| HS Code | 815238 |
| Density | 1.24 g/cm³ |
| Melt Flow Rate 210 C 2 16 Kg | 10 g/10 min |
| Glass Transition Temperature | 55-60 °C |
| Crystalline Melt Temperature | 145-170 °C |
| Tensile Strength At Yield | 70 MPa |
| Tensile Strength At Break | 53 MPa |
| Tensile Elongation At Break | 3.5 % |
| Tensile Modulus | 3.5 GPa |
| Flexural Modulus | 3.8 GPa |
| Flexural Strength | 110 MPa |
| Notched Izod Impact Strength | 2.5 kJ/m² |
| Heat Deflection Temperature 0 45 Mpa | 55 °C |
| Vicat Softening Point | 55 °C |
| Rockwell Hardness | 88 |
| Clarity | Transparent |
As an accredited Ingeo™ Biopolymer 4044D Reactive Extrusion Chain-Branching PLA factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Ingeo™ Biopolymer 4044D Reactive Extrusion Chain-Branching PLA is packaged in 25 kg moisture-barrier bags, palletized and stretch-wrapped for shipment. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | 20′ FCL: 20 pallets, 40 × 25 kg bags per pallet, totaling 20,000 kg (20 MT) Ingeo™ Biopolymer 4044D PLA. |
| Shipping | Ingeo™ Biopolymer 4044D is shipped as solid resin pellets in moisture-barrier lined bags, typically 25 kg or 1,000 kg supersacks on pallets. Store/transport cool, dry, away from direct sunlight and excessive heat. Keep sealed to prevent moisture uptake. Not classified as hazardous for transport; no special DOT/IATA/IMDG labeling required. |
| Storage | Store Ingeo™ Biopolymer 4044D in its original, unopened packaging in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area. Keep away from moisture, direct sunlight, heat, and ignition sources. Recommended conditions: below 30°C and low humidity, ideally <50% RH. Reseal opened containers tightly to prevent hydrolysis; use stock first-in, first-out. Avoid prolonged storage in humid environments. |
| Shelf Life | Shelf life is 12 months from manufacture when stored unopened in cool, dry conditions below 50°C and 50% relative humidity. |
A 63.5 mm co-rotating twin-screw extruder with an L/D 44:1 barrel and a downstream tandem single-screw cooling extruder feeding a 300 mm annular die is used to convert Ingeo™ Biopolymer 4044D Reactive Extrusion Chain-Branching PLA into low-density extruded PLA foam. Formulation addition ratio: 80–95 wt% 4044D, 5–20 wt% linear PLA, 0.5–1.5 wt% talc nucleation agent, and 2.5–4.0 wt% isobutane. Melt temperature at the die is maintained at 162–172°C; post-die pressure drop is kept above 9 MPa to prevent premature cell coalescence. Food-contact compliance follows FDA FCN 000178 and EU Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 with overall migration at or below 10 mg/dm²; compostability testing per EN 13432 applies when organically recoverable claims are made. Downstream production process: pellets are pre-dried at 80°C for 4 h to below 250 ppm moisture, metered into the primary extruder, melted and pressurised to 18–22 MPa, dosed with isobutane at 12–16 L/D, cooled to 140–150°C in the secondary extruder, formed into sheet through an annular die, drawn over a calibrator, slit, and wound. Finished product types: refrigerated deli trays, meat trays, clamshells, and monolayer rollstock of density 25–60 kg/m³ and thickness 1.2–3.5 mm. Process conflict: if post-melt residence time exceeds 5 min at 190°C, thermo-mechanical chain scission reduces elongational viscosity below the threshold for cell wall stability, producing cell coalescence and density above 80 kg/m³; batch-to-batch moisture variation above 50 ppm shifts die pressure by 0.8–1.5 MPa and increases cell diameter standard deviation by 30–50%.
| Requirement | Standard or method | Typical test condition | Application threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. food contact | FDA FCN 000178 | Conditions of use E–G | Per FCN |
| EU plastic food contact | EU 10/2011 | Overall migration, 10 days/40°C | below 10 mg/dm² |
| Melt flow rate | ISO 1133-1 | 190°C/2.16 kg | Reported on certificate of analysis |
| Tensile properties | ISO 527-2 | 5 mm/min | Per end-market specification |
| Compostability | EN 13432 | Disintegration within 12 weeks | At least 90% biodegradation within 180 days |
In intermittent extrusion blow molding of 150–500 mL dairy and personal care containers, 4044D is dry-blended at 75–88 wt% with linear PLA at 12–25 wt%; no additional reactive chain extender is injected on the converting line because the reactive extrusion chain-branching architecture is already present in the resin. Food-contact compliance is anchored to FDA FCN 000178 and EU Regulation (EU) No 10/2011; sidewall tensile testing per ISO 527-2 is used for lot acceptance, and REACH SVHC content remains below 0.1 wt%. Downstream production process: pellets are pre-dried at 80°C for 4 h to below 300 ppm moisture, extruded through a 45–65 mm 24:1 single-screw extruder at 185–195°C, accumulated in a parison head, expanded by blowing air at 0.6–1.0 MPa, and cooled in a 15–35°C mold. Finished product types: 150–500 mL personal care bottles, home care dosing closures, and narrow-neck dairy bottles. Process limitation: when melt temperature exceeds 195°C or accumulator residence time exceeds 4 min, parison sag increases beyond 15% of programmed parison length, producing pinch-off wall thickness below 0.25 mm; die swell variation of 8–12% has been linked to inlet moisture fluctuations above 50 ppm. Blow-up ratio above 2.8:1 increases sidewall haze above 20% unless parison programming reduces thickness variation to below 5%.
