Israeli materials specialist Tosaf (Afula; www.tosaf.com) says it has developed white masterbatches that contain no titanium dioxide, a material previously considered indispensable for such products. This follows the decline of carbon black use in black masterbatches due to infrared sorting issues (see of Plasteurope.com 18.06.2020).

Tosaf said it plans to unveil the material replacing TiO₂ at the German plastics trade fair K 2022 in Düsseldorf (19-26 October 2022; www.k-online.com), with a spokesperson declining to reveal any further details to Plasteurope.com.

Regarding performance, the Israeli supplier only said the pigment has “very good properties in terms of whiteness, colour strength, and opacity” on a par with standard titanium dioxide masterbatches with the same dosage. The hue can reportedly be adjusted from yellowish to neutral to bluish, regardless of the carrier polymer.

The development comes in response to an increasing number of customer requests after the EU last year classified powdered titanium dioxide as a suspected carcinogen (see Plasteurope.com of 28.10.2021). According to Tosaf, manufacturers of rigid and flexible packaging for the food industry and parts for toys and cosmetics are now striving to switch to TiO₂-free materials.

Tosaf, a joint venture between Megides Holding and Belgian plastics distributor and compounder Ravago (Arendonk; www.ravago.com), employs 1,200 people at nine production sites for compounds and masterbatches and its other offices worldwide.