Big turnout for additives conference

The Rapra Addcon World 2005 conference was an enjoyable and well-attended event.

The Rapra Addcon World 2005 conference was an enjoyable and well-attended event.

The conference opened with a talk by Ron Babinsky of Townsend highlighting the escalating price of polymers and additives, consolidation in the additives business, and the phenomenal increase in output of China.

About 45% of all plastics additives are used in Asia.

PVC takes 74% by weight of additives, polyolefins use only 8%.

The global additives industry is estimated at 10Mt by weight.

There are high feedstock costs and additive suppliers are relatively small players when it comes to purchasing, which does not give them much leverage; there is consolidation of suppliers but the emergence of new Asian suppliers; increased timescale of testing and approval; replacement of PVC by polyolefins, PET and engineering thermoplastics by high grade PP.

Other talks highlighted the potential effect that Reach and similar EU regulations may have on business.

The main threats were the cost of registration, stifling of innovation and uncontrolled imports from other parts of the world.

On a more optimistic note, Sasol introduced Enhance, a new Fischer-Tropsch polyethylene wax processing aid and showed benefits for injection moulding.

Dont Dow explained the reasoning behind its Z-technology, improved flouroelastomer processing aids for polythene film making.

Chemtura and Dont both introduced new functionalised property modifiers produced by new processes.

The functionalisation has been greatly increased without loss of molecular weight associated with older products.

There were several papers given on improvements in polymer stabilisation and the problems of antagonistic effects.

Dover Chemicals introduced its new increased hydrolytically stable phosphite stabiliser, P-92.

Chemtura introduced the Lowilite 7500 series which gives excellent performance at reasonable cost.

Cytec introduced a stabilisation package for demanding conditions.

A novel doped nanoTiO2 was introduced by Oxonica as a future UV stabiliser.

Several papers described new and improved flame retardants.

Clariant has phosphorus based flame retardants for nylons or polyesters.

Firestop has a new phosphorus FR for polyolefins.

Eurobrom has stabilised HBCD for higher temperature processing and there are sulphur compounds for polycarbonate that work at less than 0.5% addition.

This is an annual event, and Addcon 2006 will be held in Cologne on 17th and 18th October 2006.

The deadline for offering a paper is 17th April 2006.

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