When sheet temperature exceeds 108°C during horizontal form-fill-seal thermoforming, linear PLA exhibits sag that limits cavity depth and increases scrap rates above 12%; adding 4044D at 15–35 wt% into a linear PLA sheet compound raises elongational viscosity sufficiently to maintain draw ratio above 2.5:1 without excessive heat exposure. Compliance for dairy cup and lid applications is established under FDA FCN 000178 and EU Regulation (EU) No 10/2011; Vicat softening temperature is tested per ISO 306 to verify hot-fill resistance. Downstream production process: the sheet compound is extruded on a 90 mm 30:1 L/D single-screw extruder at 175–195°C, polished on a roll stack at 20–40°C, reheated to 95–110°C, and formed with plug assist into a 30–50°C mold at 35–50 cycles/min. Finished product types: dairy cups, portion pack lids, and tamper-evident deli containers. Process conflict: if 4044D loading exceeds 35 wt%, the sheet develops haze above 25% and plug sticking occurs when core sheet temperature exceeds 105°C; below 15 wt%, sheet sag exceeds 20 mm at a 100 mm draw depth, causing non-uniform wall thickness below 0.20 mm.
On a 65 mm 30:1 L/D single-screw extrusion coating line, 4044D is applied at 95.0–100.0 wt% with slip masterbatch at 0.0–5.0 wt%; melt temperature is controlled between 200–215°C and the slot die is set to an air gap of 150–250 mm. Compliance: EU Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 covers the plastic layer, FDA 21 CFR 176.170 covers the paperboard component in aqueous and fatty food packaging, and EN 13432 applies where organic recovery is claimed. Downstream production process: PLA is pre-dried at 80°C for 4 h to below 200 ppm moisture, extruded through a 250–500 mm slot die, drawn down onto clay-coated board, quenched on a 15–20°C chill roll, corona treated, and wound. Finished product types: hot and cold cupstock, folding cartons, and microwaveable paperboard trays. Process conflict: neck-in increases from 12 mm per side at 100 m/min to 40 mm per side at 250 m/min; release fails when coating weight falls below 12 g/m² or board moisture exceeds 6%. Published data for 4044D coating line speeds above 300 m/min is limited; adhesion to clay-coated board must be verified by tape peel tests at every roll start.
As a melt-strength let-down modifier for linear PLA converters, 4044D is blended at 10–30 wt% into general-purpose linear PLA to improve sag resistance without installing a reactive extrusion line. Compliance: REACH registration, RoHS 2011/65/EU where relevant, and melt flow rate testing per ISO 1133-1. Downstream production process: pellets are gravimetrically blended, pre-dried at 80°C for 4 h, compounded in a 25 mm co-rotating twin-screw extruder at 170–185°C and 200 rpm, strand pelletized, and secondary-dried to below 200 ppm moisture. Finished product types: high-melt-strength PLA pellet intermediates supplied to thermoforming sheet, blow molding, and foam conversion lines. Process limitation: bulk-density differences between 4044D and linear PLA above 10% cause gravimetric let-down variation of ±3 wt%, shifting MFR by ±1.5 g/10 min under ISO 1133-1 and creating visible sag differences downstream. Incompatibility: blending with amine-based chain extenders or metallic stearate lubricants above 0.2 wt% accelerates hydrolytic chain scission and should be avoided; pre-drying is mandatory when ambient relative humidity exceeds 60%.
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Ingeo™ Biopolymer 4044D is a polylactide resin supplied for reactive extrusion chain-branching operations in cast film, extrusion coating, foam, and heavy-gauge thermoforming. The resin is manufactured from lactide monomers with a controlled stereochemical composition that suppresses rapid crystallization during melt quenching while retaining sufficient backbone regularity for chain extension to raise molecular weight and melt elasticity. The grade is designated for converters and compounders that require a controlled base resin for post-polymerization modification, not necessarily for neat linear conversion. Published neat-resin values include a density of 1.24 g/cm³ per ASTM D792, a melt mass-flow rate in the 3–7 g/10 min range under 210 °C and 2.16 kg per ISO 1133-1:2022 or ASTM D1238, and a melt processing window between 180 °C and 210 °C. Lot-specific certificates should be consulted because reactive extrusion performance is sensitive to terminal acid value, residual lactide, moisture history, and D-lactide content rather than melt flow alone.
