TOPAS closes gap in resin portfolio to meet processing demands

TOPAS 7010F-600 is the company’s latest film extrusion resin, featuring a Heat Distortion Temperature (HDT) of 100°C for multilayer food packaging that withstands hot fill conditions.

Previous resins offered a HDT of from 130-140°C at the high end to 60-70°C at the lower end.

Products included in the higher end include layers for trays that are heated in the microwave, at the lower end it is suited for thermoforming applications.

Cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) is an amorphous thermoplastic that is used as a blending agent in polyolefin packaging films for medical, consumer and industrial markets.

Close gap in product portfolio​

Dr Wilfried Hatke, manager of marketing and sales, said they reacted to the gap in the product line regarding softening points.

“We had a product at the higher end of the softening point area which can be used for steam sterilization applications and for really sustaining a lot of temperature,” ​he told FoodProductionDaily.com at K Show in Dusseldorf.

“On the other hand we had a product with lower softening points which are basically used in the thermoforming applications which are typically processed at temperatures used for PET or PVC this kind of thing.​

“Now we decided to launch this new grade which is filling the gap of an intermediate TG ​[glass-transition temperature] for better processing compared with the higher TG grade but also improved temperature stability versus the lower TG grade.” ​

The company is a joint venture of Daicel Corporation and Polyplastics, both of Japan.

Stiffness level​

Hatke said the stiffness level for films is not accessible with other polyolefin grades.

“The materials can be very easily processed in multilayers or in blends with polyolefin films, especially polyethylene, so really enhancing the property reach of polyethylene grades towards resins like PVC or PET in terms of thermoforming, in terms of heat resistance.”   ​

The product fills the gap for applications such as hot filling, with the previous high TG material is not necessary and was not easy to process on some lines.

The newly-launched grade reaches out to processing necessities where there is a need to sustain temperatures of around 80-90°C, said Hatke.

“Hot bread or something like that filled into a bag without too much sagging in the filling step, so modulus related temperature resistance.”​