BLOG
- Home
- Blog
- Plastic Polymer Composite Article
- What are plastic additives? 11+ common types of plastic additives
What are plastic additives? 11+ common types of plastic additives
Plastic additives are essential substances added during the plastic manufacturing process to make products more durable, attractive, and functional. So, what are plastic additives, and what role do they play in plastic processing? In this article, let’s explore with VNapex the 11+ most common types of plastic additives used in the industry today.
Depending on the specific requirements of the product, manufacturers will select the right type of plastic additives. For example, outdoor plastic furniture such as tables and chairs usually needs anti-aging agents or weather stabilizers. These additives help improve the durability of plastic products and prevent problems such as fading, cracking, or surface damage caused by UV rays, temperature changes, and humidity.
In the agricultural field, plastic mulch films require special additives such as anti-fog agents and light-enhancing agents. These additives help the plastic film maintain high transparency, allowing optimal light transmission. This supports the photosynthesis process of crops and improves farming efficiency.
Plastic additives help increase the efficiency of plastic processing
The production process of Taical involves melting a mixture of CaCO₃ powder, base resin, and additives, then cooling and cutting it into small masterbatch pellets. These pellets are then mixed with virgin plastic and used in forming processes such as film blowing, injection molding, and fiber extrusion to create the final plastic products.
Applications of Filler masterbatch:
Filler masterbatch is widely used in the plastic industry.
Anti-blocking agents remain effective even under high temperatures, strong pressure, and extended processing times, helping to optimize the production process and improve operational efficiency.
Common applications include:
Non-stick additives help prevent plastic from sticking to other surfaces.
This type of additive not only enhances the aesthetic appearance but also maintains essential mechanical properties such as hardness and strength.
Typical applications of clarity-enhancing additives include:
Nucleating agents are added to improve the crystallization process of plastics during the cooling stage. When used properly, this additive helps molded products form more quickly, maintain dimensional stability, and minimize unwanted warping, deformation, or shrinkage.
In addition to improving product quality, nucleating agents also offer clear economic benefits. They help shorten the injection molding cycle, increase production speed, and significantly reduce manufacturing costs per unit of product.
Applications of nucleating agents include:
Hardening additives help improve the quality of the finished product
Plastics are highly sensitive to UV radiation. UV stabilizers act as an “invisible shield” that absorbs ultraviolet energy before it can penetrate and damage the polymer structure. As a result, products maintain their color stability, strength, and shape over time — even when exposed to harsh environmental conditions.
Applications of UV Stabilizers include:
This additive is widely used across various industries, especially for products that are frequently exposed to sunlight, such as:
Plastic hardening additives are commonly used in the automotive industry
When plastic materials experience friction during processing or use, static electricity can build up on the surface. This accumulation may affect production efficiency, surface quality, and even create a fire or explosion risk in flammable environments. Adding anti-static additives helps balance electrical charges, improve insulation performance, and reduce dust attraction, thereby enhancing the stability and safety of plastic products.
Applications:
Some common halogen-based flame retardants include:
Some common types of anti-fog additives include:
Using plastic additives helps prevent water accumulation on the plastic surface.
When optical brightening agents are used, products become more vivid and luminous. The reflected light reaching the human eye is shifted away from the red-orange spectrum, creating a perception of pure and radiant whiteness.
Some benefits of using optical brightening agents include:
Biodegradable additives are incorporated during plastic production to control and accelerate the breakdown of polymer molecules. When the product is exposed to elements such as oxygen, sunlight, moisture, or ambient temperature, the additive triggers the shortening of polymer chains and transforms the plastic structure into simpler compounds, including CO₂, H₂O, CH₄, inorganic substances, or biomass.
Among the current biodegradable additives, Reverte stands out as a trusted choice for many manufacturers. Reverte offers the following benefits:
Plastic additives help accelerate the biodegradation rate of plastic products.
Some key benefits of porosity-enhancing additives include:
Although some odors may dissipate over time, environmental factors such as temperature, sunlight, and humidity can trigger the remaining compounds to continue releasing smells, negatively affecting living conditions, user experience, and product safety.
Therefore, adding deodorizing additives is a crucial step, as they absorb and neutralize odor-causing compounds, prevent further odor release, and improve the overall scent to a mild, pleasant, or odorless state.
