Antistatic Thermoplastic Eliminates Risk of Explosion and Contamination

According to Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products (EPP), it has launched the first FDA approved and ATEX tested thermoplastic with permanent antistatic performance for pharmaceutical and food applications. New ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) TIVAR CleanStat White  combines good electrostatic dissipation (ESd), excellent wear resistance and food contact compliancy in a neutral/white coloured material.

TIVAR CleanStat White addresses the increasing hygiene and safety demands of the pharmaceuticals and drugs processing industry, including conformity to GMP handling requirements and compliance with ATEX Directive 94/9/EC. The product responds to consumers’ general association of white with purity and cleanliness. The UHMW-PE has been developed to benefit specific applications, such as guiders for pill filling, drug pressing applications, pistons and valves for powder dosing, labelling and printing equipment.

TIVAR CleanStat White is claimed by EPP to be the only white product on the market to permanently prevent the build-up of charge or static load caused by powder handling and friction of plastic surfaces over a proven period of more than two years. It overcomes the partially static dissipative properties of antistatic agents traditionally added to plastic machine parts, which fail over time through repeated use, handling and cleaning. Furthermore, in tests according to ATEX Directive 94/9/EC for explosion groups I and II, the plastic sample of TIVAR CleanStat White had a surface resistance of up to 429 M Ohms, significantly below the limit of 1G Ohm. As a result, it avoids the potential for explosion and contamination, leading to increased safety and lower costs in maintenance and production.

Being light in colour TIVAR CleanStat White also avoids visible contamination with debris particles that can discolour pills and lozenges over time. The material can be tailor made to additional light colors without losing its ESd or food contact compliancy.

The latest addition to Quadrant EPP’s TIVAR range, new CleanStat White offers good machineability with adequate tooling and the advantage of excellent wear resistance similar to or above that of TIVAR 1000. CleanStat White has a surface resistivity level of below 10E10 Ohm/mm².

The material is produced by Quadrant EPP under special processing conditions (the process is patent pending) that fulfill GMP guidelines and the sensitive production requirements of the pharmaceutical and food industries.

“TIVAR CleanStat White is a premium product that combines required properties and traceability demands for a plastic solution for pharmaceutical and food processingand packaging,” commented Ron Denoo, Global Director Research & Development, Quadrant EPP. “This is a major advance for processing applications tailored to the specific demands of these highly-sensitive industries and Quadrant invested considerable resources to develop and achieve this material innovation with a balanced cost/performance ratio for our customers.”

Quadrant EPP AG, +41 62 885 8443, sigrid.dopfer@qplas.com, www.quadrantplastics.com.