Author Archives: Nuplex

For many years, humans have been blaming single-use plastic for causing severe pollution to the environment. However, according to a new research published on Oct. 26 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, the environmental impacts of single-use plastic are exaggerated.

Stepping into 2021, people’s awareness regarding environmental problems has increased remarkably, thus driving consumers to minimize the use of products which are considered ungreen, one of them is single-use plastic.

However, Shelie Miller – An environmental engineer of University of Michigan recently revealed another approach of single-use plastic in her research paper, which emphasized our five most popular misperceptions about the environmental effects of this item.

People tend to focus on the impact of the packaging, rather than the impact of the product itself, said Shelie Miller – Associate Professor at the School for Environment and Sustainability and Director of the U-M Program in the Environment.

#1 Misperception: Plastic packaging is the main factor in causing environmental pollution

Despite many doubts, a study of  University of Michigan indicated that “Two-thirds of the plastic consumed in the United States in 2017 was used for other purposes (than packaging) including building construction, electronics, furniture, automobiles, home furnishings and various consumer products.” That means there is a large amount of plastic waste coming from other sources rather than from plastic packaging.

#2 Misperception: Plastic is by far the most environmentally polluted compared to other packaging materials

The truth is when it comes to the conclusion of a material’s environmental impact, we need to consider the effects that occurred at every stage of its lifetime. Therefore, the research took advantage of Life-cycle assessment tool to divide lifetime environmental impacts into multiple categories including water and resource depletion, climate change and energy use, solid waste generation, biodiversity loss and ecological toxicity.

There are a wide range of invisible environmental impacts while plastics in its common appearances like cans, bottles, boxes,… are amongst the most visible. Consequently, we believe that plastics have the greatest impact on the environment.

According to some researches, plastic generally has lower overall environmental impacts compared to single-use glass or metal in most categories. Furthermore, manufacturing of glass bottles is too energy- and resource-intensive to be called eco-friendly.

#3 Misperception: Single-use plastics are always worse than Reusable products

Non-reusability is probably the most controversial issue of single-use plastics. However, the research pointed out the environmental impact of a material is tied to its content inside rather than its containers.

Besides, only when being reused enough times, reusable products have lower environmental impacts because its manufacture requires tons of materials and energy.

For example, a paper bag is required to be reused at least seven times to offset the environmental impact of its production (such as natural resources, fossil fuel consumed during transportation,…). That seems to be impossible since not many paper bags would hold up that much.

#4 Misperception: Recycling and composting should be the highest priority

The 3R well-known model: “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is one of the most popular solutions when it comes to environmental protection activities. Yet the fact that reducing and reusing listed ahead of recycling is not highlighted. As a result, consumers often over-emphasize the importance of recycling packaging instead of reducing product consumption and reusing items to extend their lifetime.

It is fundamentally easier for consumers to recycle the packaging of a product than to voluntarily reduce their demand for that product. However, true to be told, the environmental benefits brought by recycling and composting tend to be small when compared with efforts to reduce overall consumption – Shelie Miller

#5 Misperception: “Zero waste” is encouraged to eliminate single-use plastics and minimize the environmental impacts

In fact, reducing waste does not bring us as many benefits as we thought, thus compared to the amount of waste saved, the In other words, environmental protection solutions should address the root of this problem, which means reducing waste and consumption, consider carefully the kinds and quantities of products.

In conclusion, though the use of plastic still comes at the cost of environmental impacts, its flexibility, convenience and competitive price are undeniable. Therefore, instead of over concentrating on completely cutting on the use of plastic, we should use them with mindfulness and careful consideration.

Masterbatch plastic made from PE base resin is a common material in plastic industry. In order to satisfy the dramatically increasing demands of using masterbatch plastic, manufacturers have paid a lot of efforts on researching and establishing more advanced materials. LLDPE, LDPE, MDPE and HDPE are the sub-group of the giant PE masterbatch family. This article aims to summarize and categorize some basic information and knowledge about these three masterbatches.

Definitions of HDPE, MDPE, LDPE and LLDPE masterbatch plastic

HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene), MDPE (Medium Density Polyethylene) and LLDPE (Linear Low Density Polyethylene) are plastic masterbatch that consist the main ingredient is PE – Polyethylene base resin. PE is a polyolefin, which is a massive group in the polymer world. Besides PE, other members of this polyolefin group can be listed are polymethyl pentene, polypropylene and polypropylene copolymer. The common feature of this group is all resins belonging to it have lower specific gravity compared to water.

The significant differences between these types of PE masterbatches basically come from the cellular structure of the compound, which affects how the molecules bonding with each other and how tightly the material is formed.

The most and least commonly used masterbatch plastic in PE group

LDPE is the most common type of masterbatch plastic in the small group of PE plastic since it is extremely flexible and conforms with a wide variety of different material. This type of masterbatch is widely applied in various fields such as agriculture and construction. However, there was an exited drawback that this LDPE is not strong and dense as other types of plastic as well as easily being punctured and teared under impacts. The group of LDPE and LLDPE accounted for approximately 35% of total polyolefin production in Western Europe with over 22 million tons annually.

