26 March 2007 – PolyOne has launched liquid colourants for use in bioplastics in biodegradable applications.
The concentrates, which are European food contact compliant, are based on sustainable natural raw materials, for which patents are pending. They can be used in a variety of biopolymers like polylactic acid (PLA) or starch based blends.
PolyOne said testing has shown no significant migration even after a long ageing period. In PLA, using these new carriers helps avoid an impact on transparency.
The company has aimed to make adoption of the new colorants as easy as possible, saying they can be processed with conventional equipment for liquid concentrates. Their viscosity range allows the use of standard dosing equipment.
The colourants are part of PolyOne’s OnColor Bio portfolio. Standard colours have been developed but specific colours can also be matched on request.
In the French market, PolyOne has already provided colours for biodegradable starch based waste bags.
The company is supporting customers with a service to produce bottles in its laboratory in Assesse, Belgium. This uses injection stretch blow molding processes currently used for PET and extrusion blow molding used for polyolefins.
