January 2011 Additives for Polymers7

Sanitized MedX 200 series offers antimicrobial protection for medical devices

Antimicrobial hygiene specialist Sanitized AG of Switzerland launched Sanitized® MedX

200s, a new silver product series for medical devices, at the K 2010 show. Well established as a supplier of silver-based antimicrobials for plas-tics and textiles in household and personal appli-cations, this is the first time the company has targeted its expertise at the medical sector.

The Sanitized MedX 200s active agent series is suitable for use in polyolefins, thermoplastic elastomers, PVC and engineering polymers. When embedded in polymers, the antimicrobial products reduce bacterial populations on the surface of treated medical devices permanently and reliably, the company claims. The new product series cov-ers a broad antimicrobial spectrum, including gram-pos-itive and gram-negative bacteria. Sanitized MedX 200s has been shown to be effective against MRSA and VRE, it reports. Confirmation of effectiveness against NDM-1, a carbapenem antibiotic-resistant bacteria, by a neutral testing agency was expected imminently.

Sanitized expects its new product range to play an active part in reducing the risk from healthcare-associated infections (HAI). In addition, as part of a long-term col-laboration between Sanitized and Clariant Masterbatches, the new MedX 200 series is being used in developments in the latter’s Mevopur® masterbatches and compounds for medical and pharmaceutical applications, also launched at K 2010 [ADPO, December 2010].

Contact: Sanitized AG, Burgdorf, Switzerland. Tel: +41 34 427 1616,

Web: www.sanitized.com

COMPANY STRATEGIES

Clariant doubling capacity for halogen-free flame retardants...

Clariant, a global market leader in non-halo-genated flame retardants, has announced

major capacity expansion plans for its Exolit® OP non-halogenated flame retardants. The pro-gramme, which will achieve an initial doubling of capacity at the company’s Hürth-Knapsack site in Germany by 2012, reflects the significant surge in demand from the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector for safer and more environmentally com-patible flame retardants, Clariant says.

Phase One of the planned capacity increase is underway at the company’s existing plant in Hürth-Knapsack, with on-going process optimization set to bring extra capacity on-stream by mid 2011. The full-scale commercial plant, located near Cologne, has been producing Exolit OP since the product’s introduction in 2004 [ADPO, October 2004 & February 2005]. Phase Two will see the addition of a sec-ond industrial-scale unit at the site, resulting in a doubling of current capacity during 2012. With long-term forecasts indicating continued growth in demand, Clariant is cur-rently exploring further opportunities to extend capacity from 2014 onwards.

According to the company, its ‘pioneering’ Exolit OP portfolio is highly valued for its effectiveness in provid-ing fire protection to engineering thermoplastics such as polyamides and polyesters, which are used for switches, connectors, computer fans and structural parts. Further uses are in thermoset resins and new cable sheathing and insulation based on thermoplastic elastomers.

Exolit OP requires only low to moderate dosages to ful-fil fire safety requirements, while addressing the ecological considerations driving the market through all phases of the product lifecycle, Clariant explains. The product range enables customers to comply with new environmental leg-islation, such as the European Union’s RoHS Regulations regarding hazardous substance content in E&E equip-ment, and the handling and recycling of waste from E&E equipment (WEEE). Other regions of the world have developed or are developing similar regulations to phase out or restrict certain brominated flame retardants, such as brominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocy-clododecane (HBCD) in the USA and Canada.

Exolit OP flame retardants are non-halogenated, contain no red phosphorus or heavy metals, and have a favourable environmental and health profile, Clariant says. They have a low impact on final product properties, do not migrate and do not produce corrosive smoke, it reports. Exolit OP does not contain any of the hazardous substances covered by RoHS legislation. According to Michael Grosskopf, head of Clariant’s Business Unit Additives, interviews with

STRATEGIES