Masterbatches: Imparting Usefulness to Plastics

Today our everyday lives are surrounded by plastic in the form of products like pens, toys, food packets, chairs, containers, bottles, and many others. But have you ever wondered what makes these plastic products look so appealing and colorful? It is because of the use of Masterbatches. The plastic processing industry majorly relies upon Masterbatches to impart different colors to plastic as well as to enhance its physical and chemical properties. So, let us discuss in this article about what masterbatches are, what are their different groups and how they are made.

What Are Masterbatches?

Masterbatches are the high concentrates of colour in a solid form. They are composed of chemical ingredients, dispersants and carrier resins. In addition to imparting color to the plastic, Masterbatches are also used as a performance enhancing additive, a UV stabilizer, a metal deactivator and an anti-static agent, when added to the base polymers. Masterbatches are mostly granular and are available in 'rough cut' form, which comprises of a mixture of chunks and small shreds.

The Main Groups Of Masterbatches

There are three main masterbatches groups:

• Colour Masterbatches: These are used for colouring plastic.
• Filler Masterbatches: They comprise of a high amount of fillers such as chalk.
• Additive Masterbatches: They work as a flame retardant, UV stabilizer, antistatic or antiblock agents and impart chemical and physical properties to the products.

How Masterbatches Are Produced

There are two methods for the production of masterbatches. These are:

• Single-Stage Process: In this process, all the concentrate components are combined together in one step. Either a premix setup or a split-feed setup is used to carry out the process. The feeder that is placed above the main feed port or the feeders that are positioned at the sides are used to feed the components in the extruder. All the three groups of masterbatches can be produced using this method.
• Two-Stage Process: This method is used only for the production of colour masterbatches. In this process, a homogenised pellet is produced by applying heat and shear to all the ingredients that are mixed together. Roller mills, single or twin screw extruders and kneaders are then used for compounding the pre-mix of additives. Quality of raw materials, formulation, quality of mixing and the compounding plant are the major key elements of this process. The finished masterbatch is, then, pelletised or grounded.

To buy the best grade Plastic Masterbatches, contact Universal Colorant Company. The company is one of the leading Plastic Pigments Manufacturers In India. It is also a prominent Manufacturer, Exporter, and Supplier of a huge assortment of Masterbatches such as White Masterbatch, Black Masterbatch, Colour Masterbatch, Additive Masterbatch, Special Effect Masterbatch, Rubber Masterbatch, and so on. For more information, log on to http://www.univcol.com/.

Author is representing this article on the behalf of Universal Colorant Company, a prominent Additive Masterbatch