Product & Technical Guides

Reduce, Reuse. RECYCLE. This is a common phrase that we all hear, but our Dictionary of Recycling Terms can help you clear up some of the confusion around specific words or phrases used in the recycling industry. Let our dictionary help you to increase your knowledge on terms, equipment, materials, and processes related to the recycling industry!

A condensed version of Entec Polymers portfolio of bio-based resins, compostable resins, post-industrial and post-consumer recycled resins, and enhancing additives to meet your needs.

Are you looking for resins to help you meet your sustainability goals? Entec Polymers has a portfolio of bio-based resins, compostable resins, post-industrial and post-consumer recycled resins, and enhancing additives to meet your needs.

Are you looking for a polymer with glass-like clarity, elevated temperature resistance, high water vapor barrier, and easy processability for your healthcare, packaging, optical or electronic application? Look no further than TOPAS^® COC (Cyclic Olefin Copolymer) to meet all of your needs.

High-quality color and additive masterbatch concentrates for the plastics industry

Siri and Alexa not very helpful for unique plastics industry terms? Refer to Entec Polymers Dictionary of Plastic Industry Terms for more help. We’ve compiled a short list of specific plastic industry terms with easy to understand definitions that can help, especially if you’re newer to the plastics industry!

Are you looking for elastomers other than SBS to modify your bitumen compounds? Let Entec Polymers help you select alternate elastomers and modifiers for use in your bitumen formulations for roofing shingles, flexible roofing membranes, or bitumen pavement compounds.

Styroflex^® PM VA 800 is a powdered version of Styroflex^® 2G66, a SBC (styrene-butadiene block copolymer) with the properties of a S-TPE (styrene thermoplastic elastomer), developed for polymer modification and compatibilization.

Is your roto resin not flowing the way you need it to? Our Pulverized Resin Quality document can help explain why the quality of the pulverizing operation is critical to successful roto molding.

Are you looking to improve your plastic compounds? Let Entec Polymers help you with the right resins, impact modifiers, and compatibilizers to make your compounds exceptional!

Entec Polymers has significant knowledge and experience with the Dow VERSIFY^™ Plastomers & Elastomer in a wide variety of applications, markets and industries. Let our technical specialists help you select the best VERSIFY^™ product for your film, coating or compounding application.

Entec Polymers has a diverse line card for flexible and rigid packaging. Our business development and technical service teams can help optimize a material solution for any packaging need.

Do you need a transparent polymer but are confused by the many choices? Our Transparent Polymer Comparison Guide provides you with a comparison of several key properties for a number of common transparent polymers. This guide allows you to quickly and easily compare the transparent polymers and the properties that are important for your application. You can also reach out to our technical experts with any questions or for more assistance.

An overview that provides recommended conversion technologies for each product class offered by Entec Polymers.

Entec polymers has several options to meet your flame resistance needs on your plastics products. Let our expert team of plastics engineers help with product selection to ensure you meet UL94 5VA.

Entec Polymers has significant knowledge and experience with the Dow AFFINITY^™ Polyolefin Plastomers and Elastomers in a wide variety of flexible packaging and extrusion coating applications, as well as in hot melt adhesives. Let our technical specialists help you select the best AFFINITY^™ product for your film, coating, packaging and hot melt adhesive applications.

Entec Polymers has significant knowledge and experience with the Dow INFUSE^™ Olefin Block Copolymer in a wide variety of applications, markets and industries. Let our technical specialists help you select the best INFUSE^™ product for your compound, film, adhesive or product modification application.

Entec Polymers has significant knowledge and experience with the Dow ENGAGE^™ Polyolefin Elastomers in a wide variety of applications, markets and industries. Let us help you select the best ENGAGE^™ product for your application.

Are you looking for a quick way to match up plastic material resin types based on a specific processing method? Then check out our new Line Card Selection Guide by Processing Method and see how easy it can be!

