MOSCOW (MRC) -- LANXESS, specialty chemicals company, has expanded its Colortherm Yellow pigment range for heat-resistant high-performance plastics, as per the company's press release.
Two new inorganic yellow pigments are now available, namely Colortherm Yellow 5 and Colortherm Yellow 26.
Plastics can now be used in applications that would have been considered impossible just a few years ago. High-performance polymers with special physical or chemical properties are increasingly replacing metal, glass and ceramics. They are used for special applications in vehicles, electronics and process engineering as well as medical applications.
As the use of technical plastics in high-tech applications becomes more widespread, the requirement profile for the pigments used for coloring is also growing. In particular, the heat stability of the colorants is becoming a decisive quality factor. In the case of organic pigments, high processing temperatures often lead to accelerated decomposition; but inorganic alternatives can be subject to color variations at temperatures above 180 C.
For reliable yellow coloring of high-temperature polymers, LANXESS offers the modular Colortherm Yellow product range. It comprises the iron oxides Colortherm Yellow 5 and Colortherm Yellow 20 as well as Colortherm Yellow 26, Colortherm Yellow 30 and Colortherm Yellow 3950 zinc ferrites. The range covers not only the color spectrum of light, saturated yellow shades but also orange tones. Plastic formulations can thus be easily realized at processing temperatures of up to 300 C.
Due to their special manufacturing process, the color strength of the zinc ferrites Colortherm Yellow 26 and Colortherm Yellow 30 is up to 20 percent higher than comparable products. This means a corresponding lower level of pigment addition is required to color the plastic.
Thanks to an extensively equipped plastics technical center, LANXESS is able to provide customers with comprehensive advice in the use of its pigments. Its services also include analyzing thermal stability in customer-specific plastics applications.
As MRC reported earlier, LANXESS will enter the battery chemistry business with electrolyte production for lithium-ion batteries at its site in Leverkusen, Germany, beginning next year. The German chemicals company will produce electrolyte formulations for lithium-ion batteries "under the authorisation" of Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology, a Chinese producer of battery materials that aims to become a regional supplier for battery cell manufacturers in Europe.
We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in February 2021 by 5.3% year on year. Thus, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 7.5% in the first two months of 2021. February production of polymers in primary form was 861,000 tonnes versus 196,000 tonnes in January. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 1,770,000 tonnes in the first two months of 2021, up by 8.4% year on year.
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with about 19,200 employees in 25 countries. The company is currently represented at 74 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. Through Arlanxeo, the joint venture with Saudi Aramco, Lanxess is also a leading supplier of synthetic rubber.
MRC