Containers made from POM reportedly have better barrier properties against gases such as oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide than those made from polyethylene (PE).
The new Ultraform grade from BASF Corp. also resists alcohol, oil, and hydrocarbons, and can be sterilized with hot steam. “It has high melt stiffness needed for extrusion blow molding. Consequently, it opens new possibilities for the production of hollow objects and containers,” says Rainer Anderlik, head of BASF’s Ultraform Marketing Europe. “The high stretchability of the plastic melt gives access to applications with thin-walled sections. The translucent material replicates mold surfaces closely and is easy to dye, so bottles for nail polish removers and other cosmetics, cans for solvents and paints, as well as pressurized containers such as spray cans can now be smartly designed.”
The material’s optimized crystallization behavior gives a wide processing window so the blow molding process can be economically automated. Suitable applications include oil tanks, containers for coolants, hairspray cans, bottles for cosmetics, and many other containers currently made from glass, metal, or multilayered composites. BASF experts can support customers when it comes to the design and construction of blow molded parts. BASF Corp.
Designers can efficiently and economically produce chemical-resistant and translucent hollow objects made from a new grade of POM called Ultraform E3120.