New additive for PET haze reduction and recyclability improvement

ColorMatrix™ Amosorb™ 4020E (left bottle, both images) and ColorMatrix™ Amosorb™ 4020G (right bottle, both images)

PolyOne today announced the launch of ColorMatrix™ Amosorb™ 4020G, a non-nylon based, low-haze oxygen scavenger for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) rigid packaging.

The new 4020G grade offers up to 50 percent lower haze and reduced impact on the PET recycle stream compared to previous grades, while maintaining the same reliable active oxygen scavenging performance.

PET is a popular choice for food and beverage packaging, affording high clarity with design flexibility, and can be easily recycled multiple times, unlike alternative packaging materials. Additives are often included in PET packaging to help protect contents and extend shelf life, but they can decrease packaging clarity. This in turn affects consumer perceptions of product appearance and brand value.

ColorMatrix Amosorb 4020G not only helps reduce haze, but also reduces the impact on recycled PET (rPET), as it reduces yellowing by 50 percent during the mechanical recycling process.

To support the move toward a circular economy, governments are legislating increased levels of recycled material in single-use packaging. For example, an EU directive for use of rPET in beverage bottles will increase from 25 percent in 2025 to 30 percent in 2030. As a result, brand owners need to ensure the oxygen scavengers used in their PET bottles maintain efficacy as increasing levels of rPET are introduced. PolyOne testing shows that ColorMatrix Amosorb 4020G is one of the most robust oxygen scavengers for PET rigid containers, with negligible effects on efficacy for the rPET grades tested, while other competitive materials lost almost all oxygen scavenging ability with rPET content as low as 20 percent.

ColorMatrix Amosorb 4020G is available with applicable regulatory approvals.