Recycling of composite PE/EVOH/PE films is currently limited by poor compatibility between the Polyethylene (PE) and Ethyl Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH).
The role of compatibilizer is key to compatibilize multimaterial films and provide a high-quality compound for recycling film scraps into new film structures.
LOTADER® 4210 addresses compatibility performances and economic requirements of film producers to recycle efficiently barrier multimaterial PE/EVOH films.
LOTADER® 4210 is an ethylene based functional polymer with contains high amount of Maleic Anhydrid (MAH) group and polarity which provides outstanding compatibility performances with various EVOH% content up to 10wt%.
It improves homogeneity of the polymer blend during processing by increasing interfacial adhesion between the polymers. This leads to a more stable film processing conditions and higher product quality than traditional maleic anhydride grafted PE (PEgMAH), especially in blown film production.
it allows barrier film scrap recycling with minimal gel formation, good optical properties and optimized mechanical properties. Typical compatibilizer loading recommendations for PE/EVOH films scraps recycling is ranged from 2 to 10%, depending on the EVOH content and target application (recommended EVOH/Compatibilizer ratio around 1:0.5)
In addition to the recycling of film scraps, it could be also introduced directly into one of the film layers to produce a “ready to recycle” film complying with the new EU project: PR NF 18120-7 standard. By introducing the LOTADER® 4210 compatibilizer during the film production, it will allow to produce a film compatible with the recycled PE stream.
Effect of compatibilizers on film morphology (SEM Pictures/ perpendicular direction(x3000)
PE/EVOH with 10% LOTADER@ 4210 additive PE/EVOH with 10% PEgMAH