In contrast to LDPE, MDPE masterbatches is the least common one among all four types of masterbatch plastic. Regarding to the physical properties, it performs an average in impact strength and stress crack. But on the other hand, MDPE plastic master batch displays excellent chemical resistance.

How LLDPE masterbatch plastic differ from the original LDPE?

LLDPE is popular for having a broad range of short branches. It is considered as the blend form of LDPE in which the masterbatch is more flexible and pliable, more tensile strong, and more conformable in combination with other materials. Similar to LDPE, LLDPE appears naturally in form of translucent or milky color mixture. The outstanding property that made LLDPE an state-of-the-art material among others is its excellent resistance to oxidization, UV light and other natural environmental conditions. Thanks to its structure, LLDPE is also achieve the extreme toughness and durability over other masterbatch plastic. It can withstand high impacts and puncture damage. That is the reason why plastic-based products manufacturers prefer using LLDPE masterbatch in applications such as trash cans, lightning and planting products.

Meet the most rigid masterbatch plastic in in PE resin family

As regard the toughness, HDPE definitely won the first position in this criteria. It is the most rigid masterbatch plastic in the group of PE plastics with good impact strength and chemical resistance. These outstanding features was benefited from the tight molecular structure of the plastic itself. Thus its softening point is the highest, approximately 125 – 135 Celcius degree.  it requires more energy to break these structures. Moreover, thanks to these properties, HDPE masterbatches is considered as the most suitable alternative for making the secondary containment liners for oil tanks, industrial ponds and canal liners where chemical resistance is a need. It is the most commonly used masterbatch plastic in the US market. This is also the one that express best UV-resistance even without adding anti-UV additives into the masterbatch manufacturing. HDPE masterbatch usually appears naturally in milky white or semi-translucent compound depending on the molecule’s density.

Color masterbatch with basic colors are a familiar product in the plastic manufacturing industry. However, recently, the aesthetic needs of people do not only stop at the basic colors. Therefore, color masterbatch with special effects and colors appear to address these diverse needs of users. This article will give you information on some of the batch colors with special effects that MTB can provide.

Fluorescent color masterbatch are widely used in the manufacturing of packaging and toys

Dye fluorescent works in the form of baking powder, which is insoluble like a pigment form when mixed with the base resin. Fluorescent color masterbatch have a very high level of light reflection and the ability to transform UV light into visible colors. Therefore they will make the finished product very colorful. Fluorescent pigments being available in the base resin help plastics emit fluorescence on various colors and achieve excellent thermal stability. The disadvantage of this type of colored batch colors is their low capacitance in resistance in solvents, less durability in strong light environments and must be used at high concentrations to be effective.

Fluorescent color masterbatch are usually produced with base plastics such as LDPE, HDPE, PP, etc. They are widely used in the manufacture of packaging, toys and warning signs by extrusion, injection molding, blow molding and rubber molding methods.

Metallic color masterbatch is the perfect match for various decorative purposes

The most important metallic colorant in the color masterbatch manufacturing industry is aluminum flake pigments. The size of flakes in pigments greatly affects the color display on the final product. Small flakes will reduce the brightness of the color and make the product look darker. Meanwhile, large color flakes reflect more light, so the product also has more iridescence.

Although it has a significant metallic effect on color masterbatch, but due to the use of large aluminum flakes, it will also have negative effects on some physical properties of the product this type of colorant is usually only at the concentration approximately 10%. In industry, to color plastic products, the manufacturers will combine aluminum flakes with other organic pigments to create a variety of metallic color options.

A note when using aluminum flakes is that they should be dispersed in base resin or liquid color masterbatch because dry aluminum flakes tend to be explosive. In addition, when dispersing aluminum flakes or any color pigments that create other metallic effects on the base resin, minimizing sliding forces to avoid breaking the flake’s structure or deforming flakes leading to the reduction on color effects is recommended. Common applications of iridescence batch colors are blow molding, film molding, film blowing and cosmetic containers manufacturing.

Nacreous color masterbatch has brought sophistication to the plastic products

Nacreous color masterbatch are composed of pigments flakes which are similar to the aluminum flake pigments. However, instead of using aluminum scales for metallic luster, the manufacturers will use thin mica flakes coated with titanium dioxide. This combination makes light passing through the batch colors is partially reflected and partially absorbed. Many pigments flakes react and absorb light at the same time, causing the surface of the colored plastic to have nacre effect. Similar to the using of aluminum flakes, when mixing these nacre flakes into plastic, pay attention to the sliding speed, adjust the speed accordingly in order to not breaking the flakes structure.

