New Borstar® technology takes Borealis’ polypropylene to next level in purity, processability and performance

Borealis, a leading provider of innovative, value creating plastics solutions, is expanding the capacity of its leading edge, customer-oriented polypropylene (PP) packaging materials with the inauguration of its new Borstar® plant in Burghausen, Germany. The 330,000 t per year facility will use Borealis' proprietary Borstar PP 2G (second generation) multi-modal technology to produce products offering a step change in purity, processing output and performance. The plant more than doubles Borealis' current Borstar PP capacity to 570,000 t per year.

Highly-innovative Borstar PP 2G is a major step forward from bimodal technology, yielding new possibilities in polymer design. The advanced Borealis technology consists of a new emulsion-based Ziegler-Natta (ZN) catalyst system in combination with a more simplified process. This enables the most precise molecular tailoring of PP to date, helping achieve an optimal balance between processability and mechanical strength. As a result, extremely pure PP grades with low amounts of catalyst residue can be produced under safe and reliable operating conditions.

Furthermore, cost and environmental benefits will be achieved through the increased plant capacity and lower energy consumption of up to 5-10% per tonne, depending on the grade, made possible with Borstar 2G PP technology.

Borstar 2G PP extends Borealis' existing product range with innovations focused on unique combinations of outstanding, highly-differentiated properties. In addition to new levels of purity, the packaging industry will be able to take advantage of materials with excellent transparency, softness, toughness and good sealing strength after sterilisation. From a processing perspective, the improved stiffness and impact balance of 2G PP aids processability and output levels by supporting high line speeds.

"Borstar PP 2G technology is enabling Borealis to produce new advanced materials, which are now beginning to be introduced into the market," says Lorenzo Delorenzi, Borealis Executive Vice President of Polyolefins. "The Burghausen plant will strengthen our ability to provide an ever widening range of cutting-edge plastic packaging solutions with a powerful combination of properties."

END

For further information please contact:

Kerstin Meckler, Borealis Group Media Relations Manager,
Tel. +43 1 22 400 389
kerstin.meckler@borealisgroup.com