Merican: Polyurethane colorants and additives
Meiliken announced that it planned to display various colorants and stabilizer technologies aimed at strengthening polyurethane products at Utech Europe 2021 (booth B20) held in Maastricht, the Netherlands, from November 16 to 18, 2021. One Meriken will focus on its Reactive Color Studio, a web-based resource for PU foam producers and users.
PU foam mattress with Meriken ColorDirection 2022
PU foam mattress with Meriken ColorDirection 2022 (source: Meriken)
“We look forward to the opportunity to meet with customers and industry participants at the Utech show,” said Jesse Shoultz, Global Marketing Manager. “For decades, we have been committed to helping polyurethane manufacturers and brand owners improve the aesthetics and performance of their final products. We are using this expertise and market understanding to provide the support and solutions that today’s customers need to help them meet the most challenging technical requirements.”
According to Meriken, Reactive colorant for polyurethane is a reactive polymer colorant, which is composed of chromophores chemically bound to polyols. This allows the colorant to react into the polyurethane polymer matrix. These colorants are used in flexible, rigid and CASE polyurethane applications to provide a wide color space and dark tones. With only five primary colors, global PU manufacturers can provide their customers with almost any color. Milliken said that this helps brand owners differentiate their products and build a strong brand image. To this end, the company has also developed the previously mentioned Reactive Color Studio. This web application allows customers to find a Reactive recipe for any given Pantone number and match any shadows in a photo or color wheel. The result is that it can help users build their own custom mattresses by clicking the mouse.
Reactive colorant for PU elastomers (source: Milliken)
Milliguard AOX antioxidant used by Merican for PU is a completely reactive, polymerized, carbon centered free radical scavenger, which can protect thermosetting polymers from oxidative degradation. It is compatible with polyether and polyester polyols, effectively prevents scorching with low content in polyurethane formula, and improves stability in polyol manufacturing. This polymer additive helps manufacturers achieve high environmental and air quality goals by reducing VOC and FOG emissions. According to the manufacturer, Milliguard AOX can also reduce the color formation of PU after exposure to NOx smoke or ultraviolet light or both.
At the same time, Milliguard UVX products are designed to absorb full spectrum ultraviolet light, which will damage or degrade the product over time. These additives provide a unique combination of no extraction at all, minimal volatile organic compound (VOC) generation, and full spectrum UV absorption. These absorbents are reactive in nature and do not migrate. Milliguard UVX is widely used in automotive and textile applications, where UV stability is an important performance requirement.
Herbert De Breuck, the global polyurethane technical director of Meriken, said: “With the support of our well-equipped PU laboratories all over the world, we have provided unparalleled experience and a large number of technical capabilities in the PU industry. For colorants, this includes fast and efficient color matching, support for color transmission systems, and extensive analytical capabilities.