Some other special effects in colored plastic beads Masterbatch

In addition to the color masterbatch with special effects as mentioned above, MTB is completely confident that we can do the researches, produce and deliver to you various types of batch colors with many other special effects like pearly, transparent, edge glow, marble, glitter effect, etc. Not only brought a special appearance to the final products, but these masterbatches also reinforce physical strength, improve durability, maximize the hardness and deformation temperature of the base resins. Besides, our products possess outstanding features such as smooth and beautiful surface, clear effect, outstanding color and long life expectancy. Therefore, the MTB color masterbatch is suitable for many purposes from making multipurpose boxes, food and cosmetics containers, wire covers, decoration materials, and furniture to other a wide range of other household items.

Masterbatch has covered the vast majority of our modern world. It’s easy to find a random stuff around you that was made of masterbatch. We all know that plastic have outstanding features over other traditional materials such as wood or glass. But why primary plastic has been replaced with masterbatch? Here are 10 reasons why this material is considered as being even more advanced than the raw plastic!

What is masterbatch? Definition, function and classification of this advanced material

Masterbatch is the concentrated compound, usually appears in solid form as pellets but sometimes they are produced in liquid solution. This type of material consists of primary plastic, compound CaCO3 (or other similar plastic fillers, most of them are in powder form), colorant for plastic and other additives. All these ingredients are heated until melting to form a unique and even solution, then this solution is cooled and cut into granular shape. This material is considered as a plastic additive with 3 main purposes: to reduce the amount of required primary plastic, to color and to impart functional properties to plastic products. Also based on these functions, the masterbatches is divided in to 3 major categories: calcium carbonate filler, color masterbatch and additive masterbatch.

Masterbatch is the perfect solution to creat colorful plastic products

As mentioned above, one of the most important purposes of using masterbatch is due to the economic benefit it brought to the manufacturers. Back to the beginning of plastic industry, nearly all plastic products were made by primary resin, which is produced directly from the petroleum and does not contain other ingredients. However, as the amount of petroleum in natural is dramatically decreased due to the over-exploitation, thus leading to the consequence in which the prices or crude oil keep rising in recent years. By replacing partly the primary plastic in plastic-base products production without affecting the original properties of the pure plastic, masterbatch is highly recommended as an effective solution for a wide range of application.

Pellet form makes masterbatch more convenient to be stored and manipulated

Compared to powdered pigments, if manufacturers use color masterbatch as a colorant for plastic, it will be a lot easier to store them near the production systems without causing a messy working space. Staffs working in these factories can also easily control the amount of used master batch and manipulate the whole manufacturing process, minimizing the chance of using too much amount of materials needed.

Using masterbatch releases less dust to the surrounding environment

Masterbatch, due to its dense and compacted structure of each solid pellet, cause less dust during the production processes, thus help the manufacturers control and eliminate the contamination problems inside the factory. Meanwhile pigments can well disperse into the air during manufacturing stages, this situation potentially causing contamination the adjacent producing lines.

Not only keep working space in factories clean, these dust-free masterbatch is also safer and less likely to cause health risks for workers and consumers compared to the traditional undispersed pigments powder.

Masterbatch manufacturers can more easily control the appearance of products

Masterbatch is believed to enhance the dispersion of colorant for plastic and plastic additives in general up to the optimal level. It offers better color consistency, thus allows manufacturers to easily control and manage the opacity and transparency of the final products. Master batch can have these advanced properties over the pigments because it is specially designed and engineered for the optimal dispersion in a plastic matrix. Thus, less colorant for plastic are required during the processing, helping producers to gain more profits. Moreover, plastic product manufacturers is able to reduce their works since the tasks of research, trial and fixing the errors are now eliminated. Why can these happen? It’s because the masterbatch manufacturers have taken the responsibilities in developing products with standard on color, properties and appearance.

Masterbatch is preferred since it gives final products with superior properties

Last but not least, we cannot deny that fact that masterbatch seems to be able in giving various additional values to the final products over the primary plastic since it contains functional additives concentrates that deliver advantageous characteristics such as anti-UV, anti-blocking, flame retardant, antioxidants, optical brightening, smoother surface, etc. Thanks to this added properites, quality of final products is elevated while their prices is reduced and more attractive to the customers.

Calcium carbonate masterbatch is made of calcium carbonate, base resins and several plastic additives. Calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) powder used in calcium carbonate masterbatch production has the natural origins. It exists in many forms such as calcite, limestone, chalk, marble or aragonite, or in the form of impurities and minerals such as dolomite. For thousands of years, CaCO₃ has been one of the most useful minerals for humans, in different fields. And so far, one of the industries that use CaCO₃ the most is probably the filler masterbatch industry.

Calcium carbonate masterbatch is the component bringing profitability for investors

After the resin, CaCO₃ also plays an important role in making filler masterbatch. Among the fillers, calcium carbonate masterbatch is the most commonly used type one especially the plastic and rubber industry.

