US compounder PolyOne (Avon Lake, Ohio; www.polyone.com) has added “OnColor IR Sortable Black” to its portfolio. The black masterbatches are made without carbon black pigment and can be detected by near infrared (NIR) in the recycling process. The new colours are suitable for packaging applications such as trays or bottles.

PolyOne’s black masterbatches are available as resins as well as in solid or liquid form. The OnColor range comes in eight different shades of black, and the company also offers a customisation of colours according to customer specifications. The masterbatches can be used with PET, polyethylene and polypropylene in extrusion, injection and thermoforming processes.

The compounder recently attracted some attention after withdrawing its exhibitor stand from the “K” trade fair (www.k-online.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 30.04.2019. A company spokesperson told Plasteurope.com the withdrawal from K was unrelated to its weak first-quarter numbers – see Plasteurope.com of 24.04.2019 – but that PolyOne has chosen to change how and where it engages with customers.

US additive and colour specialist Ampacet (Tarrytown, New York; www.ampacet.com) has also recently launched a black masterbatch made without carbon black. Consumer chemicals producer Henkel (Düsseldorf / Germany; www.henkel.com) uses Ampacet’s masterbatch in the production of bottles for cleaning agents, among others – see Plasteurope.com of 15.05.2019.