SPE COURSE: Beta Nucleation for PP (Cheaper, Lighter & Recyclable)
Course
Beta Nucleation for PP (Cheaper, Lighter & Recyclable)
September 8, 2026 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET. Online
Summary
Beta nucleation is a powerful technology that enables polypropylene products to achieve improved performance, lower cost, and enhanced sustainability. This course provides materials scientists, engineers, and business professionals across the polypropylene value chain with a practical understanding of how polypropylene crystal structure influences material behavior and how beta nucleation can be used to optimize product properties. Through real-world applications and case studies, participants will learn how this technology can improve impact strength, toughness, heat sealing, weldability, and the performance of recycled polypropylene, while also enabling lightweighting and specialty microporous products. The course will also explore sustainability benefits, including reduced material and energy consumption, increased value of recycled PP, and innovative approaches for producing thermoformed parts without pigments or mineral fillers. Applications covered include thermoformed packaging, breathable films, geogrids, pressure pipes, and injection molded or rotomolded polypropylene products.
Dr. Philip Jacoby received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. He was a Senior Research Associate with Amoco and BP-Amoco in the Polypropylene Product Development group for more than 26 years. He holds 13 US patents and several international patents covering various polypropylene products, with emphasis on the use of Beta Nucleation in polypropylene. While at Amoco he developed a new business involving the production and sale of microporous PP breathable/waterproof film, and he authored six US patents on this technology.
He joined Mayzo, Inc. (an additive and release coat supplier) as VP of Technology in October, 2002. While at Mayzo he developed an entirely new business based on the production and sale of Beta Nucleant masterbatches for use in polypropylene. He also authored several additional patents. He has also written numerous technical articles involving PP technology, and authored a book entitled “Beta Nucleation of Polypropylene”. He is a past president of the Southern Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), and a former board member of the Thermoforming Division of the SPE. He retired from Mayzo in March, 2014, and now does independent consulting.
Specialties: Polyolefin technology and product development. Polypropylene structure-property relationships.
This course is designed for professionals working across the polypropylene value chain who are focused on material performance, cost optimization, and sustainability, including:
Materials scientists and polymer engineers
Process and manufacturing engineers working with polypropylene
Product and application engineers
Resin producers and compounders developing PP formulations
Additive suppliers and technical sales teams
R&D professionals developing new PP-based materials and compounds
Professionals working on lightweighting, recycled PP, and sustainable material solutions
Why Should You Attend?
Polypropylene properties are strongly influenced by its crystalline structure, which can be tailored through beta nucleation.
This course explains how beta nucleating agents can be used not only to enhance performance, but also to develop lighter, lower-cost, and more sustainable PP products. Participants will learn how to use beta nucleation as a tool for material design, enabling improved toughness, functionality, and product differentiation.
Everyday Problems You’ll Address
How can I improve impact strength and toughness without increasing cost?
How can I reduce material usage while maintaining performance?
How can I improve weldability and heat sealing in PP products?
How can recycled PP performance be improved for higher-value applications?
How can I enable new product features such as breathability or microporosity?
When should beta nucleation be used instead of conventional approaches?
What You’ll Learn
You will gain a practical understanding of beta nucleation in polypropylene, including:
Fundamentals of polypropylene crystallinity and crystal structures
How beta nucleation modifies morphology and material behavior
Impact of beta nucleation on toughness, heat resistance, weldability, and sealing performance
How beta nucleants improve performance of recycled polypropylene
How to use beta nucleation to enable lightweighting and cost reduction
Applications of beta nucleation in films, thermoforming, pipes, and molded parts
Practical guidelines for selecting and implementing beta nucleating systems in formulations
Why This Course Matters
Beta nucleation is a powerful but underutilized tool for engineering polypropylene performance.
This course matters because it provides professionals with the knowledge to improve material efficiency, reduce cost, and enable innovative applications. By leveraging beta nucleation, companies can enhance performance, increase the value of recycled PP, and develop next-generation products that meet both technical and sustainability requirements.
This educational program is provided as a service of SPE. The views and opinions expressed on this or any SPE educational program are those of the Speaker(s) and/or the persons appearing with the Speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Society of Plastics Engineers, Inc. (SPE) or its officials, employees or designees. To comment or to present an opposing or supporting opinion, please contact us at info@4SPE.org.
Refund Policy
Full refund 14 days prior to the event start date. Please contact customerrelations@4spe.org for assistance with registration.
Copyright & Permission to Use
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Anti-Trust Statement
No discussion among members, volunteers, or staff, which attempts to arrive at any agreement regarding prices, terms or conditions of sale, distribution, volume, territories, or customers;
No activity or communication which might be construed as an attempt to prevent any person or business entity from gaining access to any market or customer for goods or services or any business entity from obtaining services or a supply of goods;
No activity or communication which might be construed as an agreement to refrain from purchasing or using any materials, equipment, services or supplies of or from any supplier; or
No other activity which violates anti-trust or applicable laws aimed at preventing unfair competition.