Zylar^® 631 belongs to Ineos Styrolution portfolio of MBS materials. Zylar^® 631 offers a good balance of stiffness and toughness. A medium impact strength grade that offers good surface hardness, without compromising on clarity.

Ineos offers industry leading styrenics that excel in applications requiring clarity, strength, and toughness.

Looking for high performance impact modifiers for your polypropylene compounds? Let Entec Polymer’s experts assist you in selecting the right impact modifier for your specific application needs.

Are you looking to improve the impact of your nylon compounds? Let Entec Polymer’s experts help you to position the best impact modifier to meet the specific impact requirements you need in your nylon compound.

Does trying to understand UL 94 cause your hair to catch fire? Let Entec help you to understand what the UL 94 flammability testing means for your application.

Market demand is continuously increasing for high impact, flame retardant and heat resistance materials. Chimei's new Wonderloy products pushes the limits for what's possible in plastics.

Are you struggling with warpage issues in your roto-molded parts? Let Entec's roto-molding experts provide you with assistance to produce warp-free parts!

Having problems extruding profiles, tubes, or pipes? Turn to Entecs’ troubleshooting guide and technical experts for help. We have the experience, as well as, an extensive portfolio of material options to solve your extrusion problems.

Looking for a TPE with a high hardness? Looking for a TPE with a low hardness? Let Enplast help you with our range of TPEs that go from a low Shore OO to a high Shore D hardness and everything in between.

Looking for a purge compound? Entec Polymers offers several different and unique purge compound options. Let us help you select the right one for your needs!

Taking the time in order to keep process machinery and molds in prime condition is critical to a sustained business model. In this overview, we outline how a preventive maintenance program can help improve operational availability and mitigate unplanned down time.

Need to compare material hardness scales? Check out our handy Hardness Conversion Table comparing Shore 00, A and D with Rockwell R.

In this technical article, we investigate the most commonly overlooked processing set points when launching new molds or troubleshooting existing tools. Establishing a fill only viscosity curve, determining nominal shear rate, and optimizing barrel heats/recovery profile allow for molders to run a repeatable and consistent cycle.

Not sure which polymer is right one for your adhesive compound formulation? Let Entec Polymers help. We offer a variety of polymer types and grades for use in whatever type of adhesive compound you’re developing.

As a member of the Ravago Group, Entec Polymers strives to help customers implement a variety of materials in sustainability driven markets. Our wide variety of post consumer and post industrial feed streams in combination with the Ravago expertise in compounding ensures we can provide customers with products to meet future demand for sustainable plastics.

Antimicrobial Technology

Which mineral should you use in your PP compound application? Let Entec Polymers help you select the best one!

Key features and plastic material considerations for each part of a reusable face shield design.

Innovative sustainability solutions for the growing single serve food market. Re-engineering polymers in packaging for friendly recycling.

Are you looking to improve molded part release? Mold filling? Scratch and mar resistance? Color and filler dispersion? Or do you need to reduce melt fracture, extruder torque or coefficient of friction? Then let Entec Polymers help you select the right siloxane master-batch product for your application.

DOW^™ BOOSTER throughput enhancer concentrate can significantly increase productivity in the extrusion of LLDPE films, whether monolayer or part of a co-extruded structure.

Dow RETAIN^™ 3000 is a functional polymer which promotes compatibilization between polyolefin's and polar polymers such as nylon and EVOH and blends of polar polymers.

Dow ELVAX^™ EVA copolymers are used in many applications including flexible packaging, thermal-lamination film, photovoltaic cells, foams, hose & tube, footwear, toys, wire & cable compounds, concentrates, athletic goods and hot-melt adhesives.

Dow CONPOL^™ products are master-batch concentrates based on ethylene-methacrylic acid. They are designed to be used in Dow NUCREL^™ and SURLYN^™ resins, primarily in film and coating applications.

