Eastman’s Market-Changing Copolyester Enhances Product Design and Performance

An interview with Dr. Gregory O. Nelson, Executive Vice President and Polymers Business Group Head, Eastman Chemical Company

The increasing demand for new products with advanced performance attributes to meet higher consumer expectations has driven material innovation to new heights. At K 2007, October 24-31, Düsseldorf, Germany, Eastman Chemical Company unveiled Eastman Tritan™ copolyester, a new-generation copolyester offering a unique set of properties for enhancing product performance and design flexibility.

From housewares and appliances to extruded-sheet applications, this new copolyester can deliver value for brand owners, product designers, processors, fabricators and consumers. These core advantages have the potential to fundamentally change the way that product development is conducted, revolutionizing the marketplace with a superior breed of products.

Dr. Gregory O. Nelson, Executive Vice President and Polymers Business Group Head at Eastman Chemical Company, discusses the company’s latest material development.

Q: What is Eastman Tritan™ copolyester?
A: If we look at the plastics industry today, we see countless applications that have traditionally been created with a range of clear plastics, such as copolyesters, acrylic and polycarbonate. However, as new applications call for materials with a combination of characteristics able to deliver both durability and design flexibility, these traditional plastics sometimes fall short. Tritan™ is a new-generation copolyester that can fill this gap.

Tritan™ is a result of unique chemistry based on a new commercial monomer. While traditional copolyesters can be limited by low heat resistance and polycarbonates limited by lower chemical resistance and higher residual stress from molding, Tritan’s™ unique formulation offers the best of both worlds. The impact-resistant material also provides exceptional clarity, low haze, high gloss and consistent color, allowing products to stand out with better aesthetics and durability.

Furthermore, the new copolyester can offer a series of processing advantages. This material allows for faster molding cycles compared to many other types of transparent polymers. It can also be molded with lower levels of inherent residual stress as compared to materials such as polycarbonate.

Q: Why was this new copolyester developed?
A: In today’s increasingly competitive marketplace, brand owners and product designers are constantly seeking new methods to differentiate products and meet changing consumer needs. At the same time, processors and fabricators are looking for ways to enhance production efficiencies and contribute to bottom line gains.

Eastman believes that material suppliers can play an integral role in meeting the needs of all of these market players. By partnering with brand owners early in the product development process, Eastman has been able to identify a unique set of material properties that had not previously been provided. This meant balancing higher heat and chemical resistance with low inherent residual stress and ease of processing in order to allow greater design flexibility and enhanced product performance.

Q: In what types of applications can the new plastic be used?
A: Tritan™ is an extremely versatile material that can add value for a wide range of applications that would benefit from its unique balance of properties. For instance, the material’s combination of chemical resistance, lower residual stress and high heat resistance makes it an ideal choice for residential and commercial housewares and small kitchen appliances, including food storage containers, plastic utensils and barware, sports bottles and containers for food processors and blenders.

The dishwasher has become an integral part of consumer lifestyle due to its convenience. As a result, brand owners are increasingly pressed to offer products that can withstand the harsh dishwasher environment, which includes exposure to a hot, wet environment, aggressive chemical cleaning agents and fats from food. Testing has shown that Tritan’s™ unique balance of properties can allow molded items to withstand hundreds of cycles in commercial and residential dishwashers, an enormous advantage for brand owners seeking to enhance product performance.

With respect to extruded-sheet applications, the new copolyester delivers excellent impact resistance, which can extend product lifespan. The material also offers superior distribution, enabling manufacturers to thermoform sheet with more detailed designs and aesthetics, including sharper curves and gaps.

Q: How does this new-generation copolyester address environmental concerns?
A: Since Tritan™ may be molded faster than other transparent polymers, without the need for a secondary annealing process, molders can potentially reduce their energy usage. This can contribute to a smaller environmental footprint.

With a two percent lower density than polycarbonate, the new copolyester can also yield more parts per kilogram of resin. This can contribute to material savings, further limiting environmental impact.

Additionally, Tritan’s™ durability attributes and potential for low residual stress from processing allow the material to considerably reduce the risk of cracking and breakage for many applications. This helps to extend product lifecycle and lower replacement rates, resulting in less landfill waste.

Q: Are any customers currently using Tritan™?
A: A number of brands are evaluating the material for their product lines. There are also two companies preparing to commercially launch products made with the copolyester: CamelBak, a leading provider of hydration systems; and Vita-Mix, a top producer of high-end blending equipment.

When designing the CamelBak® Better Bottle and new Vita-Mix 5200 blender container, these companies were attracted by the material’s dishwasher durability and bisphenol-A (BPA) free composition.

We expect many more products manufactured with Tritan™ to go to market over the next nine to twelve months.

Q: What does Eastman’s future in specialty plastics look like?
A: This new product launch is a reaffirmation of Eastman’s commitment to investing in forward-oriented technologies developed in response to market needs.

In the 1970s Eastman invented PETG by introducing a new monomer to PET. The result was the launch of a variety of new polymers over the following three decades, driving unprecedented growth for the industry. Tritan™ has the potential to generate similar new growth over the next decades. Providing unique advantages to brand owners in a variety of industries, this new-generation copolyester will address constantly evolving consumer needs for differentiated, high-performance products.