Do bottles yellow after fluorination?
A. Yellowing is a problem experienced in the plastics industry from time to time. It can usually be traced to antioxidants and possibly the presence of other compounds in the formulation or storage environment. Yellowing in the case of fluorinated containers can be experienced although this happens very rarely In polyolefins such as HDPE, LDPE and PP. The cause is usually quinone formulation by the antioxidant package. Some antioxidants are more prone to this than others. Note that resin manufacturers and suppliers can and have switched antioxidant packages without notifying customers. In fact the antioxidant is typically not even specified in most resin contracts. For optimum fluorination results this is a detail which needs attention. For more specific information on contaminating factors that can cause yellowing bottles, please contact Fluoro-Seal’s technical department in Houston. Phenolic-based antioxidants, particularly BHT and Irgonox® 1076, are most prone to this. Antioxidants