Dow BYNEL^™ adhesive resins are functionalized polymers that provide adhesion between incompatible polymers together using various chemistries and technologies.

Dow APPEEL^™ Peelable Resins are a one bag solution that delivers repeatable and proven performance for the easy peel market.

DOW^™ 20 Series Ultra-Pure Polyethylene is produced using a proprietary process that produces a stress-crack resistant, ultra-pure LDPE with very high molecular weight, narrow molecular weight distribution and few short chains.

Dow NUCREL^™ Acid Copolymers can be used in a wide range of applications including packaging, industrial and consumer products.

Dow SURLYN^™ Ionomers have been used for many years in packaging applications, offering high clarity, high gloss, oil and grease resistance, puncture resistance, scratch resistance, excellent hot tack strength and superb thermoformability.

Unique Polymers Specifically Engineered to Resist Medical Disinfectants

Need to improve the impact of your nylon compound? FUSABOND^™ can help!

Need to modify your resin? Improve the compatibility? ELVALOY^™ can help!

The effects that varying molecular structures play on the rheological properties of various polymer families. The molecular architecture of each unique polymer structure ultimately determines which processes they are best suited to.

Stress whitening got you down? Let us help you eliminate it.

Need a quick lesson on impact testing? See our short overview on impact testing of plastics. Charpy | Izod | Multi-Axial

Celanese Ateva^® EVA copolymers are used in many applications including flexible packaging, thermal-lamination film, photovoltaic cells, concentrates and hot-melt adhesives.

Entec is excited to announce the addition of four Dow specialty product families to our broad polymer portfolio. These specialty resins include BYNEL^™ adhesive resins, APPEEL^™ peelable sealant resins, DOW^™ 20 Series ultra-pure polyethylene and CONPOL^™ specialty masterbatches.

Is your rubber compound not quite performing? Let Entec Polymers help you with our broad range of modifiers that can be used in rubber compounds.

From molecular structure to mechanical properties: understanding how atomic structure influences material properties and part selection. As a follow up to our series on Crystallinity vs Material Properties, we investigate the influence that chemical structure has on final part performance including melting point, glass transition temperature, barrier properties, ESCR, and UV stability.

Learn More About the Recycling Process Now!

If you want to understand how plastics really affect the environment, then you want to read this article.

The goal of understanding the relationship of shear rate and viscosity of a material is to increase the understanding of how a material process and flow once molten.

The goal of this resin information sheet is to better educate designers and manufacturers and provide them with the necessary information to enable them to choose the correct resin for their roto-molded products and applications.

Determination of crystallinity and general overview of the effects that crystal structure has on the physical properties of polymers.

Having problems with achieving good adhesion in your over-molding application? Let Entec Polymers help with their proven suggestions for achieving maximum adhesion of the over-mold material onto the substrate material.

There has been a lot of recent publicity related to plastic waste in the environment, especially plastic waste in the ocean. Learn more about the facts of plastic recycling.

Do you have a common application? A unique application? An interesting application? Entec Polymers can assist in helping you to select the right polymer to fit your application requirements regardless of how simple or complicated your needs may be.

Wire and Cable Compounds for Different Polymers

While injection molding is common inside the plastics industry, it is important to understand how to troubleshoot issues included with the job. Entec Polymers can assist with your processing needs to create an efficient work environment.

Pinking discoloration is a well-known phenomenon that occurs in polymers such as HDPE, LLDPE and polyolefin elastomers.

With recent publicity related to recycling plastic, it is important to understand which modifiers can be involved in different plastics. Entec polymers can offer information to help understand how they can affect recycled plastics.

Are you looking to electroplate an injection molded thermoplastic? Entec Polymers offers many different thermoplastics that are capable of being electroplated, along with valuable information to complete the process correctly.

This document highlights some of these more unique and interesting uses of thermoplastic resins. Entec Polymers has the knowledge and experience and is uniquely positioned to assist you with your most unique and challenging uses of thermoplastics resins. Let us help you deliver the solutions to your customer’s most challenging needs!

