Ampacet adds NIR-detectable masterbatch for flexible packaging to carbon-free black range

02 Jun 2022 --- Ampacet is expanding its near-infrared (NIR)-detectable masterbatch for black plastic to flexible applications. The carbon-free Rec-NIR-Black masterbatch range is NIR transparent, allowing it to be sorted by NIR optical sensors and then recycled. 

The new Rec-NIR-Black PE 512 masterbatch provides a high opacity for black flexible packaging. Products made with this NIR-transparent masterbatch are oriented to the PE flow when using a sorting model suitable for dark plastics.

Rec-NIR-Black PE 512 is suitable exclusively for indoor use because, unlike conventional carbon black masterbatches, it does not provide a stabilizing effect against UV degradation.

Carbon considerations
To recycle plastic packaging into reusable resins, plastic waste is presorted by resin type at plastic recovery facilities. Presorting, an essential and challenging step, especially with the various characteristics of each resin type, results in a pure stream of resin. In most recovery facilities, automated sorting technologies use NIR optical sorters.

However, NIR optical sorting cannot identify and separate plastics that contain carbon black, the most commonly-used black pigment. Carbon black absorbs a significant part of the ultraviolet and infrared spectrum, preventing the reflection of infrared light back to the sensor and consequently blocking the recognition of the resin’s fingerprint by a NIR scan.

While most black packaging cannot be sorted by recycling companies and can only be used for energy recovery, packaging using Ampacet’s NIR-detectable black masterbatch products can be scanned by NIR technology for automated sorting at recovery facilities.

Advancements in NIR-detectable carbon-free black pigment technology has afforded black plastics a new lease of life in a marketplace demanding increased recyclability.

Edited by Joshua Poole