Masterbatch specialist Sukano (Schindellegi / Switzerland; www.sukano.com) and speciality chemicals group Omya (Oftringen / Switzerland; www.omya.com) have announced they have jointly-developed voiding technology specifically designed for polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) and polylactic acid (BOPLA) resins.

Calcium carbonate has often been used to create white biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films, but it has proved difficult to use in resins like PET or PLA. Sukano describes “groundbreaking” R&D work with Omya which could see calcium carbonate potentially become a go-to voiding agent in future for biaxially-oriented films produced in speciality resins such as PET and PLA.

The pair said calcium carbonate “can improve opacity during film orientation and stretching, while its enhanced whiteness can achieve similar or even lower quantities of filler providing the same film opacity level.” Michael Kirch, Sukano’s head of global R&D, said, “We have leveraged our combined expertise and capabilities to overcome some obstacles, such as dispersibility and discolouration, that are common issues when using calcium carbonate as a voiding agent.”