The product differs from 4032D and 4043D film grades in its intended use as a reactive compounding substrate. Where 4032D is selected for biaxially oriented PLA film with low haze and controlled heat-setting, and 4043D is used for higher-melt-strength film structures, 4044D is evaluated primarily for processes in which a compounder or converter adds chain-extending or branching chemistry to shift extensional rheology toward strain hardening. Compared with 3052D injection-molding grade, 4044D is not specified for high-cavitation fast-cycle molding; the modified melt may show higher elasticity and earlier gate freeze-off. Head-to-head published data comparing 4044D with other Ingeo grades under identical branching-agent loadings are limited; converter trials on the target line are normally required.
Chain branching is carried out in the melt state. The base resin is fed through a desiccant dryer and dosed into a co-rotating twin-screw extruder with an L/D ratio of 32:1 to 48:1. Liquid or masterbatch branching agents—commonly epoxide-functional styrene-acrylate copolymers, anhydride-functional compounds, or peroxide-initiated coupling systems—are injected after the polymer melt seal. Epoxide groups react with terminal carboxyl and hydroxyl groups to form β-hydroxy ester linkages; when the branching agent contains multiple epoxide groups, a branched or lightly crosslinked architecture develops. Peroxide initiation generates macroradicals that can recombine, but overdosing or residence time beyond the radical half-life leads to chain scission. The screw configuration must include kneading blocks in the injection zone and a downstream devolatilization section operating at −80 kPa or lower to remove moisture, residual lactide, and low-molecular-weight reaction products.
Production-scale monitoring relies on die pressure rather than melt flow alone. When chain extension is effective at constant screw speed and throughput, die pressure rises 10–30 % relative to the linear base resin; a falling die pressure may indicate hydrolysis, thermal degradation, or poor branching-agent dispersion. The practical melt-temperature control tolerance is approximately ±5 °C. Below 180 °C, the branching reaction may be incomplete, leaving unreacted epoxide or peroxide residues that affect downstream adhesion and organoleptics. Above 220 °C, thermal chain scission competes with chain extension, and the molecular weight distribution shifts downward even when the branching agent is present. Shear heating can add 3–8 °C to the melt in a high-shear screw profile; therefore, barrel setpoint alone is not sufficient to define the process window.
Additive dosing rates vary with branching-agent functionality and molecular weight. A liquid epoxy-functional chain extender is often metered at 0.3–1.0 wt% based on polymer mass, while solid masterbatches may require 2–5 wt% of a 10–20 % active carrier. Metering pumps should be calibrated against gravimetric loss-in-weight feeders, and the injection point should be maintained starved rather than flood-fed to avoid gel formation. A melt filter with 20–40 µm mesh is recommended downstream to remove localized gel particles that can produce coating streaks.
After chain branching, the key rheological responses are extrudate swell, melt tension, and transient extensional viscosity. Capillary rheometry is used to measure shear viscosity at processing-relevant shear rates, typically between 100 s⁻¹ and 1000 s⁻¹. A Rheotens device is used to measure melt tension and draw-down velocity; branched PLA typically shows a delayed onset of draw resonance relative to the linear precursor. Transient extensional viscosity measured by a filament-stretching rheometer increases above the linear viscoelastic envelope at Hencky strain rates of 0.1–1.0 s⁻¹, which is the signature that controls bubble stability in film, foam expansion, and sag resistance in thermoforming. Capillary rheometry should be performed with a die length-to-diameter ratio of 16:1 or greater to minimize entrance pressure loss; Bagley and Rabinowitsch corrections are required for absolute viscosity values per ISO 11443.
Gel permeation chromatography against polystyrene standards in chloroform or tetrahydrofuran is used to track molecular weight changes, but the branched architecture makes the comparison only semi-quantitative. A linear PLA calibration curve does not capture the hydrodynamic volume of branched chains. A more useful incoming resin control panel includes moisture by Karl Fischer titration, terminal acid value by titration, residual lactide by gas chromatography, and melt mass-flow rate by ASTM D1238. Two lots with equivalent melt flow can respond differently to chain extension if their acid values or moisture histories differ.
| Parameter | Value or range | Reference method |
|---|---|---|
| Density | 1.24 g/cm³ | ASTM D792 |
| Melt mass-flow rate | 3–7 g/10 min | ISO 1133-1:2022, 210 °C / 2.16 kg |
| Glass transition | 55–60 °C | ISO 11357-2:2020 |
| Melting range | 145–160 °C | ISO 11357-3:2020 |
| Pre-processing moisture limit | ≤250 ppm | Karl Fischer titration |
In contrast to 4032D, which is specified for biaxially oriented film with rapid heat-setting and controlled crystallization, 4044D is not primarily selected for haze-critical biax film. Its value is in downstream modification; after branching, it can enter cast film, extrusion coating, or foam without loss of the intrinsic PLA density and stiffness. Compared with 2003D general-purpose extrusion grade, 4044D may be less familiar to converters running linear PLA because the final melt elasticity is strongly affected by branching-agent chemistry, screw shear history, and moisture control. Published data for head-to-head comparison of all Ingeo grades under identical reactive extrusion conditions are limited; only a target-line trial can establish the operating offset.
