New resin
The combination of a specially designed catalyst with new process technology has given rise to a new type of plastic resin that can address current performance gaps in packaging applications, according to its developer, The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com). “The new resin eliminates the standard tradeoff between toughness and stiffness,” explains David Parrillo, global R&D director for Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics. “So it has unique properties that allow for higher-performing packaging materials.
The polymer, known as Innate, is a linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) resin that is produced with a proprietary catalyst that arose from intensive high-throughput catalyst screening, Parrillo says. The catalyst is applied in a specially designed process system derived from Dow’s solution-based polyethylene process technology.
Parrillo says Dow’s new packaging polymer can be made into films with up to double the abuse resistance of current coextruded plastic films, without compromising on other properties. Innate packaging resin is available in pellet form, and can be processed using the same equipment already used for the production of polyethylene products, Parrillo notes. Innate is currently being produced in one U.S. and one European location, and is available commercially.