DuPont: Permanent antistatic additive for enduring dust-free, shimmering-white surfaces

Merz Consumer Care’s wonderfully scented tetesept® shower cream oils include fragrances such as ‘White Peach and Milk’ or ‘Lotus Blossom and Orchid’ – a freshness reflected by the pearl-white, glossy appearance of their bottles. The thin outer layer of the coextrusion blow-moulded PP bottle contains DuPont™ Entira™ AS MK 400 anti-static additive (www.dupont.com), used to preserve the bottle’s inviting appearance on the store shelf and at the consumer’s home. Such enduring effects are made possible, because Entira™ AS MK 400 – which has been optimised for use with polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA) –, in contrast to traditional additives of this kind, does not migrate. Accordingly, these bottles do not attract dust over the long-term and the surface retains its shimmering attractiveness, even after long storage.

Polyolefines become electro-statically charged and attract dust – an effect that should be particularly prevented for white containers of premium products. Anti-static additives can help with this challenge, yet the effect of standard additives is based upon their gradual migration from the base material to the surface. As a result they dissipate over time and lose their effect. “With Entira™ AS MK 400, DuPont was able to supply us with an anti-static additive that does not rely on migration for its effect,” comments Karlheinz Zulauf, project manager for packaging technology at Merz Group Services. It works immediately and provides almost limitless anti-static performance. Thus the shower cream oil bottles are able to meet our high aesthetic requirements on an ongoing basis. Moreover, because the amount of Entira™ AS MK 400 could be limited to 15% in the PP base material – and we were able to limit it to a thin, outer layer of the bottle – we were able to meet our goal with high cost-efficiency.”

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All grades of the Entira™ Antistat family from DuPont – which also includes Entira™ AS SD100 and Entira™ Antistat 500 (designed for higher processing temperatures) – combine their permanent anti-static properties with high transparency, a smooth surface-finish, resistance to yellowing and very high water vapour permeability. Its processability and miscibility with polyolefines and other packaging polymers (standard amounts are between 10 and 20%) are also very good. Minimum to no die build-up is recorded in blends with polyolefins. The adhesion of labels and printed colours remains virtually unaffected, and, because Entira™ AS is only used on the outer layer, there is no potential for interaction with the packaged product. Typical applications include – depending on grade – packaging for pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, for electronic components, foodstuffs and drinks, office equipment, wallpaper or pallets.

DuPont de Nemours (Deutschland) GmbH, Neu-Isenburg, Germany

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