At this week’s RISI Asia Pacific Hygiene Products Symposium, Sabic will unveil an innovative new polypropylene (PP) resin product engineered to deliver enhanced properties in melt-blown fibres for nonwoven fabrics.

The new product, designated Sabic PP 514M12, can serve a wide range of potential end-uses in personal hygiene applications and other market segments. It is the first grade of a new family of high-flow resin compounds which the company started to develop only two years ago and is expected to be commercially available by end of 2018.

Hygiene market challenges

The current hygiene market challenges and the high level of consumer needs have pushed the partners along the entire hygiene value chain to accelerate their development programs and deploy highly innovative solutions, the company reports. “We always take challenges as opportunities and seek to anticipate market trends and dynamics to introduce new products for smart applications.”

Sabic will also be a key note speaker at the RISI Asia Pacific Hygiene Products Symposium venue this week, where representatives of more than 160 top industry players from all over the world are expected to attend. Mavis Liu, Market Development Engineer for Sabic’s Personal Hygiene Segment in Asia, will give a keynote presentation on Innovative Solutions for the Personal Hygiene Industry: Achieve Functionality, Consumer Convenience and Safety.

Benefits

Sabic PP 514M12 material is based on phthalate-free and odour-free technology that is said to offer very good processability for melt-blown fibres with high levels of drawability, spinnability and uniformity. The resulting nonwovens are developed to combine high barrier properties and absorption with breathability in thin and lightweight high-performance webs of enhanced conformability and reduced material consumption, the manufacturer explains.

With a final melt flow rate of >1,000 g/10 min, melt-blown fibres made from Sabic514M12 polymer open unique potential manufacturing possibilities for very lightweight and thin nonwovens aiming to provide improved wearability and air permeability, while maintaining very good barrier property. The potential improved absorption and barrier performance of fabrics based on Sabic PP 514M12 polymer has also been underscored in hydrostatic head tests, a frequent requirement for specific configurations of spun-bond/melt-blown/spun-bond (SMS) nonwovens for hygiene applications.

Moreover, Sabic PP 514M12 polymer with phthalate-free, single-material technology aims to provide high purity and enhanced customer convenience over incumbent melt blown resins and benchmark blends. The polymer resin is supplied in regular pellet form, which facilitates handling, storage and use.

Innovative and reliable

“The personal hygiene industry is constantly seeking advanced material solutions helping manufacturers to push the limits of consumer safety and convenience, function, sustainability and cost control. Our innovative new polypropylene product for melt-blown fibres aims to address these challenges, while meeting strict hygiene and consumer protection standards,” the company adds.

“Sabic PP 514M12 can be tailored to specific customer and application needs. Trials performed in collaboration with a dedicated machine manufacturer’s latest high-speed machine using production quantities of the new melt blown PP confirmed its very good processing and performance properties on pair with or better than reference market grades. Subsequent sampling by selected nonwoven manufacturers successfully underscored the innovative new material as a great candidate for a wide range of potential end-use products, from diapers, sanitary napkins and other hygiene applications. Beyond single-material and composite nonwovens, it can also lend itself as base resin for colour master-batches.”

“As a strategic supplier of new material solutions to the market, we are committed to making a significant contribution to the success of our customers by constantly raising the bar of quality and performance, ensuring long-term dependability and building valuable relationships to leverage mutual growth opportunities.”

www.sabic.com