“Clyrell EM248U”, introduced in Europe last year under the developmental name of “Clyrell EM1791, is a new metallocene-based PP copolymer from Basell (Hoofddorp / The Netherlands; www.basell.com) formulated for clear, thin-wall injection moulded (TWIM) food applications on the US market. Basell says the new grade eliminates much of the guesswork from thin-wall applications as it delivers the clarity and stiffness of a random copolymer combined with the impact performance of a heterophase copolymer. This means there is no need for the additional plastomer that is normally added to conventional PP random copolymers in order to achieve the desired impact and clarity in TWIM applications.

The new copolymer s expected to be used for refrigerated packaging applications for soups, salads and cut fruits. Basell’s “Metocene” technology is said to produce as extremely clean, reactor-grade material with low levels of volatiles and oligomers. A melt flow rate of 70g/10min offers potential for cycle time reductions and the copolymer can be used in in-mould labelling and offset printing operations.