Porous polyolefins aid mixing of additives

DSM’s Stamypor is a new family of highly porous polyolefins which can be used as carrier beads for liquid or low-melting additives and reactants. With a porosity of 50 percent by volume, Stamypor employs capillary forces to instantaneously absorb high concentrations of nonpolar and polar liquids while remaining free-flowing. These characteristics, the company claims, give the material superb dispersion properties compared to liquid additives or conventional masterbatches.

In a single-screw extruder, a masterbatch formulated with Stamypor will mix well with the resin even before the melting stage, resulting in more homogeneous products with a better performance, DSM says. Compounders and converters will achieve a higher throughput using a single-screw extruder without any additional mixing elements.

Stamypor has been successfully used with anti-static agents, anti-condensation agents, slip agents, mold release agents, lubricants, anti-oxidants, UV stabilizers, fragrances and other additives. It can also safely used with temperature-sensitive reactants such as salines, peroxides and chain extenders to produce concentrated masterbatches.

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