May 25 2007
Basell is launching a new high performance range of developmental polypropylene resins called Stretchene which can address the highly specialised customer requirements of injection stretch blow moulding applications (ISBM).
The new family of resins features products that can outperform standard polypropylene in terms of rigidity, transparency, impact strength and production output. Stretchene resins’ properties and performance attributes address typical customer requirements for a wide range of ISBM applications used in food and household chemical packaging as well as hot-fill applications – historically the domain of traditional materials such as PET or glass.
Two new grades in the range include:
Stretchene RP1685 - Due to this grade’s low density, (0.9 g/cm3) a significant weight reduction can be achieved compared to traditional materials such as glass and PET. The resin can also outperform conventional polypropylene in terms of rigidity, which enables very high topload potential without distortion. In addition, the material’s heat deflection temperature of 1090 C makes this polypropylene a competitive alternative to PET in hot-fill applications.
Stretchene RP1903 - Possessing the same density (0.9 g/cm3) as RP1685, this resin surpasses standard polypropylene in terms of clarity and provides very high transparency that is required for customer applications such as cosmetic packaging, historically the domain of HDPE-EBM and PET.
New territory for polypropylene
With its launch of Stretchene resins, Basell is expanding the performance envelope and end-use applications of polypropylene. According to Mike Rogers, Basell’s Innovation Manager responsible for the product launch, “This is just the first step in taking polypropylene to new ground. Stretchene resins for customer ISBM processes makes polypropylene one of the most cost effective options for producing bottles and containers for food contact.”
He added, “Excellent water vapour transmission, up to eight times better than PET, as well as the absence of acetaldehyde traces, enables the resin to address customer needs for the packaging of dried foods, milk powders and beverages. In addition, customers producing household chemical packaging can benefit from the excellent stress cracking resistance. We also plan to launch a similar version of the material to be marketed under the Purell resin trademark for use in customer medical and pharma applications.”