Since the beginning of the new year the distribution, production and trading corporation TER HELL & CO. has also been distributing AddiFlex®. The manufacturer of this eco-intelligent additive system solution is the Swedish company Add-X Biotech. With the help of such innovative additives packaging materials such as standard plastics (e.g. PE, PP, and PVC) become oxo-biodegradable.
During the composting process the long polymers disintegrate into water, carbon dioxide and biomass. This procedure allows packaging manufacturers around the world to actively support and conform to stringent environmental specifications. Furthermore, the optimised application of AddiFlex to products reduces the levels of raw materials and energy required during the production process.
According to the profile of requirements – depending on the material and intended use – the performance of AddiFlex can be individually tailored by the Swedish manufacturer’s scientists. For standard products such as plastic bags or containers TER HELL has a broad spectrum of products available. Generally, the particular additive system (AddiFlex in combination with a high-percentage calcium carbonate master batch) is produced in such a way that use-oriented time for storage and production as well as usage and decomposition are pre-defined. For this reason the effectiveness and biological decomposition at the end of a product’s lifecycle can be systematically controlled.
The AddiFlex additives that have been integrated into the thermoplastic structures divide the long-chain molecules of the polymers (firstly oxidatively) and make them accessible to micro-organisms. This weakens the coherence of the structure. The surface of the product becomes hydrophilic and the plastics can be degraded into water, carbon dioxide and biomass without leaving any toxic residue.
The additive systems of Add-X Biotech show their ecological and economical efficiency in many practical standard products such as carrier bags, food packaging films, technical packaging and agricultural foils. Additionally, numerous independent controlling bodies such as the Swiss EMPA and the Swedish National Testing and Research Institute have corroborated and scientifically proven these results. Processors of plastics and their contractors can therefore be certain that by using AddiFlex they are considerably and actively contributing to the protection of the environment.