Clariant (Muttenz / Switzerland; www.clariant.com) has teamed up with recycler Lavergne (Montréal, Québec / Canada; www.lavergne.ca) to develop halogen-free flame-retardant polyester compounds made from ocean plastics.

Lavergne’s first new flame-retardant compound “Vypet” OBP-FR has 30% glass fibre reinforcement and UL 94 V-0 flame rating at 0.8 mm thickness. The blend is based on Clariant’s “Exolit” organic phosphorus flagship halogen-free phosphinate flame retardants.

Vypet OBP-FR is suitable for many E&E plastic applications, like aesthetic and structural parts. It is said to be fully recyclable and has already successfully passed moulding trials at part manufacturers. The new compound is now commercially available. The applications targeted include less demanding components like packaging trays but also other structural parts of electronic equipment.

Lavergne has been involved in a project to reduce marine litter in the Caribbean since 2016. Its partners here include Environmental Cleaning Solutions (ECSSA, Port-au-Prince / Haiti; www.ecssahaiti.com) and US technology company HP (Palo Alto, California; www.hp.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 11.06.2019.