Dow Inc. is working on sustainable polyolefins for new applications in the packaging and automotive markets.
Senior Research Scientist Jian Wang and Fabricio Arteaga Larios, application development leader, provided updates on the efforts May 6 as part of the online Antec conference hosted by the Society of Plastics Engineers.
Wang said the new materials were focused on driving simplicity, maximizing performance and closing the loop on sustainability. They're aimed at uses in flexible and rigid packaging, mobility and infrastructure.
"In flexible packaging, food packaging is the most difficult to recycle because it uses multiple materials," he said. Print webs and barrier sealant webs, for example, can use polyethylene, nylon and polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) resins.
Midland, Mich.-based Dow, a global leader in production of PE and a range of specialty plastics, has done work with recyclable packaging based on PE and EVOH.
Dow also is working on materials that meet passenger vehicle requirements of sustainability, safety and lightweighting, according to Arteaga Larios.
Thermoplastic polyolefins (TPOs) developed by Dow can provide more than 25 percent weight reduction in automotive parts at lower costs than other materials, he said
"New polymer architecture can raise the performance of automotive TPOs and make better vehicles," Arteaga Larios added.