May 29, 2012 – SABIC announced that it has developed two new high clarity SABIC® PP Qrystal polypropylenes in order to meet the need of converters for materials that deliver better finished products and that can be produced cost-effectively. The two new grades are random copolymers, typically for injection moulding, which were specially designed with unique flow behavior, providing processors with the flexibility to produce parts faster and with lower energy consumption.

The first new grade, SABIC® PP QR674K, has a melt flow index (MFI) of 40g/10min and was typically developed for more sensitive food contact applications, owing to its improved organoleptic performance (low odor). Typical target applications are caps and closures, houseware, kitchenware and food/non-food containers.

The second resin, SABIC® PP QR678K, presents a higher MFI (80 g/10 min), and is better suited to the production of parts with complex shapes and/or long and narrow flow paths. Customer trials have shown around 15% higher flow than a standard PP random at the same MFI level, allowing machines to run at lower processing temperatures and 15% faster cycle times, potentially decreasing production costs.

The SABIC® PP Qrystal range was launched in 2010 and now comprises four grades, with MFIs ranging from 25 to 80 g/10 min.

SABIC states that all its PP Qrystal grades can be processed at much lower temperatures than many other commonly used copolymer polypropylenes from the market, leading to significant reductions in cycle time and energy consumption, as a sustainable solution to decrease the molded article carbon footprint. They also have a good balance of impact strength and stiffness and enable customers to produce parts with no loss of transparency or aesthetics.

“When we started developing the SABIC® PP Qrystal range, we looked at how we could develop materials that not only yielded a better finished product, but which also enabled our direct customers, the injection moulding companies, to produce them as cost-effectively as possible,” says Ricardo Calumby, Technical Marketing Engineer PP at SABIC. “We have substantial technical resources in-house, but it is only by developing long-term relationships with our customers and listening to what they really want, that we can use expertise from both sides to channel those resources in exactly the right direction. I think the launch of these new grades demonstrates that this cooperative process is working very well. We have best-in-class aesthetics that are achievable within a broadened processing window.”

The SABIC® PP Qrystal grade family is produced both in Europe and the Middle East and can be delivered globally.