within the upcoming years because of its constantly growing demand in some major sectors like Infrastructure, Automotive industry ,health care and much more.
With the growth of the plastic industry, the demand for additives is equally increasing and one such additive is known as “Masterbatch”.
What are Masterbatches?
A masterbatch is a concentrated mixture that is added to plastics mostly to impart colors. Apart from that it also incorporates several other properties like Anti microbial, UV stabilization ,fragrance and much more.
Types of Masterbatches :
• Color
• White
• Black
• Additive
• Special effect
• Filler
Market potential in India and its manufacturers :
According to a survey, the Indian Masterbatch market is expected to reach $1.1 billion by 2020 that is about 5% growth per annum.
The demand for masterbatches can be divided into the following categories :
a) Compounders of Polypropylene and other engineering components
b) Manufacturers of plastic additives
c) Cable and wire compounders
There are approximately 2200 plastic processing facilities in India. Below is a list of 10 major players in Masterbatch manufacturing :
1.Plastiblends
2.Plastichemix
3.Soltex
4.Bajaj Group
5.Rajiv Plastics
6.Ampacet
7.Clariant
8.Schilman
Masterbatch manufacturing process :
The technique used for manufacturing Masterbatches is known as “Extrusion compounding”. The step wise process is as follows :
1. Heating the plastic polymer till it reaches its melting point.
2. Addition of the required colors/additives and mixing with the heated polymer. This is done with the help of a mixer.
3. A compounding extruder is used for alloying the polymer and removing the volatiles.
4. The stabilized strands are then extruded and cooled by passing water.
5. The pellets are then stored for further use.
To conclude, Masterbatch has a great future in terms of business over the next few years. Manufacturing facilities are constantly growing with continuous efforts of the manufacturers in developing new and innovative products is acting as a catalyst for the Indian Masterbatch market.