Optical brighteners for PE blown film
In film the brightener has to raise apparent whiteness without touching clarity, and it has to do it at a dosage measured in parts per million because the wall is microns thick.
What the grade has to survive
Four things that decide the choice
- Clarity preserved in transparent and natural film
- Even dispersion at very low addition rate
- No die build-up or plate-out
- Stable through repeated regrind
These are the constraints we work through with customers on this application. Everything on this page traces back to the published data for the grades listed below.
Background reading on blown film
Enhance Film Quality with OBA for Blown Film
Blown film is a widely used plastic manufacturing process in which polymers are extruded into tubular preforms and then inflated
Optimizing Transparency and Whiteness with the Right Optical Brightener for PE Film
Introduction Polyethene (PE) is a widely used thermoplastic known for its high toughness, flexibility, and chemical resistance. Among its many
Fluorescent whitening agent for film blowing
Film blowing is a production process of plastic. In the cruel market competition, many manufacturers can no longer afford the
The Right Optical Brightener for Flexible Plastics
Flexible plastics-such as plastic tablecloths, flexible water pipes, soft films, wires, and cables-represent a category of polymer materials that undergo
Related markets
Plastics
In a polymer the brightener has to dissolve into the melt, survive the process temperature and then stay put.…
Paints, coatings & inks
Coatings split cleanly into two camps. Oil-based and solvent systems take OB, which dissolves in the resin…
PVC compounding
PVC is the one polymer where a brightener rarely travels alone. The same compound needs a heat stabiliser to…
Other application briefs
White masterbatch
A masterbatch concentrates the brightener twenty to a hundred times over the let-down dosage, so…
PVC foam board
Foam board yellows for two reasons at once - thermal stress during expansion and the intrinsic cast…
PVC pipe & profile
Pipe and profile are extruded hot, run long, and are judged on appearance for decades in sunlight.…
PP woven bags
Woven sack tape is drawn hot and thin, often from a resin blend that includes recycled material.…
EVA shoe soles
Footwear foam is the application KCB was developed for. The expansion step destroys a poorly chosen…
Recycled plastics
Recyclate arrives with a yellow-grey cast that no amount of washing removes. A brightener is the…
Send us the blown film brief
Substrate, process temperature, whiteness target and trial quantity. That is everything we need to name a grade.