PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2012

PRODUCTS 25 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 12/12 www.petpla.net Material for lightweight hinge closures Borealis launches a new polypropylene (PP) grade BorPure RF490MO, offering packaging converters a saving in cycle time of up to 10% and an energy reduction of up to 5% in the creation of lightweight hinge closures with superior optics. The random copolymer PP is designed for transparent and non-opaque coloured closures. BorPure RF490MO’s offer 20-30% higher stiffness levels and dimensional colour stability achieved with proprietary Borealis Nucleation Technology (BNT), while retaining the impact performance of existing random PP grades. Its high stiffness offers the potential of up to 10% material saving through thinner walls, without loss of overall mechanical properties. Borealis asserts that tests against reference materials show that BorPure RF490MO can be pro- cessed at 20% lower barrel temperatures than in standard conditions generat- ing faster crystallisation and reducing cycle time by up to 10%. The reduction in temperature allows converters to use up to 5% less energy. The company’s BNT is further claimed to contribute to high-level transparency, despite low processing temperatures. www.borealisgroup.com  www.borouge.com Robot palletiser A PR robot palletizer is the first machine to be launched by Cermex since it acquired Newtec in Spring 2012. It incorporates a number of features aimed at improving safety and productivity, as well as integrating PalDesigner, a configuration and simulation tool for palletising solutions, and a gripping head and safety mechanism fitted with new technology to protect product integrity. The PR is a two-station robot palletising unit, which incorporates a solution for interactive machine operation that detects the position of the operator in relation to the robot and triggers the machine to slow down, then stop. Laser scanners con- tinually analyse the position of the operator in the enclosure and the machine auto- matically adjusts the robot speed. The door slides alternately and will block only the station where loading is being carried out, leaving clear and direct access to the second station for interventions such as pallet infeed or removal. Three zones within the machine elevate reaction from audio and luminous warning to full, auto- matic, safety stop. As soon as the zones are vacated the robot resumes normal operation, which the company asserts helps to reduce downtime and maintain product flow. Cermex says that PalDesigner, integrated into the PR machine, the capacity to simulate, test and validate the configuration of a palletising solution and its future developments. Once all validations and checks have been carried out, the data and settings are injected into the machine parameters. The machine also incorporates a highly sensitive gripping head mechanism, which detects abnor- mal efforts on products or gripping tooling and stops the robot trajectory extremely quickly. As well as the new features and upgrades, the new machine occupies a 10% smaller footprint than its predecessor. www.cermex.fr Biobased adhesive US company DaniMer Scientific, LLC formally announced the commercial release of DaniMer 92721, a new biobased label adhesive, at Nova-Pak 2012 in June this year. The adhesive is designed to counter problems associated with PET container recycling. The company says that it dissolves completely in PET flake caustic wash recycling operations and that it is priced to be competitive with block co-polymers. The rheology of DaniMer 92721 enables the adhesive to operate in existing adhesive systems at temperatures below 325°F (160°C). Results from industry standard protocol testing show the product produces zero contamination in PET recycle streams. DaniMer used bio-succinic acid from Myri- ant and Dupont Tate & Lyle’s susterra propanediol building blocks in the develop- ment of the new adhesive, which has renewable content higher than 50%. www.danimer.com  www.myriant.com  www.duponttateandlyle.com