Page 18 - Plastics News May 2018

CompAny news

Ray colors adopts BASF’s light stabilizer Chimassorb® 2020

ASF’s light stabilizer Chimassorb® 2020 has been make these fabrics, PP material is spun into fine filaments
Badopted by Ray Colors, a leading agricultural plastics and then bonded by heat without use of any binder. “Since
masterbatch manufacturer in India, to make polypropylene non-woven fabrics are mainly used to protect the plant
(PP) non-woven fabric. This is used to cover crops, plants at its most critical time, any degradation or premature
and vegetables to protect them from adverse weather rupturing can cause severe damage,” says Mr. Siddharth
conditions and pests. “Light stabilizers that protect PP Joshi, Director of Ray Colors.
resin from degrading when exposed to UV light, are
vitally important Fire at Kuraray's EVAL plant
f o r no n-wo v en
manufacturers,”
sa y s H e rma n n wenty-one workers at Kuraray America Inc.'s
Althoff, Senior TPasadena, Texas, ethylene vinyl alcohol plant are
Vice President, being treated for injuries, following a fire at the facility
P e rforma n ce that occured on Saturday May 19. Company officials
Chemicals Asia said the fire occurred at about 10:22 a.m., local time.
The fire has been extinguished, according to company
P acific. “ Th e officials and the Pasadena Office of Emergency
filament of non- Management. Preliminary findings indicate a pressure
woven fabric is safety valve released ethylene, causing a flash fire in
extremely thin, requiring a high molecular weight one process units. The company and authorities are
Hindered Amine Light Stabilizer with high heat stability. investigating the incident. “At the time of the incident,
BASF has developed a comprehensive range of light 266 employees and contract personnel were onsite as
stabilizers and UV absorbers to meet the requirements of part of a turnaround with heavy maintenance activities.
various markets and applications.” Exposure to sunlight All have been accounted for. Twenty-one individuals
can have adverse effects on the life of plastic products. were transported to off-site medical facilities for
In particular, ultraviolet (UV) light can initiate chemical treatment,” Kuraray America officials said in a
reactions in polymers which result in discoloration and statement. The
the breakdown of chemical bonds. Pasadena Office
of Emergency
This process results in the deterioration of physical
properties such as loss of impact strength, changes in Manag ement
color, cracking, loss of elongation and tensile said there was
no danger to the
strength. BASF’s range of light stabilizers include public. “A fire
UV absorbers that act by shielding the polymer from UV explosion (h)as
light, and Hindered Amine Light Stabilizer (HALS) that occurred in the
act by removing the radical intermediates formed in EVAL plant. Multiple emergency vehicles in route.
the photo-oxidation process. In addition, BASF’s light The city will continue to monitor the situation and
stabilizers improve manufacturing productivity with more advise you if you need to take action,” the city
efficient continuous production, offering high chemical said in a statement. “On behalf of Kuraray America,
resistance and wide product stewardship compliance. Inc., we send our thoughts and prayers to those who
A plant is most vulnerable to virus-carrying insects and were injured and impacted by today’s incident,”
frost in the initial period after planting. Covering rows of said Eric Bass, plant manager, in a news release.
young plants with PP non-woven fabrics is a perfect, cost- “Our team is committed to determining the cause of
effective solution: on the one hand, it is porous so it lets the incident.”Kuraray America is headquartered in
out excess humidity, preventing the growth of molds; on Houston, and is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Kuraray
the other hand, its pores are small enough to stop insects Co. Ltd. The company makes EVAL-brand EVOH barrier
flying through and infecting the new plant with viruses. To resin in Japan, the United States and Belgium.

Plastics News May 2018 18