appeal and mimic heavier
materials.
READY MIXED OR CREATE ON
DEMAND?
Compounded mixes might be purchased
in bulk when creating larger quantities of
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PECM Issue 44
Masterbatch colour is a highly concentrated pigment which moulders blend with base
polymer resins and additives to achieve a special formulation (iStock.com/Irina Vodneva)
components. But for many end customers,
masterbatch is often the most cost
effective way for moulders to create the
perfect recipe time and again.
Blended in-house, moulders use
volumetric dosing units to automatically
mix the material ready for processing.
Using granular masterbatch can be a lot
less messy than powders or liquid, with
fewer health and safety risks from dust or
spillages.
customer’s requirement for pigment
colour, as well as special properties like
heat stability.
JET BLACKS AND BRIGHT WHITES
The ability to maintain a low stock holding
and call up a specific blend when required
from an external supplier can be more
economical, helping to keep production
costs down on short runs. For a number of components, such as
electronics, producing the deepest
blacks and the purest whites can be more
challenging that some think. It requires
a high pigmentation concentration,
especially to make contemporary products
such as mobile phones really stand out.
Achieving uniform colour is critical. And
although there’s usually a standard range
of around 40+, there can be over 1000
different masterbatch formulations.
Universal masterbatch offers convenience,
are more readily available from
suppliers and work with most polymers.
The downside is not all universal
masterbatches are compatible with all
base materials. Conversely, polymer
specific masterbatches are formulated
using the same base polymer that it
will be blended with. These tend to be
bespoke and customised to suit a specific Typically, a white masterbatch is used
to add opaqueness or whiteness into
plastic products. Different grades of
titanium dioxide (TiO2) are applied to
reflect or scatter light. As well as outdoor
applications, some whites are suitable
for food contact plastics. One of the key
advantages of the white masterbatch is it
has a high rate of dispersion, so can easily
incorporate other colourants.