Capatue TM porous polymer carrier is a kind of high foamed polymer particles. It provides the polymer processing industry a very easy and efficient way to convert liquid or paste into dry and free flowing pellets, needless to extrude or pelletize. We now can supply LLDPE, LDPE, HDPE and EVA..
Capatue TM porous polymer carrier is foamed by pure physical foaming process, without any chemical foaming agent, it will not bring any other chemical impurities into your system.
Capatue TM porous polymer carrier has strong adsorption ability, and it is a optimal way to absorb the thermally sensitive additives. It is open cell structure with 5-20 μm apertures. 100 parts carrier can absorb 60 parts liquid or low melt point solid additive, thus a 30~45% high concentration could be achieved.
Capatue TM porous polymer carrier, with open cell structure, aperture is 5-20 μm. It has a strong adsorption like sponge. This adsorption is from the Capillary action in Physics.
Capillary action is the ability of aliquid to flow in narrow spaces without the assistance of, and in opposition to, external forces likegravity. The effect can be seen in the drawing up of liquids between the hairs of a paint-brush, in a thin tube, in porous materials such as paper, in some non-porous materials such as liquefied carbon fiber, or in a cell. It occurs because of intermolecular forces between the liquid and surrounding solid surfaces. If the diameter of the tube is sufficiently small, then the combination of surface tension (which is caused by cohesion within the liquid) and adhesive forces between the liquid and container act to lift the liquid. In short, the capillary action is due to the pressure of cohesion and adhesion which cause the liquid to work against gravity.
The reloaded CAPORETM products are dry and free-flowing which makes them particularly suitable for the masterbatch addition technique. With their great help the additive will get a homogeneous dispersion in the final product.
Organofunctional silanes, maleic anhydride, antioxidants, coupling agents, antimicrobials, fragrances, peroxides, process stabilizers and other performance additives are a few examples of additives that are routinely reloaded into CAPORETM matrices. Furthermore, agronomy technology (e.g. pesticide/fertilizer distributor) and cosmetic equipment (e.g. perfume/sent distributor) are also the potential application of our products.
1、Convenient and high-efficient：
Needless to extrusion, just mix the liquid with our CAPORETM for several minutes the dry, free-flowing pellets will be OK for you.
2、Safe and stable：
As the mixing is done at room temperature, not like extrusion under high temperature, CAPORETM is especially suitable for thermally sensitive additives.
3、High concentration：
Conventional compounding is usually limited to 5 - 20 % active loading, but CAPORETM unique process produces ultra-high loadings of 50% that remain stable, dry, and easy to dose.
Introduction
CapatueTM porous polymer carriers are based on EVA, HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE and made in a physical foaming process. They do have an open cell structure with interconnected cells. The cell size distribution is roughly between 5 a d 20 µm. Depending on the polymer, the porosity ranges from 60 to 75% and the maximum additive loading from 30 to 40%.
The porous polymers act like sponges. Loading of additives into a porous polymer is solely a physical absorption process. Due to capillary forces the accessible porous structure will be filled with additive.
The absorption rate is mainly determined by the viscosity of the additive. Depending on the viscosity the maximum additive loading may be achieved in 30 min or in 72 h.
CapatueTM porous polymer carrier is most suitable for liquid, low melting, thermally sensitive, reactive or otherwise difficult to handle additives that cannot be processed by conventional extrusion compounding or masterbatching techniques.
Requirements
l If the additive is liquid at room temperature, loading can be done at room temperature.
l If the additive is a solid or a paste with a melting point at slightly elevated temperatures, the additive can be melted and loaded at temperatures slightly above the melting point of the additive. However, the loading temperature has to be approx. 40°C below the melting or softening point of the polymer, otherwise the porous structure might collapse.
l If the additive is liquid but highly viscous at room temperature, the viscosity can be reduced in many cases by increasing the temperature. Again, the temperature should be approx. 40°C below the polymer melting or softening point.
l The additive can be dissolved in an organic solvent (ethanol. acetone, IPA).
l The viscosity of the additive should not exceed 30.000 cst.
l Both hydrophilic/hydrophobic and polar/non polar additives can be loaded. In some cases the addition of wetting agents is required.
Additive Loading and Equipment
Low speed and low shear mixers are recommended to use for the loading of additives into Capatue. The purpose of mixing is to get a homogeneous distribution of porous pellets and liquid additive in the mixer and consequently equal additive loading on every porous pellet.
High speed and high shear forces could damage the porous structure of the carrier and have no impact on the absorption rate of the additive.
Examples of mixers used for additive loading are
l drum tumble mixer (200L drums)
l tumble dryer (1~10m3)
l Herschel mixer
Parameters
l mixer speed: 5~30 rpm
l loading time: 30 min ~ 72 h
l significant reduction of loading time with optional heating and vacuum system
Example 1: Loading of Liquid Additive at Room Temperature
50 kg batch with 40% additive content made with a drum tumble mixer:
l Fill 30 kg CapatueTM porous polymer carrier in a 200 liter drum at first.
l Add 20 kg of the liquid additive.
l Close the drum properly and tumble the drum at 5~30 tpm.
l Open the drum after the specified loading time (has to be experimentally determined before) and check whether the additive is completely absorbed (the product is dry and free flowing) . If the product is still wet or sticky, the tumbling time has to be extended accordingly.
l If okay, the finished product can be taken out of the drum.
Example 2:. Loading of Solid Additives at Elevated Temperature
50 kg batch with 50% additive content:
l Heat the mixer up to the required processing temperature.
l Fill 25 kg of solid additive into the mixer and melt the additive.
l Add 25 kg of CapatueTM porous polymer carrier to the liquid additive. The Capatue should be preheated to the same temperature.
l Close the mixer and mix at low speed (5~30 tpm).
l Open the mixer after the specified loading time (has to be experimentally determined before) and check whether the additive is completely absorbed (the product is dry and free flowing). If the product is still wet or sticky the tumbling time has to be extended accordingly.
l If the finished product is dry and free flowing the mixer has to be cooled down to room temperature under continuous mixing.
l If okay the finished product can be taken out of the mixer.
For all recommended additive loading procedures the necessary health, safety and environmental measures have to be taken.
The selection guideline of Capatue TM porous polymer carrier is very easy; please just select the same resin type with your base resin. If you are producing LDPE product, you could choose PPC- LDPE carrier.
We now can only provide LDPE, HDPE, LLDPE and EVA carrier. So you can also choose the carrier that is compatibility to your resin.
