Masterbatch manufacturer Viba, headquartered in Italy, has added a new member to its family of PLA masterbatches, the company announced 12 February.

In response to demand from the market, Viba has developed a range of colour concentrate additives or combined masterbatches based on a PLA carrier material and engineered for different processing technologies.
PLA is gaining increasing acceptance in the market and is seen as a feasible alternative to various types of conventional plastics, due to its good balance between physicochemical properties and sustainability.
Obtained from lactide derived from starch fermentation and is some cases biodegradable., PLA has found application in sectors ranging from such the automotive, biomedical, and packaging industry, as well as the growing industry of 3D printing.
The material’s low ductility and toughness require modification for various applications. Viba’s masterbatches - available as an additive or colour - can improve the performance of this biopolymer in terms of impact resistance, mould release, antistatic properties and anti-blocking.
The latest development is Vibetan PLA Black N0381 - a preparation of carbon black in a PLA carrier, expressly developed for the colouring of injection moulded PLA products.

Due to the selected pigments and the special carrier, end products produced using Vibatan PLA Black N0381 are fully compliant with the UNI EN 13432 “Packaging - Requirements for packaging, recoverable through composting and biodegradation” standard, if used at a maximum dosage of 50.0%; the limit permitted in the masterbatch in relation to the non-biodegradable fillers.

http://www.vibamasterbatch.com