VIENNA – Borealis HG485FB is a new polypropylene (PP) grade designed for the spunbonding nonwoven process based on the company’s new Borstar Nextension Technology, which also includes film grades that set new standards for PP food packaging.

These and all other Borstar Nextension grades can be made using feedstock from the Bornewables and Borcycle C portfolios of circular polyolefins.

The Bornewables portfolio consists of polyolefins made with renewable feedstock derived entirely from waste and residue streams such as used cooking and vegetable oil. The virgin-quality grades found in the Borcycle C family of chemically recycled solutions are fit for the most demanding applications, including food-contact and healthcare.

Bornewables and Borcycle C grades are ISCC PLUS certified according to the mass balance method that allows the customer to track and quantify the effective renewable or circular feedstock used at each manufacturing step. Selecting grades from these portfolios allows customers to replace fossil fuel-based feedstock with an identical volume of sustainably sourced renewable or circular feedstock – without extra switching costs, and while maintaining the same high application quality.

Thanks to its broad processing window and excellent spinning performance, Borealis HG485FB enables spunbond converters to push the operating window in the optimisation of web properties, web coverage, and strength with the new resin. Compared to conventional resins, Borealis HG485FB provides substantial downgauging potential, enabling the more efficient use of resources while maintaining the same high functionality.

Borstar Nextension Technology broadens the range of PP properties by using proprietary, single-site catalysts combined with multimodality and comonomer incorporation. Depending on application requirements, this step change in performance enables PP products to be tailored for superior optics and surface functionality, high purity and sealing and bonding. The result is a spectrum of differentiated solutions that can be used in a variety of industries, including consumer products, automotive and flexible packaging, in addition to absorbent hygiene products.

“Borstar Nextension will enable the development of novel and more circular solutions for a wide range of applications, especially in the packaging industry,” says Erik Van Praet, Borealis vice president of innovation and technology. “Built on the strong foundation of the Borstar platform, this blending of functionality and sustainability is in line with our EverMinds ambition of accelerating action on circularity.”