Applications of plastic deodorizing additives:
Plastic deodorizing additives are becoming increasingly popular and widely used, with a growing impact on everyday life. For example, they are applied in children’s toys, household goods, food storage bags, office supplies, and plastic tubing materials.
Applications of anti-aging additives:
Anti-aging additives are commonly applied in various manufacturing technologies, such as:
Anti-aging plastic additives help extend the lifespan and quality of products.
Growth regulators in plastics are divided into two main groups:
Currently there are 2 types of plastic additives commonly used:
Applications of color additives
Color additives help enhance the aesthetic value of the product.
What are Plastic Additives? Their Functions in the Plastics Industry
Plastic additives are organic or inorganic compounds added during the plastic processing stage to improve and optimize the inherent properties of virgin plastic resins, such as hardness, flexibility, mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, gloss, and color.Unlike fillers, additives usually account for only about 1% of the total weight of the final plastic product, yet they play a crucial role in achieving the desired technical characteristics of the finished item.Depending on the specific requirements of the product, manufacturers will select the right type of plastic additives. For example, outdoor plastic furniture such as tables and chairs usually needs anti-aging agents or weather stabilizers. These additives help improve the durability of plastic products and prevent problems such as fading, cracking, or surface damage caused by UV rays, temperature changes, and humidity.
In the agricultural field, plastic mulch films require special additives such as anti-fog agents and light-enhancing agents. These additives help the plastic film maintain high transparency, allowing optimal light transmission. This supports the photosynthesis process of crops and improves farming efficiency.
Plastic additives help increase the efficiency of plastic processing
Common Types of Plastic Additives Today
Plastic additives have become increasingly diverse, meeting the growing demands of users for both properties and functions. Below are the most common types of plastic additives:Plastic Filler: Filler masterbatch
Filler masterbatch is a type of plastic filler mainly made from calcium carbonate CaCO₃. It is widely used in the plastic industry to adjust the mechanical and physical properties of virgin plastic. The main function of this additive is to reduce the cost of raw materials, thereby optimizing production expenses while still maintaining the quality of the final products.The production process of Taical involves melting a mixture of CaCO₃ powder, base resin, and additives, then cooling and cutting it into small masterbatch pellets. These pellets are then mixed with virgin plastic and used in forming processes such as film blowing, injection molding, and fiber extrusion to create the final plastic products.
Applications of Filler masterbatch:
- Plastic films, packaging, and PE shopping bags: Help reduce production costs while maintaining functionality.
- Ceiling panels, plastic doors, and frames: Enhance rigidity and durability.
- PVC pipes, plastic fittings, and electric cables: Improve mechanical strength and process stability.
- Injection molding of engineering plastic products: Support precision molding and dimensional control.
Filler masterbatch is widely used in the plastic industry.
Anti-blocking agent
During plastic processing, the adhesion between plastic film layers is a common issue that can negatively affect both productivity and product quality. Anti-blocking agents are designed to solve this problem by creating a micro-rough surface on the film, reducing direct contact between adjacent layers.Anti-blocking agents remain effective even under high temperatures, strong pressure, and extended processing times, helping to optimize the production process and improve operational efficiency.
Common applications include:
- Used in the production of packaging films such as PE, CPP, and BOPP, as well as in plastic film extrusion technology.
- Plastic film extrusion technology.
Non-stick additives help prevent plastic from sticking to other surfaces.
Transparency additive
In thermoformed plastic products, the formation of spherulitic crystal structures often reduces the transparency and visual appeal of the final product. Transparency additives are incorporated during processing to control the size and formation of these crystals, thereby enhancing the clarity and gloss of the finished plastic products.This type of additive not only enhances the aesthetic appearance but also maintains essential mechanical properties such as hardness and strength.
Typical applications of clarity-enhancing additives include:
- Used in manufacturing food containers, bottle caps, and injection-molded household items.
- Applied in blown film and extruded sheet products that require high transparency.
- Compatible with various plastics such as PP, HDPE, LLDPE, HDPE/PP, and LLDPE/PP.
Stiffening Additives
During the processing of PP plastics, issues such as shrinkage, warping, and deformation of molded products are quite common. These problems often stem from several factors — the most typical being insufficient or uneven cooling, which prevents the product from forming to the correct shape.Nucleating agents are added to improve the crystallization process of plastics during the cooling stage. When used properly, this additive helps molded products form more quickly, maintain dimensional stability, and minimize unwanted warping, deformation, or shrinkage.
