Textile & Fiber
BASF manufactures a wide range of additives for filament, yarns, woven and nonwoven. We provide specific solutions for fibers, including polyamide, polyester, polypropylene, acrylic and elastane, and a variety of applications such as artificial turf, carpets and upholstery made of synthetic fibers, automotive parts & components, geotextiles, roof felts and house-wrap and nonwovens.
Our range of versatile products includes process, thermal, and light stabilizers as well as flame retardants and polymer modifiers.
Automotive Interior
Car interiors are subject to intense light exposure and high temperatures, which will degrade the fabrics, if they are not protected with appropriate light stabilizers.
Additionally, color is perceived as a quality attribute which is an integral part of an automobile’s design and is the third most important criteria in the purchase decision. Interior color offers OEM designers wide range of customization and differentiation, and it affects the resale value of the vehicle.
Car interiors are subject to intense light exposure and high temperatures, which will degrade the fabrics if they are not protected with appropriate light stabilizers. Hindered Amine Light Stabilizers (HALS) have largely contributed to support the market growth of polypropylene for automotive applications.
BASF offers tailored solutions of powerful processing stabilizers systems used in fibers spinning to protect the polymers from thermal degradation, prevent discoloration on storage and contribute to extending the lifetime of carpet face fibers and backing.
Gas fading (yellowing/pinking) of the fibers is prevented by the phenol-free processing stabilizer systems Irgastab® FS.
Polyolefin nonwovens for seat ticking applications need to pass flame retardant tests such as MVSS 302.
Carpet & Upholstery
The synthetic fibers most commonly encountered in household applications are polyamide, which is used for carpet face yarns, polyester for upholstery and other soft furnishings, and polypropylene for carpet face yarns and soft furnishings.
Functional effects such as stain resistance are much in demand for carpets and upholstery, additional priorities are durability, appearance and comfort, including low odor.
It is also important to prevent the polymer from degrading during demanding conversion and have light stability over the expected life of the product.
The synthetic fibers most commonly encountered in household applications are polyamide, which is used for carpet face yarns, polyester for upholstery and other soft furnishings, and polypropylene for carpet face yarns and soft furnishings.
Functional effects such as stain resistance are much in demand for carpets and upholstery, additional priorities are durability, appearance and comfort, including low odor.
It is also important to prevent the polymer from degrading during demanding conversion and have light stability over the life of the product.
The synthetic fibers most commonly encountered in household applications are polyamide, which is used for carpet face yarns, polyester for upholstery and other soft furnishings, and polypropylene for carpet face yarns and soft furnishings.
Functional effects such as stain resistance are much in demand for carpets and upholstery, additional priorities are durability, appearance and comfort, including low odor.
It is also important to prevent the polymer from degrading during demanding conversion operations and have light stability over the life of the product.
Geotextile & construction
Polyolefin nonwovens used in geotextiles for construction fabrics have specific requirements as to performance and life-time expectations. Effect additives are used to modify the properties of nonwovens and broaden their applications.
Light stabilizers protect the fibers from degradation by UV light.
BASF’s state-of-the-art light stabilizers for polyolefin nonwovens increase the durability of polyolefin fibers for geotextiles and construction fabrics.
Very often geotextiles and construction fabrics need to be flame retarded to comply with fire safety regulations.
Hygiene & Medical
Nonwovens are widely used in medical and hygiene applications such as disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, wipes or hospital gowns. Different technologies are used to produce the nonwovens: spunlaid, wetlaid and drylaid.
The fibers are bonded thermally, chemically, mechanically or by hydroentanglement, depending on the webforming process and the chemical nature of the fibers.
Synthetic fibers play a major role in nonwovens, with polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester and polyamide being the most important polymers.
Effect additives can be used to modify the properties of nonwoven and broaden their applications.
Synthetic turf
With continued focus on turf systems, producers aim to provide a complete package including infill rather than limiting their focus on the individual components.
One of the key requirements for the entire system is durability. Light stabilizers protect the yarn from degradation by UV light.
BASF’s state-of-the-art light stabilizers for polypropylene slit tapes or raffia increase the durability of polyolefin yarns for artificial turf.
It is also important to select the proper colorant package in order to withstand specified weathering standards when used in mass tones, or for shading or reduction.