Regarding to plastic fillers, they are often insoluble minerals that are added into the primary plastic to increase the volume for plastics. They play many roles in masterbatch production, from reducing production costs to improving product features such as increased durability and rigidity. However, everything has 2 sides. When using fillers at high concentrations beyond the ideal ratio, important physical properties of products such as impact resistance will be changed in the direction of disadvantage. Therefore, adding CaCO₃ as filler requires a balance between cost and dosage compared to other ingredients.

From calcium carbonate powder to producing calcium carbonate masterbatch

To produce calcium carbonate masterbatch, manufacturers often use CaCO₃ powder from limestone quarries. Limestone resources in Vietnam are quite abundant in reverse. There are about 125 limestone quarries that have been searched with estimated reserves of about 13 billion tons, distributed mainly in the northern regions and southernmost provinces.

Calcium carbonate in form of powder is classified into two basic groups:

• Ground calcium carbonate (GCC): compound produced from natural limestone undergoes grinding, impurities and particle size separation according to different uses. This is the kind we used to produce calcium carbonate masterbatch.
• Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC): Limestone is calcined to collect calcium carbonate powder and CO₂. Quicklime undergoing hydration process will result in calcium hydroxide, which will react with CO₂ and finally resulted in precipitated calcium carbonate. PCC powder is more expensive compared to GCC powder. So instead of being applied to filler masterbatch field, this kind of calcium carbonate is used to produce cosmetics and food.

The outstanding application of calcium carbonate masterbatch in the plastic industry

Masterbatch is considered as input material with granular shape used for other industries. Masterbatch not only helps manufacturers reduce production costs but also improves the hardness, material surface and reduces shrinkage of the finished products. Thanks to these advantages, calcium carbonate masterbatch has many applications in various production areas.

As we metioned above, GCC is used to produce filler master batch. When GCC is applied as a filler in plastics, it must undergo a melting process with plastic substrate to create granules called filler. Then, CaCO3 filler masterbatch is used to produce thin/thick films, evaporate plastic films, heat-resistant films, etc. In addition, plastic fillers are also involved in the production processes of PE or PP plastic with the role of preventing segmentation or fibrillation. CaCO₃ masterbatch is also very useful for manufacturing plastic products by injection molding technique, so it is widely used in the production of spare parts, equipment, household products, etc.

Calcium carbonate filler is one of the most innovative solutions ever developed in this industry. Calcium carbonate filler not only functions in improving the quality of final plastic products but also helps plastic manufacturer reduce as much production cost as possible, hence gain more profits. Let us provide you a deep insight on this special plastic material.

What is CaCO₃ – the main ingredient for calcium carbonate filler?

CaCO₃, IUPAC name is calcium carbonate, is a chemical compound commonly found in nature. They exist in constituent substances of plenty living animals (the hard shells of marine animals such as shellfish, snails, pearls or eggshells) as well as geological forms. The most popular and well-known source of CaCO₃ is from limestone ores, a sedimentary rock often formed near waterfalls or streams. This is also the main source to provide calcium carbonate filler for plastic industry. In addition, calcium carbonate can be found in other minerals and rocks such as chalk, marble, limestone, otufa and travertine.

Where does the calcium carbonate filler come from?

Most of CaCO₃ used in industrial productions, especially the calcium carbonate filler used in plastic industry is exploited from quarries (marble mines) or rocks mountains (limestones ores). Understanding this, MTB experts have studied and explored ways to exploit these limestone resources which are very favored by Vietnam. MTB always focuses on exploiting thousands-years-old limestone mines with abundant and quality CaCO₃ reserves, which are highly appreciated by French geological experts in order to find the best and cheapest raw materials serving as the main ingredient for masterbatch production. In addition to exploiting limestone in nature, there is another source of calcium carbonate that is an artificial product produced by the reaction of CO₂, water and lime (CaO).

Some typical properties of calcium carbonate filler

Limestone powder in natural without any treatments has the color ranging from milky to ash. Calcium carbonate is odorless and has 3 polymorphs (morphological forms) of calcite, aragonite and vaterite, in which calcite is the most stable polymorph. CaCO₃ is an alkaline compound that reacts strongly with acid solutions producing CO₂ gas. Under high temperatures, calcium carbonate is broken down into calcium oxide (CaO), often called as lime.

How did experts classify CaCO₃ to produce calcium carbonate filler?

After being exploited and passed through preliminary treatments, people divide CaCO₃ into 2 types: smooth CaCO₃ (Ground calcium carbonate – GCC) and precipitated CaCO₃ (precipitated calcium carbonate – PCC). On the market today, smooth CaCO₃ GCC is the most important filler being used in many industries, especially as a plastic additive compound. Fine calcium carbonate filler is produced by crushing coarse limestone into tiny granules, mostly in powder form, then these granules will be classified based on their size.

Whereas precipitated CaCO₃ PCC is often used as an additive for reinforcing the fillers as well as adjusting effects of other materials. The production process of this CaCO₃ is much more complicated than smooth CaCO₃ production, including 3 main steps in which firstly, there must be the calcification of raw materials under high temperature (1000^oC), then the lime will be hydrated into milk lime. Finally, milk lime will be carbonized by passing through CO₂ and filtered in combination of drying process to produce the final product is precipitated CaCO₃ in dry form.