In addition to improving product quality, nucleating agents also offer clear economic benefits. They help shorten the injection molding cycle, increase production speed, and significantly reduce manufacturing costs per unit of product.
Applications of nucleating agents include:
- Production of food packaging, household, and medical products
- Reducing shrinkage or warping after cooling in technical plastic processing
- Used in household and interior plastic applications
- Applied in manufacturing lightweight construction materials such as plastic roofing sheets, wall panels, and glass-replacement materials
Hardening additives help improve the quality of the finished product
UV Stabilizers
Ultraviolet (UV) stabilizers, also known as anti-UV additives, are essential components in outdoor plastic products. By absorbing or reflecting ultraviolet radiation, these additives help prevent physical and chemical degradation on the plastic surface caused by prolonged exposure to sunlight.Plastics are highly sensitive to UV radiation. UV stabilizers act as an “invisible shield” that absorbs ultraviolet energy before it can penetrate and damage the polymer structure. As a result, products maintain their color stability, strength, and shape over time — even when exposed to harsh environmental conditions.
Applications of UV Stabilizers include:
This additive is widely used across various industries, especially for products that are frequently exposed to sunlight, such as:
- Used for both interior and exterior plastic components such as control panels, grilles, door handles, and cover panels.
- Applied in LDPE/LLDPE blown films, greenhouse films, and agricultural tarpaulins to extend the outdoor lifespan of materials.
- Utilized in the production of PP raffia straps, HDPE/PP woven tapes, stadium seats, containers, and outdoor plant pots.
- Suitable for wood-plastic flooring, composite railings, and fences, ensuring long-term durability and resistance to outdoor degradation.
Plastic hardening additives are commonly used in the automotive industry
Anti-static plastic additives
Anti-static plastic additives are among the most important components widely used in the modern plastics industry, especially in applications that require electrical charge control and high safety. Although sometimes mistaken for flame retardants, anti-static additives mainly work to prevent the buildup of electrical charges on the surface of plastic products.When plastic materials experience friction during processing or use, static electricity can build up on the surface. This accumulation may affect production efficiency, surface quality, and even create a fire or explosion risk in flammable environments. Adding anti-static additives helps balance electrical charges, improve insulation performance, and reduce dust attraction, thereby enhancing the stability and safety of plastic products.
Applications:
- Automotive industry: Used in components of fuel systems, engines, and electrical or electronic parts to reduce the risk of ignition in harsh environments.
- Electronics industry: Applied in computer cases, printers, photocopiers, and office equipment where static buildup can affect sensitive components.
- Plastic packaging industry: Well-suited for packaging products such as food, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.
Flame Retardant Additives for Plastics
Flame retardant additives are compounds added during plastic processing to reduce the material’s flammability. Their main working mechanism is to create a protective layer on the plastic surface when exposed to high heat or flames. This layer helps slow down or block the contact between oxygen in the air and the plastic surface, thereby preventing the spread of fire and minimizing the risk of ignition.Some common halogen-based flame retardants include:
- Halogen flame retardants: Include compounds containing chlorine or bromine bonded to a halogenated polymer backbone.
- DOPO derivatives (9,10-Dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide).
- Inorganic flame retardants: Include aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)₃), magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)₂), red phosphorus, expanded graphite, and ammonium polyphosphate (APP).
- Organic flame retardants: Include certain complex esters, such as N-diaminobenzene (2-hydroxy)-4-dibenzyl acid ester or dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP).
- Electronics industry: Enhances insulation, prevents fire spread during malfunctions, protects components, and extends equipment lifespan.
- Automotive and transportation: Improves safety standards for interior and exterior parts, ensuring compliance with fire safety regulations.
- Construction and interior materials: Reduces flammability of items such as pipes, wall panels, and flooring, while increasing evacuation time and minimizing property damage.
- Packaging industry: Ensures safe storage and transport of chemicals, electronic components, and other products under high-temperature conditions.
- Household and consumer goods: Helps devices like hair dryers, refrigerators, and washing machines reduce risk during long-term use.
