At the Fakuma-trade show, the additive manufacturer Quarzwerke is presenting fillers for plastics in electromobility, wind power and for films. They are intended to help processors manage the high requirements on the materials in these industries.

The fillers are based on different minerals

Batterien

Energiespeicherung

Elektromobilität

Mobilität

Füllstoffe, mineralisch

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Füllstoffe für Kunststoffe

Messe Fakuma

kunststoffe-international.com

Füllstoffe, allgemein

Windkraft

Energieerzeugung

Erneuerbare Energie

Kunststoff

Bauwesen

Baustoffe

Folien

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

Additive

Fillers Improve Batteries and Wind Power Plants

Borealis and Topas Advanced Polymers have started collaboration on the development of a new class of engineering materials for capacitor film applications that will bridge the current performance gap between standard polymers and high-end plastics.

Higher-performance film capacitors are a crucial element in all power transformation systems that bring about the green-energy transition in a cost-efficient way

Technik Trend

New Class of Engineering Material for Film Capacitor Applications

Using films of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) with the brand name Victrex PEEK from Victrex Europa GmbH, Hofheim, Germany, the specialist for industrial marking, S+P Samson GmbH, Kissing, Germany, has now succeeded for the first time in producing labels for the medical sector which withstand the sterilization processes in hospitals. This permits the permanent marking of individual medical and surgical instruments. The route taken by an instrument during use can thus be traced back at any time. The aim is to ensure transparency while at the same time satisfying the hygiene quality demands. 

Permanent Marking of Medical Instruments 

PEEK Film 

Novel humidity regulating polymer composite films contain salts such as calcium chloride and sodium chloride as active substances. These reversibly absorb water vapor. Due to that property they can stabilize the relative humidity in their environment. In packaging related applications undesired effects of humidity can be avoided thereby. 

Salt Containing Films: Humidity Regulation 

Transparent, conductive films based on flexible plastic sheets open up completely new designs for control and touch-keys. These “invisible” touch-keys can be integrated into transparent user interfaces or into curved (3-D) surfaces. This allows decoration and functionality to be combined with maximum design flexibility, e. g. in cars and smartphones. 

Films: Conductive, Transparent, Flexible 

Flexible, transparent, and conductive films are already being utilized for numerous applications, as in displays, touch-keys and touch-screens. Thanks to their special properties, new and interesting areas of application are opening up in the field of electromagnetic shielding. 

Films: Radiation Shielding 

Up to 25 % thinner and stronger film can be produced with the new film material Lumicene Supertough 32ST05, a metallocene polyethylene (mPE), from Total Refining & Chemicals, Brussels, Belgium. This opens up the field of elastic packaging applications for these films. The new product thus simultaneously satisfies the industry’s requirements for easy-to-process yet weight-saving high-performance solutions for industrial, personal care and food packaging. 

Strong and Very Thin 

Lumicene Supertough 

Transparent polyethylene films can now be produced with antimicrobial and electrically conductive properties as well. This can be achieved by combining several films with the relevant property profiles. The surface conductivity of the films can also be increased by using a suitable new coating technique. The article describes the newly developed special compounds required for this and demonstrates their industrial feasibility. 

Compound

Special Compounds: Transparent, Conductive, and Antimicrobial 

The technology of solvent casting allows ultra-thin and tension-free films of the highest purity to be produced which are characterized by excellent thickness tolerances. In view of these properties, solvent cast films have established themselves in many areas as an important intermediate. They are used in numerous high-tech applications. 

Solvent Cast Films: Wafer-Thin and Tension-Free 

Film manufacturers who are producing 3-layer film on older lines have noticed that they can no longer compete with new, high-performance BOPP lines. A qualified line modification to 5- or 7-layer technology provides for the possibility of producing new products and entering new highmargin markets with a reasonably modest investment. 

Extrusion

Flachfolien- und Plattenextrusion

Verpackungsmaschinen

Verpackungsmaterial

Film Stretching Technology: Fitness Program for New Markets 

Self-cleaning screen changing units are suited, most of all, for the processing of highly contaminated materials. The following four examples show the versatility of screen changers for plastics recycling applications. 

Aufbereitungsmaschinen

Schmelzefilter

Melt Filtration: Self-Cleaning Screen Changers in Practical Application 

The crucial step in the reclamation of highly contaminated plastic materials into film-grade recyclate is the ultrafine filtration of the melt. The new Erema Laserfilter significantly increases the purification efficiency and the separation capacity. 

Melt Filtration: Recyclates with Immaculate Film Quality 

Water-cooling can achieve very high cooling rates for blown film extrusion. The result is soft, elastic films with near-amorphous molecular structures. The resulting low tendency to curl is a clear advantage when asymmetric multilayer film structures are processed further. 

Blasfolienextrusion

Extrusion: New Packaging Solutions Thanks to Rapid Cooling 

Modern communication devices and household appliances, but also applications in motor vehicles are increasingly being controlled by means of capacitive touchscreens or contact-sensitive buttons. An innovative concept with transparent and highly conductive plastic films is leading to a wide range of intelligent products. 

Innovative Touchscreen Technology with Flexible Metal Mesh Films 

Polyester

Zooming and Swiping 

Multi-layer cast films can be created using a multi-manifold die or by means of an injector block and an end-fed die. The numerical simulation helps to better understand the coextrusion process for polyester films and the emergence of clear edges. In addition, it can be determined how different viscosities influence the film structure. 

Numerical Simulation of the Processing of Multi-Layer Films 

Prozesssimulation

Smooth Extrusion 

Borealis and Topas Advanced Polymers have started collaboration on the development of a new class of engineering materials for applications that will bridge the current performance gap between standard polymers and high-end plastics.

The EPN (ethylene-propylene-norbornene) material now in development will increase the temperature resistance of film capacitors significantly – by 20°C to 35°C – in comparison to capacitors made of standard polymers. This will close the current gap between conventional polymers and costly high temperature plastics by enabling the use of polymeric film capacitors at endurance temperatures of up to 140°C. Combining the highest electrical purity with superior homogeneity, the new material should be designed for the production of ultra-thin and highly consistent films in the range of 2 to 6 microns gauge. Provided the appropriate processing parameters are in place, the new material is targeted to be suitable for use on BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) film processing machines.

Higher-performance film capacitors are a crucial element in all power transformation systems that bring about the green-energy transition in a cost-efficient way. The new material class now being jointly developed by Borealis and TOPAS Advanced Polymers will be used in electric mobility units, particularly when higher endurance temperature resistance and consistent frequency control is essential, such as in electric vehicles and high-speed trains. It will also help address one of the major challenges of the green-energy transition by enabling the large-scale provision of more cost and energy-efficient capacitors for inverters that transform HVDC power generated from renewable sources on and offshore, such as from windfarms or photovoltaic arrays, into HVAC and back – with minimal energy loss.

Borealis AG  

https://www.borealisgroup.com

2021-10-05 Borealis+Topaz

issue 05/2025

issue 04/2025

issue 03/2025

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