"The collaboration with Shinkong will certainly help Clariant broaden its distribution horizon for non-halogenated flame retardants. Leveraging Shinkong's extensive portfolio of leading customers within the segments of home appliances, automotive, electronics and electrical parts, Clariant's flame retardants will find new room for application expansion, especially in China," explains Darren Soo, Head of Sales Greater China, Clariant Business Unit Additives.

Long-term partners working closer together
Clariant's halogen-free flame retardant Exolit® OP was first introduced to Shinkong 13 years ago for innovative polyester compound development. After its commercialization in 2005, Shinkong was the first company in the Greater China region to promote halogen-free PBT compounds. Exolit OP 1240 has been used by Shinkong ever since.

Clariant's Exolit OP phosphinate flame retardants offer high thermal stability and best in class CTI (Comparative Tracking Index) performance. Applications range from high temperature polyamides for lead-free soldering via engineering thermoplastics and thermoplastic elastomers for wire and cables to thermoset epoxy adhesives for printed wiring boards. With tailor-made formulations for a variety of polymers fully available for commercial products, the Exolit OP series offers good versatility for a host of applications, such as computer cooling fans, connectors and other electrical parts.

On the sustainability side, the phosphinates are scientifically proven from a toxicological and environmental point of view. All tests of these products underline their sound environmental performance, as well as safety levels in line with a rising industry standard on greener materials.

“Many countries around the world today are working to reduce their carbon dioxide emission in the wake of climate change. Shinkong and Clariant share the same goal of sustainability and have been working together to help drive the industry towards healthier and more sustainable development. In essence, Shinkong’s SHINITE F116 compound, using recycled PET bottles (PCM/post-consumer material) with Clariant Exolit OP halogen-free flame retardants, not only achieves UL94 V-O level fire protection, but is also environmentally compatible,” says Samson Lo, President of Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corp.

Showcasing at K-fair
Clariant and Shinkong will jointly promote halogen-free flame retardant solutions in PBT and PA66, both commonly used in computer components, during the forthcoming K-fair plastics exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany on October 19-26. Show visitors will have the chance to learn about flame retardants' capabilities and profiles in full details.

Besides their joint promotion efforts on PBT and PA compounds, the two companies may also extend their collaboration further to include TPE-E compounds for extrusion wire and cable and injection parts in the future. The two companies' shared vision on sustainability has also widened their scope of future cooperation to include new areas such as flame retardant application for electric cars and their charging facilities.

As a specialty chemicals company with full dedication to product R&D, Clariant is continuously creating and rejuvenating its global network of IP rights on phosphinates. Clariant’s patents cover the main areas of manufacturing and applications of Exolit OP, which secure the Freedom to Operate (FTO) for Clariant and its customers worldwide.