Anti-fog plastic additives
Anti-fog additives are an essential component widely used in both agriculture and the food industry. They help prevent water vapor from condensing on the surface of plastic films, maintaining the necessary transparency, enhancing usability, and improving the aesthetic quality of the products.Some common types of anti-fog additives include:
- PLA (Polylactic Acid): This is a type of aliphatic polyester with surface energy and polarity characteristics similar to PET. PLA effectively controls water condensation while being environmentally friendly.
- Lanxess AF DP1-1701: This is an anti-fog and anti-condensation coating system specifically designed for polycarbonate products. It helps maintain a glossy and transparent surface even under humid conditions.
- In the packaging industry: food containers, food wrap films, plastic roll bags, etc.4
- In agriculture: particularly important for agricultural films and greenhouse coverings, helping maintain transparency to optimize light transmission, support photosynthesis, and promote plant growth.
Using plastic additives helps prevent water accumulation on the plastic surface.
Optical Brightening Agents
In the plastics industry, Optical Brightening Agents (OBAs) are an almost indispensable component, especially for products requiring high whiteness. Prominent examples include OB and OB-1 powders, which absorb ultraviolet light and emit a blue glow.When optical brightening agents are used, products become more vivid and luminous. The reflected light reaching the human eye is shifted away from the red-orange spectrum, creating a perception of pure and radiant whiteness.
Some benefits of using optical brightening agents include:
- Significantly enhances the whiteness of plastic materials, especially useful for recycled plastics or slightly yellowed resins.
- Brightens product colors, making them more vivid and vibrant overall.
- Reduces yellowing and color fading.
- Plastic packaging, such as containers, bottles, and caps.
- Household items made from colored or recycled plastics.
- Textile fibers and nonwoven fabrics requiring bright, consistent color.
- Injection-molded or extruded products where high whiteness is desired.
Biodegradable plastic additives
Plastics are among the most persistent materials in nature, taking hundreds of years to decompose. To address this issue, biodegradable additives were developed as a significant advancement in sustainable plastic manufacturing.Biodegradable additives are incorporated during plastic production to control and accelerate the breakdown of polymer molecules. When the product is exposed to elements such as oxygen, sunlight, moisture, or ambient temperature, the additive triggers the shortening of polymer chains and transforms the plastic structure into simpler compounds, including CO₂, H₂O, CH₄, inorganic substances, or biomass.
Among the current biodegradable additives, Reverte stands out as a trusted choice for many manufacturers. Reverte offers the following benefits:
- Transforms hard-to-degrade plastic products (such as nylon bags, PE and PP packaging, etc.) into materials that can decompose similarly to natural organic matter (leaves, twigs, animal remains, etc.).
- Shortens the plastic lifecycle by breaking down the polyolefin structure through exposure to light, oxygen, and temperature.
Plastic additives help accelerate the biodegradation rate of plastic products.
Additives for enhancing porosity in plastic products
In addition to the plastic additives mentioned above, porosity-enhancing additives also play a crucial role in modern plastic manufacturing. By generating hollow structures or air bubbles within the product, these additives help optimize the weight, cost, and performance of the final items.Some key benefits of porosity-enhancing additives include:
- Reduce product weight: Helps save raw materials and lower production costs.
- Enhance thermal and acoustic insulation: The porous structure effectively blocks heat and sound transmission.
- Improve mechanical stability: Increases structural stability, reducing shrinkage, warping, or surface deformation.
- Optimize product appearance: Ensures a smooth, uniform, and stable surface after molding.
- Physical foaming agents: work by releasing gas at high temperatures, including nitrogen, compressed air, liquid CO₂, and short-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons.
Chemical foaming agents: decompose at specific temperatures to release gas for foaming, including substances such as azodicarbonamide (ADC), azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN), and benzene sulfonyl hydrazide.
Plastic deodorizing additives
In modern plastic manufacturing, to reduce costs and meet technical requirements, producers often blend functional additives with recycled plastics. This process can generate odorous compounds such as ethylene (C₂H₄), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and amines or ammonia (NH₃).Although some odors may dissipate over time, environmental factors such as temperature, sunlight, and humidity can trigger the remaining compounds to continue releasing smells, negatively affecting living conditions, user experience, and product safety.
