What Is Oceanex?
Simply Oyster Shell Extracts. OCEANEX is derived by harnessing the power of the compounds naturally found in powdered Oyster shells. The shell is denatured, and blended with some additional organic material to create super-fine OCEANEX powder that can then be used as a high polymer replacement in the bags we manufacture. Don’t worry. there is no actual Oyster in OCEANEX so plastics that contain it will not present a problem for people with seafood allergies.
OCEANEX is supplied as a compounded masterbatch pellet. The stock pellet carrier in our Ecohound range is HDPE which is compatible with most types of plastics and less than 10% of the pellet mass. For our compostable range, PBAT will be used to create the OCEANEX master batch.
The Magic Ingredients:
Calcite
Calcium Carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCo3. Calcite is a naturally occurring polymorph of CaCo3 and it is the primary mineral found in limestone, marble and oyster shells. Powdered Calcite is widely used as a filler in the production of plastics but comes from mining and quarrying. Also, the advantage of using Calcite from Oyster shells is that it is bio-renewable.
Aragonite
Aragonite is the crystalline form of calcium carbonate. It has an orthorhombic crystal structure that helps it integrate well with synthetic polymers. This helps blends of plastic + OCEANEX establish a stable material structure compared to using conventional fillers. Finally, aragonite is sourced from Oyster shells of course also a bio-renewable material.
Chitin
In the nacreous layer of Oyster shells, the bio-polymer Chitin is the organic framework’s major component. Bio-polymers can be blended with synthetic polymers to increase the renewable content of plastics and provide dimensional stability.
How does Oceanex work in Ecohound waste bags?
OCEANEX is supplied as a compounded masterbatch pellet which is added to our HDPE Ecohound waste bags during the manufacturing process. We are able to achieve up to 25% high polymer replacement with OCEANEX.
Additionally, to create a fully bio-renewable masterbatch we can also offer the option to use Green PE (Braskem) as the carrier material, plus we can supply a version of OCEANEX compounded with PBAT that can be used with compostable bio-plastic films.
Is Oceanex Sustainable?
The shell of an oyster represents more than 70% of its total weight so every year processing oysters for food leaves behind millions of tons of waste oyster shells which presents a major disposal problem in many coastal regions. Some of this is sold for use as aggregate or pharmaceutical products, but much of it has historically been landfilled or thrown back into the sea. In recent years interest has grown in putting this sustainable waste stream to better use. The creators of OCEANEX are pioneers in utilising this bio-renewable waste material to bring improvements to the production of flexible and rigid non-durable plastics. There are also no GMO issues with OCEANEX and it does not contain a food stock.
Is Oceanex Recyclable?
The polymer component of plastic products containing OCEANEX can be recovered and recycled using standard processes.
Can Oceanex be blended with recycled plastic?
Yes, in fact OCEANEX can be blended with any percentage of recycled polymer so the Ecohound product range complies with ongoing global initiatives to encourage plastic recycling.
OCEANEX White Label – Create Your Own Brand
Finally, We would love to assist you in creating your own brand of Oceanex products. We can be with you every step of the way from innovation & design to manufacturing. In order to obtain further information about our custom branded services, please call us on 07810350902 or email us to discuss.