HOUSTON – June 4, 2020 Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA), a leading global sustainable producer of specialty polymers and high-value biobased products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, is launching the new Kraton G1646 polymer that enables improved flow for higher manufacturing efficiency.
“Our latest product offers all the benefits of enhanced rubber segment polymers in addition to greater efficiency for higher production,” says Bob Hall, Senior Director, Global Marketing at Kraton. “Customers select this polymer for its ability to improve process and user performance compared to alternative elastomeric materials.”
Kraton G1646 polymer is a hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer (HSBC) and is part of Kraton’s Enhanced Rubber Segment (ERS) series portfolio, which is softer and shows higher melt flow properties than conventional Kraton G polymers. The product has excellent compatibility with polypropylene, and is produced as a dense pellet in Kraton’s state-of-the-art HSBC manufacturing site in Mailiao, Taiwan.
Kraton G1646 polymer can be used in a variety of applications including protective film, food packaging, medical tubing and films, and face masks. Face masks employing Kraton G1646 polymer are more stable at body temperature over a long-use period compared to masks employing polyolefin elastomers, enabling a more secure fit over time. With Kraton G1646 polymer, the elastic material is softer than polyolefin elastomers, leading to enhanced comfort. Its soft retention forces have shown to leave no red marks on the skin or around the ears, even after eight hours of wear in current product designs. The 100-percent re-processable polymer enables the manufacturer to meet production goals in a collective effort to address the global face mask shortage, while offering high quality, more comfortable personal protection equipment (PPE). More information on the use of Kraton G1646 polymer in face masks is available at www.kraton.com.
About Kraton Corporation
Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA) is a leading global sustainable producer of specialty polymers and high-value biobased products derived from pine wood pulping co-products. Kraton’s polymers are used in a wide range of applications including adhesives, coatings, consumer and personal care products, sealants, lubricants, medical, packaging, automotive, paving and roofing applications. As the largest global provider in the pine chemicals industry, the company’s pine-based specialty products are sold into adhesives, roads and construction and tire markets, and it produces and sells a broad range of performance chemicals into markets that include fuel additives, oilfield chemicals, coatings, metalworking fluids, lubricants, inks, flavors and fragrances and mining. Kraton offers its products to a diverse customer base in numerous countries worldwide. Kraton, the Kraton logo, REvolution and SYLVALITE are all trademarks or registered trademarks of Kraton Corporation, or its subsidiaries or affiliates, in one or more, but not all countries.
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