What kind of advantages calcium carbonate filler can bring to plastic manufacturers?

Since the masterbatch manufacturer can alter the production processes to control the shape and size of the precipitates CaCO₃, PCC offers a series of more advanced technical effects than smooth CaCO₃ GCC and other expensive additives. On the chemical side, the components of both PCC and GCC are nearly identical. PCC is more pure in terms of purity because in the process of manufacturing them, the content of silica and lead is removed. The biggest difference between these two calcium carbonate filler forms lies in the crystal size and shape under high magnification. In general, the distribution of particles (in crystals) in precipitated CaCO₃ is narrower than in smooth CaCO₃, helping them to achieve better oil absorption and bearing capacity.

In general, CaCO₃ powder is widely used as a plastic additive in industrial production for several reasons:

• CaCO₃ has a natural bright whiteness, so plastic products that use CaCO₃ filler will achieve high brightness and whiteness without using bleach, whitening agents or other coloring products. This saves an expense for masterbatch manufacturer
• CaCO₃ is a mineral source with abundant reserves in nature. It is easy to exploit and process so their prices are very cheap. Producers can use calcium carbonate in large quantities without worrying about cost.
• Mixing calcium carbonate filler into primary plastic will not change the characteristic of primary plastic, so using them to replace a part of input materials in the production of plastic products will help producers saving a lot of costs
• Besides, CaCO₃ has good heat resistance, structure of the curvature and size which is suitable for many types of plastic
• Eco-friendly, can prevent evaporation and reduce the temperature in the factory
• CaCO₃ helps to increase the hardness, luster of the product surface, helps the manufacturer to produce more beautiful packaging with diverse designs
• Can be used in conjunction with plastic additives and other colorants that are comfortable

Other applications of calcium carbonate filler in other industries

It can be said that CaCO₃ is one of the most versatile compounds on earth. Today, they are not only exploited and used by humans as a calcium carbonate filler masterbatch but also in many other industries and productions. As many people have responded, the most traditional application of calcium carbonate is to use as a chalkboard.

Applications of CaCO₃ in producing glass, ceramics and construction

Besides being the calcium carbonate filler widely used by plastic manufacturer CaCO₃ is also an indispensable additive in glass and ceramics industry. Accounting for 1/5 of the total amount of raw materials (about 20-25%) used to produce glass, calcium carbonate powder helps these products achieve better and more stable under natural environmental conditions. At the same time, when added to the raw materials in the ceramic production processes, they serve as an additive to help these processes occurring more quickly and more completely.

Not only produce glass and ceramics, limestone, with the main ingredient is CaCO₃, is also a common material widely used in construction industry. From limestone, people can create cement, concrete, pavement spreading material and construction of architectural works.

Applications of CaCO₃ in agriculture, medical and environmental sectors

One of the interesting applications of limestone powder that is not much known besides of being calcium carbonate filler is that they are used as a substance to stimulate the formation and development of several poultry types. CaCO₃ is mixed into animal feed and becomes an essential nutrient source for poultry bones and egg shells to grow and develop. Besides, CaCO₃ is also a major component of an oral drug such as calcium supplements for people with osteoporosis and a drug called antacid used to neutralize acid in the stomach and is used to reduce heartburn, dyspepsia and upset stomach.

Thanks to its ability to stabilize pH for soil and water, as well as being environmentally friendly, CaCO₃ is also often used to prepare fertilizers and pesticides to help plants grow stably and healthy. In particular, with the ability to be a neutralizer and detoxifier for other toxic compounds, toxic gases, both in nature (like sulfur, acids, NH₃, H₂S, CO₂, etc.) and in industry as well as daily life, calcium carbonate powder is also an indispensable ingredient widely used in the environmental treatment industry and the production of detergents.

Masterbatch plastic is an obvious material in plastic industry nowadays. Masterbatch plastic has contributed in the development of human society by being the source for generating various products serving for both daily life and the industries. That’s the main reason for scientists to constantly pay efforts in studying how to improve this material and apply it into more fields.

One of the new areas that masterbatch plastic can be applied is 3D printing. We will show you how it is applied in 3D printing through the following article.

Why we should use masterbatch plastic in 3D printing?

In the current masterbatch plastic industry, almost every plastic molding technique requires the mold. These methods may be beneficial for mass production, however, the consuming cost in designing and constructing molds is very expensive. In addition, this process requires a lot of time and effort since the mold must be perfectly otherwise there must be another following step to correct every product and the industrial production systems will return into traditional hand-craft industry.

Not mentioned to these expenditures, each specific masterbatch plastic product requires a special and corresponding mold. This became a challenge for manufacturers whom want to produce a variety of products as they must spend more money to design and prepare more molds to establish new technique requires less equipment, less consuming costs in the purpose that they can fully optimize the production lines. This also causes an issue for anyone who just wants to produce a small amount of product or a prototype. In that circumstance, 3D printing is developed as an alternative method solving these problems.