Regardless of the type of impact modifier or the polymer type it is being utilized in, there is one common factor: the reduction in the melt flow of the final compound.

Introduction to Polymer Compounding. Compounding is a melt blending process where a thermoplastic resin is combined with additives and reinforcements such as anti-oxidants, UV stabilizers, impact modifiers, colorants, flame retardants, glass fibers or minerals. The uses of thermoplastic compounds is only limited by our imaginations and our creativity in developing compounds to meet the end-use requirements.

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and suggestions for processors that may be unfamiliar with processing post-industrial recycled plastic compounds, such as Entec Polymers ECHO^® recycled polypropylene.

First steps when selecting a product for a new application

First steps when selecting a product for a new application.

Entec’s broad portfolio of sealant resin technologies is poised to satisfy all current packaging needs. Entec’s Packaging Team has an expansive knowledge of film structure, packaging machinery and sealing requirements to help ensure our customers success.

Formosa Plastics offer a broad range of Formolene reactor compounding Homopolymer and Copolymer resins that offer optimized polymer structures.

Processing issues and defects organized by causes and solutions. Contact our technical team for engineering and processing support.

A chart organizing different types of elastomers. Contact us to find the right properties and most cost effective material for your application.

Two Shot Technology with PP/ASA/Nylon & TPV. Entec offers a cost-effective solution to challenges caused by parts that require the use of two different plastics. Two Shot injection molding is a process that molds one part using two different plastic resins. This enabling technology allows you to integrate two different plastic resins into one part without any post-molding assembly.

A simplified introduction to the material we know as Polypropylene.

An overview of PP for automotive specifications by OEM. Please contact us for automotive approvals and applications.

This guide organizes the many concentrates by purpose, description and comments to help determine the best product.

A simplified introduction to the material we know as Polyethylene

This chart lists applications, key criteria, resin recommendations and polymer tradenames from leading suppliers in the automotive industry.

Cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) is one of several different methods that can be used to repair existing underground pipes that may be damaged or leaking due to corrosion, tree root intrusion, frost or other causes.

The Koattro PB-1 portfolio of products offers a wide viscosity range with excellent wetting capabilities, extended open time, high cohesive strength, good stiffness/impact balance and a very good thermal stability. They are also phthalate-free.

Pulverized resins in powder form specifically formulated for rotational molding. Use this guide to see an overview of densities and melt flows. Contact us for technical support on specific applications.

Entec Polymers has an excellent track record of assisting compounders in producing more effective, durable and efficient products for various end use applications.

A comparison of these high performance materials that can be used to choose between temperature resistance, strength, moisture absorption and more.

An overview of commonly used polymer materials for automotive applications including powertrain/underhood as well as interior and exterior trim.

Nucleation technology has been used with polymers such as polypropylene and nylon for many years, and it is an effective aid in helping the polymers to crystallize faster and more consistently and to improve physical or mechanical properties.

CRYSTALADD^® Nucleating Masterbatch resins are designed to be added to Polyethylene molding and extrusion processes by direct addition to the machine or by pre-blending with the PE resin or other masterbatch additives (i.e. colorants, slip, anti-block etc.) before processing.

Polymer families tend to have a wide range of processing conditions so supplier specific information and grade specific information should be used whenever possible.

Polybutene-1 (PB-1) is a semi-crystalline, isotactic thermoplastic resin that is part of the polyolefin family.

Follow these quick comparison charts and product explanations to choose the right product for your application, whether that is an engineered part, a packaging product, an automotive part, a custom compound, or any other high performance application.

Entec Polymers offers a number of polymers that can be used as modifiers in PVC compounds, with ABS, ASA, SMA, EBA and TPU being the primary ones used.

The PRIMEVA^® EVA and EBANTIX^® EBA Copolymers from Repsol have a broad range of melt indices as well as physical properties.