Polyolefins represent the main materials in the global plastics markets with a wide diversity of their applications including durable products. 

Several of these end use applications demand improved ageing and durability in challenging environments like sun, heat and exposure to various chemicals. Norner carries out several client studies every year in this field and development of improved additive recipes. Since polyolefins are especially vulnerable for oxidative attack by UV radiation and heat which may further be accelerated by certain chemicals, they need to be stabilised with antioxidants and UV stabilisers.   

Stabilisation of polyolefins has been a core area for Norner’s technology centre since it opened 40 years ago. Our labs contain a wide range of facilities for polymer modification by compounding and testing which is relevant for such demanding applications and frequently used in development projects. Some of the challenging applications are in agricultural and seafood farming, automotive, subsea oil&gas, infrastructure or industrial process installations. Here are two examples from recipe development projects.

Examples

• Figure 1 shows the final results of a development project for a new HDPE pipe recipe which resulted in 50% prolonged lifetime.
• Figure 2 shows results from ageing in a Weather-O-Meter. We can see that pre-treatment of polyolefins with acidic substances (e.g. pesticides) may give a severe reduction in the weathering performance of polyethylene.  This is highly relevant for farming installations and the agricultural sector.

We support clients to improve quality, durability and ageing performance of products for several market segments.

Our testing for ageing and durability performance include:

• Processing stability testing
• UV stability, Weather-o-meter
• Long term thermal stability testing
• Ageing in various liquid media at various temperatures and pessures
• Simulation of agricultural conditions and chemicals
• Compounding of recipes
• Gas fading -, friability - and filter testing
• Life time predictions