Masterbatch plastic is one of the most important materials in 3D printing technology

With 3D printing, masterbatch plastic manufacturers do not need to spend time and money to design and create various molds or special tools for their production. Instead, 3D printing machine is built up “transform” a digital design into a physical three-dimensional object. The operating mechanism of this machine is built each layer of the object at a time until the whole product is completed. This method allows manufacturers to generate thousands of distinct products with just one single machine.

Masterbatch plastic by far is the most common material of 3D printing technology, however this is not the only material used in this field. Other special materials such as metals, sands, composites and ceramics can also be 3D printed. Especially, metal and concrete are always expected to achieve more advantages and widely applied in this field.  Most common application using 3D printing is generating masterbatch plastic prototyes, along with demanding parts and features for space engineering and aerospace field.  Other technical industries such as automotive, aviation and construction are also the potential market for consuming 3D products.

Another advantage of 3D printing is that this technique can generate geometric complexity in shapes and forms of final product easily without charging any further cost or wasting too much scrap (like CNC machining). However, each masterbatch plastic type can only fit one or two 3D printing methods. This is depended on the charateristics of base resin used in the masterbatch composition.

Will 3D printing technology be the best solution for any masterbatch plastic products manufacturing?

Well, not really. 3D printing technology, as well any other typical technology, has its own advantages and disadvantages. Each technique was developed to solve a single (or several) problems, but likely no technique is able to solve all problems and fit any user. 3D printing is not an exception. Experts stated that 3D printing is a tool suitable for generate specially customized masterbatch plastic products/objects, prototypes or high-volume production.

Limitations of 3D printing technology in masterbatch plastic manufacturing

First of all, 3D printing technology is less cost-effective if it is applied in large-scale production. Instead, it is perfectly suitable for making prototypes or production with small quantity (less than 100 products). Secondly, 3D printed products do not have good strength and physical properties in general as molded one. The thermal and impact resistance of 3D printed masterbatch plastic objects are generally reduced approximately 10 to 50% compared to the bulk material. They are weaker and more brittle since their structures are built by stacked up layers, not in a monolithic way like molding techniques. Last but not least, this technology requires post-processing and support removal steps. These auxiliary steps are needed since 3D printers are not able to add material on thin air so there must be supportive structures linking the building platform. These structures function as the pedestal for the printer to build hanging parts.

Filler masterbatch is the main product of MTB. Filler masterbatch is also a vital component in various industries requiring the association of plastic. Plastic, ever since its invention, has become a vital material in the economic and societal development of almost every country in various regions worldwide. Nowadays, myriad of features in daily life of humans are made of plastic. Although it is extremely common in daily life, have you ever be curious on what was plastic and calcium carbonate masterbatch made from? Let’s take a deep look into this advanced material.

The nature of plastic built up filler masterbatch’s properties

The variety of filler masterbatch is countless. Each type of it has distinct features, functions and characteristics. This difference largely comes from the properties of the base resins that compose them. Plastic is synthesized material derived from organic components coal, natural gas, salt, cellulose and especially crude oil. Basics of plastic is polymer chains, which are usually used to name the plastic itself, with its building blocks (monomers) are similar molecules made of hydrogen and carbon atoms, sometimes with the presence of other elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, silicon, fluoride, sulfur, phosphorous, etc.

How was plastic and filler masterbatch classified?

The nature of the building block determines the chemical properties of plastic and consequently the filler masterbatch. Based on this aspect, plastics are categorized into different types and groups. The categorization of plastics is various. Depending on the properties, functions or constituents, plastic will be classified in several ways. One of the most common ways to divide plastic into groups properly based on its thermal aspect. As following this feature, there are 2 types of plastic: thermosets (assemblage of the constantly hard and rigid plastic despite of the heat) and thermoplastics (which are meltable plastic under heat and will be set back to the rigid form when cooling down).

Besides the thermal aspect, the molecular structure and the constituents in its compositions (How many types of monomers does it include?) are also other fundamentals used to set up the plastic classification.

The history from plastic to filler masterbatch – a great invention for human development

Despite of being considered as an artificial material, plastic’s components actually came from nature. The first-ever-found plastic is rubber, which is mainly harvested from latex of the rubber tree. However, these natural materials do not meet the increasing needs of human as the world keeps developing throughout the years. The history of synthetic plastics properly started over 150 years ago. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was nearly the earliest synthetic plastic as it was well researched and polymerized in 1838. Following PVC, polystyrene, polyacrylic and polyester was synthesized in 1839, 1843 and 1847, respectively. Celluloid, also called nitrocellulose, a transparent flammable plastic widely used in cinematographic film, was one of the firstly created plastic-product which was invented by Alexander Parkes in 1855 under the name Parkesine. The production of synthetic plastic was massively elevated in another level in 1907 when a Belgian-American chemist named Leo Baekeland created Bakelite. The appearance of bakelite created a revolution in applying plastic into electrical, radio and telephone products.

