Dow High Performance Silicone, a division of DowDuPont Materials Science, today introduced the new Dow Corning ® at the German Plastics Industry Show 2017. (Dow Corning)HMB-6301 masterbatch. This unique patent-pending technology is based on an established Dow Corning silicone technology platform that provides long-lasting, stable and smooth performance without migration and can be added to biaxially drawn polypropylene (BOPP) films to improve packaging production and processing. This advanced silicon smoother overcomes key drawbacks of standard smoothness additives, including continuous precipitation from the film surface and a decline in smoothness with time and temperature. Dow Corning ® (Dow Corning)HMB-6301 masterbatch also benefits BOPP film makers and users by improving packaging productivity through reduced coefficient of friction (COF), as well as high-quality and aesthetically pleasing packaging through superior printability and aluminization.

"When BOPP films are used for packaging production, such as sealing molded cans, friction can negatively affect the appearance of the film, causing it to deform or even break, which affects production, which is a long-standing problem," said Christophe Paulo, global market leader for high performance silicones at Dow. The new Dow Corning ® (Dow Corning)HMB-6301 masterbatch not only solves this challenge, but also relieves customers of storage time and temperature constraints and alleviates additive migration concerns, helping them maximize quality, consistency and productivity."

New technology overcomes traditional challenges

Organic waxes such as erucamide are widely used in BOPP films to improve the production of packaging due to their excellent smoothness. However, the organic wax is easy to migrate continuously from the surface of the film, resulting in an increase in the fog of the transparent film, which affects the appearance and quality of the packaging material. At the same time, if it migrates from the smooth layer to the corona layer during the film winding and storage process, it will have a negative impact on downstream operations such as printing. In addition, other drawbacks include: sensitive to temperature increases, slippery performance will be reduced over time.

Unlike other slippery additives, Dow Corning ® (Dow Corning)HMB-6301 masterbatch needs to be added to the surface of BOPP film, because it has non-mobility, will not be transferred from the smooth layer to the corona layer, avoiding the impact on the surface tension of the corona layer, thus ensuring the printability and aluminum plating performance. At the same time, Dow's technology makes its stability unaffected by time and temperature, and its excellent smoothness can be maintained permanently. In addition, the smoothness additive does not precipitate and does not significantly affect the optical properties of the transparent film.

Dow Corning ® (Dow Corning)HMB-6301 masterbatch is specially added to BOPP and PP extrusion film (mainly used in the production of food bags, packaging materials, packaging and bags), in line with the EU food contact material regulation and the US FDA food contact standard, suitable for successive draw lines and synchronous draw lines. The smoothness additive is available worldwide and is available in loose pellet form for easy processing.

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