Nouryon Polymer Modification Additives

Nouryon is a global leader in the industry of free radical initiators for the production of thermoplastic polymers such as PVC, LDPE, acrylates and styrene.
Our organic peroxides are also used to modify thermoplastics by reactive extrusion. The choice of peroxide depends on the type of polymer, the desired reaction and the extrusion temperature.

Controlled Rheology PP (CR-PP)

Polypropylene produced with Ziegler-Natta catalysts typically has a wide molecular weight (MWD) distribution. This results in a highly elastic melt that is not easily processed on high speed machines. This problem can be effectively solved by adding special organic peroxides to the extruder to allow controlled degradation of the polymer. Organic peroxides lower the molecular weight while narrowing it. The decrease in melt viscosity and the increase in MFI can be controlled by the amount of peroxide added. Areas of application include: PP films, extrusion coating, fibers (textile, meltblown) and injection molding.

We have the world's largest range of organic peroxides for polymer modification, including the latest generation of Trigonox® 301 for the production of CR-PP, a patented AkzoNobel product with many advantages for polymer modification applications. Trigonox 301 is more cost-effective and produces volatiles from its decomposition products, which result in low-odor products; it also has BfR (0.251 TP3T max. addition) and FDA (0.3751 TP3T max. addition) approval for use in food contact grade products. Trigonox 301 is also licensed by the BfR (0.251 TP3T max) and the FDA (0.3751 TP3T max) for use in the manufacture of food contact grade products.

High Melt Strength PP (HMS-PP)

The linear structure of polypropylene results in low melt strength and lack of mechanical strain-hardening properties, which can cause problems in melt extrusion applications. Problems that can occur include narrow processing ranges, non-uniform bubble size and pinholes in thermoformed sheets. Nouryon has developed a patented technology to overcome these problems. A special class of organic peroxides (dicarbonyl peroxide) is reacted with PP powder in an extruder to introduce long branched chains that increase the melt strength of the polypropylene to produce High Melt Strength Polypropylene (HMSPP) HMS-PP exhibits a lower melt index, a broader molecular weight distribution due to the introduction of long branched chains, an increase in melt strength and die swell, and an improvement in the mechanical strain-hardening and melt-elasticity properties. This allows PP foaming, thermoforming and blow molding to become possible
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The preferred peroxide dicarbonate is Perkadox® 24L It blends best with reactor-produced PP (powders, beads) or small beads of PP that have been milled on the extruder. Its decomposition products are only carbon dioxide and cetyl alcohol, and it does not cause any odor problems to the final product.Perkadox 24L has received food contact approval from the FDA (2.0% maximum) for all HMS-PP applications including microwaveable food trays.

Maleic anhydride grafted polyolefin

Maleic anhydride can be grafted onto polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene EPDM rubber during the extrusion process using special organic peroxides. When adding organic peroxides and maleic anhydride separately, the choice of peroxide depends on its solubility in the polymer and the extrusion temperature used. Nouryon offers a wide range of organic peroxides that can be used in this separate addition operation. Our most recently developed product is Perkadox PFDBM25, which has a maleic anhydride component in the peroxide molecule.

This grafting technology developed by Nouryon improves the compatibility (solubility) of the raw material with the polymer and avoids the presence of free maleic anhydride in the end product. Grafted maleic anhydride polymers can be used in glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (GFR-PP) and tie-layer polyethylene films, as well as as bulking agents for non-blended polymers, nanocomposites and wood fiber polypropylene polymers.

High Melt Strength Polylactic Acid (HMS-PLA)

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable and renewable polyester with low melt strength and melt elasticity due to its straight chain structure, which limits its application in areas where this property is required. The reaction of PLA with Nouryon's Trigonox 301 in an extruder allows the formation of long branched chains and produces high melt strength PLA (HMS-PLA), which can be safely incorporated into PLA solutions as a liquid or used as a masterbatch for PLA spheres.
With its long branched chain structure and high melt strength, high melt strength polypropylene has a virtually unaltered MFI and a wider MWD, as well as higher low shear and shear viscosity reduction at high shear viscosities, and higher melt elasticity.