Filler masterbatch – the significant improvement for the plastic industry

Despite of various potentials in prevailing over other traditional materials, the development of plastic was delayed in the early decades of the 20^th century due to the world wars and numerous social instabilities which had occurred throughout the world. It was not until the 1950s when the wars, harshness and deprivation were over, that the world’s inhabitants entered a more stable period, the superiority of plastic was received its desirable attentions. Ever since, human have focused on researching and inventing more advanced plastics to apply to many other industries and productions. Also in this time, filler masterbatch was upgraded and widely used as an effective tool hugely supporting for the plastic processing and mass production.

How does filler masterbatch differ from the plastics?

As mentioned above, plastics are purely polymer chains without any other components. Filler masterbatch, on the other hand, is a mixture consists of multiple ingredients. The plastic is one in the most important components of calcium carbonate masterbatch that serves as the carrier. Other vital element, accounted for the vast majority of plastic filler, approximately 70-80% of the mixture, is calcium carbonate powder. Besides base plastic and CaCO₃ powder, filler masterbatch also consist of pigments powder and several additives depending on the customer’s requirements.

The production process of plastic – the input material for filler masterbatch

During the procedure of producing the base plastic for filler masterbatch manufacturing, polymerization plays as the key mechanism. In the polymerization process, monomers, which were originally constructed by raw materials, are conjugated together by chemical reactions in the way of forming long polymer chains. Raw materials that were used to generate the plastics’ building blocks can either come from the natural or renewable resources.

2 ways of producing base plastic:

In plastic calcium carbonate masterbatch manufacturing, there are 2 types of polymerization: the addition polymerization (the chain-reaction) and the poly-condensation (the step-reaction). These 2 types of polymerization differ from each other in the way monomers are linked together. The basis of calcium carbonate masterbatch chain-reaction polymerization is one monomer will link to the monomer next to it thanks to the free radical binding to the initial monomer. This process will continue until another free radical sticks to the final monomer and terminates the polymer chain.

The 2^nd method in producing base resin for filler masterbatch, the step-reaction polymerization is commonly used to manufacture plastics with two distinct types of monomer. This process is more complicate than the addition polymerization as it requires higher temperature. As consequent, its products include main product (the polymer) accounted for lower molecular weights and by-products (which is usually small molecule such as water, HCl, etc.).

How was filler masterbatch produced?

The production process of calcium carbonate masterbatch takes place according to the following 4 basic stages:

• CaCO3 powder, base resin and additives are mixed by machine at high speed mode
• The mixture is melted into liquid at high temperature
• The liquid is cooled and screwed in a twin screw extruder pushed forward and pressed into the mold

Plastic is inserted into the cutting machine to cut into particles. These particles will be padded into plastic beads to bring new features to the raw plastic.

Masterbatch manufacturing is the core of masterbatch and plastic industry. Masterbatch manufacturing comprises of several technologies that may confuses newbies. However, if you want to be a master in plastic industry, you need to fully understand these processes. Here are the most common methods that are widely used in masterbatch producing.

Injection Molding – the most used technique of plastic and masterbatch manufacturing

In all masterbatch manufacturing methods, the first step is applying heat to the input material, which softens plastic masterbatch and gives them the ability to be shaped. For example, in injection molding, raw materials (it could be masterbatches, color pigments and additives) are heated to until all of them transformed to the liquid mixture. Then this mixture is passed through a horizontal syringe and bumped into the mold. After cooling down the temperature, manufacturers remove the mold leaving the final products with desired structure.

Although the front costs are the highest within the area of plastic masterbatch manufacturing due to complicated requirements in designing, testing and tooling the molds, its capacity to generate the mass production definitely won the game with annual amount can reach up to hundred thousands products for every machine per year. This humongous advantage gives the final products a very compatible price. Regarding to the applications, the number of fields that consits of equipment produced by this method is massive, including daily stuffs (kids toys, kitchen utensils, bottle caps, containers, etc.), surgical applications (which requires extremely precise shapes and sizes), automotive parts, etc.

In general, plastic injection molding is well suited for high volume, high quality objects. It can be said that this is properly the most multitasking technique in the masterbatch manufacturing field as it can generate products with very flexible, virtually limitless uses. Relatively, this molding process is perfectly beneficial for mass production or prototyping of a product.

Extrusion Molding – top 3 plastic masterbatch manufacturing technique

The extrusion molding is quite similar to injection molding, except for the fact that it does not have the mold connecting with the syringe. Instead of the mold like others, it has a die. Thus shapes of plastic products generated from this masterbatch manufacturing technique will depend on the shape of the fixed cross section that masterbatches come through (regularly a square or a circle). Consequently, the variety of its common products is much narrower than other methods. Extrusion molding is best suited for producing PVC hoses and straws, tubes and pipes, plastic decking and gutters. However, due to the low cost in generating the molding systems and equipment, it still can achieve a highly annual productivity.