On extrusion coating lines previously qualified on 4032D, substitution of 4044D requires re-establishing the edge-bead and draw-resonance window. A branched 4044D melt typically reduces neck-in and suppresses draw resonance relative to a linear PLA of equivalent shear viscosity, but only when the die temperature is maintained within ±5 °C and the melt stream is free of moisture. Coat-weight uniformity measured by beta gauge should be held within ±2 % of target; excursions beyond that range often indicate unstable melt tension or uneven branching-agent distribution. Adhesion to paperboard and polyolefin-based substrates is assessed by peel tests according to ASTM F88 for package seals or ISO 8510-2 for peel adhesion, depending on the structure.
On cast film lines, higher melt tension reduces sag between the die and chill roll but increases the risk of chill-roll pinning defects if the air knife position is not adjusted. Line speeds above 150 m/min amplify the effect of melt-temperature variation, and the chill-roll surface temperature is typically set below 30 °C to limit crystallinity development. Gauge profiles should be measured by a traversing thickness sensor using ISO 4593 or equivalent; thickness variation greater than ±3 % across the web indicates a need to adjust lip bolt settings, air knife pressure, or melt temperature. Tensile properties of cast film specimens are normally measured after conditioning at 23 °C and 50 % RH using ASTM D638-14 or ISO 527-2, with typical neat-PLA tensile yield strength near 60 MPa and tensile modulus near 3.5 GPa. Branching may increase elongation and tear propagation resistance, but the effect is structure-dependent and should be verified by ASTM D1922 Elmendorf tear testing.
Foam extrusion with branched 4044D is evaluated on twin-screw gas-injection lines. The branched structure supports bubble expansion and reduces cell coalescence, but 4044D-specific foam-density data are limited. On similar PLA systems, chain-extender addition at 0.3–1.0 wt% increases expansion ratio and cell density relative to the linear base resin; the exact response depends on branching-agent functionality, screw profile, gas injection pressure, and die geometry. Foam density should be measured by ASTM D1622 and cell structure by scanning electron microscopy rather than inferred from melt-flow data. The die pressure rise after branching-agent injection is an indirect indicator of expansion stability: a loss of die pressure during a foam trial usually signals moisture or thermal degradation.
Pre-drying of 4044D is mandatory before reactive extrusion. At ambient relative humidity above 60 %, open-hopper storage can raise pellet moisture above 1000 ppm within several hours. Desiccant drying at 80–100 °C for 4–8 h with a dew point of −40 °C or lower is recommended to bring the resin below 250 ppm. Inadequate drying causes hydrolytic molecular weight loss that cannot be fully offset by branching-agent addition; the observed result is a drop in die pressure, increased volatiles at the die lip, and reduced melt tension.
The grade should not be combined with free-amine additives or strong nucleophiles when epoxide-functional branching agents are used, because these species can accelerate ring-opening or form localized gel structures. Isocyanate-based chain extenders introduce different chemistry and require separate safety and migration qualification. If the branched 4044D is intended for food-contact applications, migration testing on the finished article is required under EU 10/2011 or applicable national legislation. Industrial compostability claims are evaluated under EN 13432 or ASTM D6400, but the addition of non-PLA branching agents must be reviewed to avoid invalidating the certification scope.
| Control domain | Standard or reference | Condition or limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Melt mass-flow rate | ISO 1133-1:2022 | 210 °C, 2.16 kg |
| Tensile properties | ASTM D638-14 | 23 °C, 50 % RH |
| Compostability | EN 13432 | Industrial composting only |
| Food-contact migration | EU 10/2011 | Finished article, branching agent included |
| Foam density | ASTM D1622 | Conditioned foam specimens |
During shutdown, the reactive extrusion line should be purged with a linear PLA or polyethylene-based purge compound; branched 4044D left at temperature can continue to react and build high-viscosity residues. Restart after a shutdown requires verifying melt temperature, vacuum level, and die pressure before feeding the next lot. These operational boundaries are more acute in 4044D reactive extrusion because the process intentionally drives the resin toward high molecular weight and high melt elasticity, leaving little margin for moisture or shear-history variation.
