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| R-PET brightness and shade improve cycle after cycle. Each of the 3 cycles have been so designed to highly stress material and show evidence of additive’s performance: 1 lab cycle delivering double the stress of an industrial process. StabiPlus™ has been added to the 1st recycling loop only |
r-PET represents a guide for everyone dealing with recycling of plastics due to the high rate of collection, separation, and recycling. This happens thanks to the many parties involved, including those who, like REPI, offer additives specifically designed for recycling. REPI’s ranges of the Anti Yellow, Optical Brighteners and IV Enhancers represent a valid aid to PET recyclers and packaging converters, facing the challenge of including increasing rates of recycled material in their packaging. Such additives can be used at different stages of r-PET value chain, from recycling up to preform or tray manufacturing with no impact on processes, thus offering max flexibility in its use. The increasing demand for recycled percentages and the scarcity of food grade PET flakes are presenting challenges related to quality and colour consistency between one batch and the next.
The biggest struggle for both recyclers and converters is how to manage the “L” drop (CieLab) while respectively recycling and moulding or extruding the packaging. In fact, while it is possible to correct off-shade r-PET pellets with custom-made formulations that act on a* and b*, the darkening of material (precisely the drop of L*) is very difficult to avoid.
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| Bottles of 100% r-PET from mechanical recycling containing StabiPlus™. Being a liquid formulation, concentration is very high and related dosages minimal |
Here comes StabiPlus™ additive, the latest development by REPI: a liquid formulation acting specifically as proactive stabilizer that prevents r-PET from aging and discoloration, cycle after cycle. The additive can be used both at the recycling stage, added to a mechanical recycling process, and directly by converters at their packaging production stage, thus enjoying flexibility of dosage (LDR).
The new protection technology of StabiPlus™does not affect I.V. and mechanical properties of r-PET while widening the window for sustainable use of r-PET.
StabiPlus™ represents a valuable solution to boost the use of uneven incoming material quality improving its aesthetics cycle by cycle.
With its new StabiPlus™ REPI underlines how the technology of chemical additives gives a crucial contribution to polymer recycling, and how it is necessary for the value chain of plastic packaging to tightly co-operate and share challenges, moving all in one direction marked by the well-known key words “reduce, “reuse”, “recycle”.