Blow Molding – a masterbatch manufacturing technique using air to form plastic products

Blow molding, also called gas assisted or gas injection molding, is one of the most popular masterbatch manufacturing methods. This method utilizes high-pressure air or gas to form melted plastic into a fixed shape. The molding procedure starts with piping melted masterbatches into the molds. Next, gas is bumped to the inner site (the mold cavity) of the mold. As the result, plastic products are generated with shapes of the mold but are empty inside. Thus, this technique is appropriate for production thin walled, hollow and small sized subjects with cylinder shapes such as bottles, plastic drums, fuel tanks or syringes. Since its applications fluctuate in a wide range of distinct industries with flexible products, the annual quantity of this masterbatch manufacturing technique is quite higher compared to others. However, the adverse side of this method is that the mold’s cost is quite high.

Blowing Film is the most popular application in masterbatch manufacturing (Blowing Film)

One of the most popular methods that Europlas products are using is Blown Film (also known as film blowing or extrusion blowing). This process is used to produce various types of plastic films such as PE film, foam bag, thin film with good gloss or elasticity.

Film blowing technology is implemented as the following procedure:

• Adding materials including plastic, masterbatch and additives to the funnel to be heated and molten by high temperature
• The molten plastic is passed through a thin plastic tube
• Applying high-speed air around the plastic film tube
• Plastic diaphragm after being cooled is passed through the cylindrical rollers, then cut into halves or rolled into the core to produce plastic film rolls.

Become the expert in masterbatch manufacturing with thermoforming

Thermoforming is probably the least effort-consuming technique as it only requires high temperature to soften the hard plastic sheets. Being beneficial for low production with the masterbatch manufacturing productivity approximately 250 to 3000 features per year, the most popular products generated by this method ranges variously and flexibly from household appliances such as disposable cups, trays, lids, blisters and clamshells to industrial accessories like automotive parts, vehicle doors, dash panels or fridge liners. However, the time spent for processing the thermoform molds is quite long, accounted for about 8 weeks with the cost varies from $20,000 to $50,000 depending on the size.

Advanced knowledge about masterbatch manufacturing with Coating

Coating provides an insulative and protective cover for materials such as electrical components, wire forms, handles of everyday tools and sports equipment, medical equipment, etc. During the process, dip molders lower objects into a vat of molten plastic where the plastic adheres to the surface of the object. A primer may be applied to the surface of certain materials prior to dipping to ensure ideal coverage. This masterbatch manufacturing technique – Plastic Coating can be as thin as 0.25 inches but are often made thicker than that.

Dwell time is the length of time an object is immersed in plastic for, and usually the longer it is immersed for, the thicker the layer of plastic coating is. The coated object is then removed slowly from the vat to avoid surface irregularities. Oven temperature, dip speed and immersion times are all variables that affect the final quality of the coating.

Coating is used for various purposes. Plastic coating protects the surface of objects from damage. It proves to be a good resistor to environmental change and performs well for long.

The Milkman Model may sound outdated, since this term has a history dated back to the 1950s. At that time in the USA, consumers didn’t own the milk bottle, the producing companies did. The milkmen delivered the milk to customer’s house and collected the old empty bottles which had been used. They brought them back to the factory, where they would be washed, cleaned and ready to be used again. In the dawn of 2000s, with the mass production of bottles in significantly cheaper prices, instead of returning to the milkmen, the used bottles went straight to the garbage bin.

Consumer industry had indeed gone in a circle, because after about a century later, the plastic industry has considered revived this model.

On the recent event held by the World Economic Forum, Loop has announced on a new shopping platform. The idea was applauded by several industry influencers and experts and also expected to be a signal that changes consumer’s shopping habit.

Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, an international recycling company based in New Jersey, commented, “Loop is the future of consumption.” The top consumer brands PepsiCo, Nestle, Coca-cola had registered on their partnership with Loop. The industry leaders shared a vision that by 2030, all of their packaging will be either reusable or recyclable. So far, the response to the Loop model has been highly positive.

Loop is, in short, a “reincarnation” of the milkman model. Loop deliverymen take shampoo, milk bottle, cosmetic products, etc per order to customer’s house. After use, customers return the empty bottle at their door, so that the deliverymen can bring them back to the recycling center.

Will this model hold any future in Vietnam and other developing countries?

This is a question that does not address the present, but the future. So far, online shopping and home delivery is not a popular shopping habit in Vietnam. Consumers has always been shopping directly at the store, hence there has never been a milkman model in Vietnam to begin with. There are only two outcome of this.

Stores will start to open a place for used bottle dumping. Customers bring their empty bottle back to a collection point in the store to gain discount.

Or the exact milkman model could work. With the rise of online shopping, the Loop model could be a perfect option to consider in the near future.

The only question left is, how much the consumer industry and the government are willing to assist this approach of recycling method?