Therefore, adding deodorizing additives is a crucial step, as they absorb and neutralize odor-causing compounds, prevent further odor release, and improve the overall scent to a mild, pleasant, or odorless state.
Applications of plastic deodorizing additives:
Plastic deodorizing additives are becoming increasingly popular and widely used, with a growing impact on everyday life. For example, they are applied in children’s toys, household goods, food storage bags, office supplies, and plastic tubing materials.
Anti-aging additives for plastic products
Plastics are prone to degradation when exposed for long periods to environmental factors such as oxygen, UV (ultraviolet) radiation, high temperatures, or humidity. This process can make plastic products brittle, discolored, cracked, and lose their original elasticity and mechanical properties. To address this, anti-aging additives are incorporated into plastics to maintain polymer stability, resist oxidation and UV damage, prevent premature aging, and extend the durability and lifespan of the products.Applications of anti-aging additives:
Anti-aging additives are commonly applied in various manufacturing technologies, such as:
- Injection molding
- Extrusion
- Thermoforming, film rolling, and related processes
- Outdoor plastics: sunshades, park chairs, slides, playground equipment
- Wood-plastic composite (WPC) products: flooring, ceilings, louvers, decorative wall panels
- Plastic packaging, bags, pipes, and technical components
Anti-aging plastic additives help extend the lifespan and quality of products.
Slip agent:
During plastic processing, internal friction between polymer chains or between the plastic and equipment surfaces can cause several issues: overheating, sticking to molds, increased extrusion pressure, which may affect product quality and reduce equipment lifespan. Slip additives are introduced to effectively address these problems.Growth regulators in plastics are divided into two main groups:
- Internal Lubricants: Act directly on the polymer structure, reducing friction between polymer chains (improving flow), and preventing overheating or thermal degradation of the plastic. This type is commonly used in high-processing-temperature plastics such as PVC, PE, and PP.
External Lubricants: Form a barrier between the plastic and other components, preventing sticking to molds, enhancing surface smoothness, and reducing pulling force during shaping
- Fatty alcohols
- Fatty acids
- Paraffin wax
- Metallic stearates, such as calcium stearate and zinc stearate
- Low molecular weight polyethylene (LMW PE)
Stabilizing additives
During the production and use process, plastic products are subjected to many environmental impacts, causing polymer decomposition, deterioration of physical properties, discoloration, brittleness, significantly reducing product life. Therefore, additives that increase stability then play a temporary role in maintaining the performance and sustainability of plastic materials.Currently there are 2 types of plastic additives commonly used:
- Ultraviolet Stabilizers (UV Stabilizers):Common components include hydroxybenzo compounds, acrylic acid esters, hydroxyphenyl, and benzotriazoles. These additives help prevent polymer degradation under ultraviolet (UV) exposure, thereby reducing aging, discoloration, and surface cracking.
- Heat Stabilizers:Typical ingredients are salts of calcium, cadmium, and zinc. This type of additive functions to protect polymers from thermal degradation at high temperatures, prevent the release of HCl in PVC, and maintain the product’s color and flexibility without becoming brittle.
Colorants:
Besides technical performance, aesthetic factors also play a crucial role in the plastic manufacturing industry. Color additives are among the most common solutions used to enhance product value, attract consumer attention, and strengthen brand recognition. Most color additives today are made from safe and non-toxic materials, especially for products such as children’s toys, food packaging, and medical devices.Applications of color additives
- Food and cosmetic plastic packaging
- Children’s toys and stationery
- Household products and electronic devices
- Plastic pipes and construction materials
- Automotive parts and engineering plastics
Color additives help enhance the aesthetic value of the product.
Plastic additives play a key role in enhancing the quality, performance, and durability of plastic products across various industries. We hope this article has helped you understand what plastic additives are and how to choose the right type for your production needs.
If you are looking for a reliable and high-quality supplier of plastic additives, don’t hesitate to contact the expert team at APEX for detailed consultation and support!
If you are looking for a reliable and high-quality supplier of plastic additives, don’t hesitate to contact the expert team at APEX for detailed consultation and support!
Article Classification
Recent Articles
- What is limestone powder? Applications of limestone powder
- What is filler masterbatch resin? How is it applied?
- Top 10 types of plastics used in injection molding technology
- What are fillers? Classification and applications of plastic fillers
- What are plastic additives? 11+ common types of plastic additives