Erucamide: Properties, Uses in Plastics and Regulatory Status

Erucamide ((Z)-docos-13-enamide, CAS 112-84-5) is a primary unsaturated fatty acid amide used as a slip agent in polyolefin film, where it migrates to the surface after extrusion and lowers the coefficient of friction (COF). Because that migration takes days rather than seconds, the amount of erucamide a converter adds and the moment at which the film is tested decide the result.

Erucamide is authorised for EU food-contact plastics as FCM substance 271 under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 with no specific migration limit, is cleared in the United States under 21 CFR 178.3860, and works at 0.05 to 0.12 wt% (500 to 1,200 ppm) in polyolefin film (status 23 September 2026). Erucamide is one of 19 slip-agent pages in our directory of plastic additives, each with the same identity, dosage and regulatory fields.

This page holds the data-sheet view and the compliance view together: identity, the bloom mechanism, the PubChem constants, the dosage from LDPE film to HDPE closures, 6 application areas, the COF and chromatographic test methods, a dated matrix across REACH, EU 10/2011, CLP, FDA and TSCA, the comparison with oleamide, behenamide and the secondary amides, and the producers a buyer can source. This page covers erucamide as a plastics additive; its role in the biomedical literature as an endogenous fatty acid amide is outside the scope of this reference.

Table T1. Erucamide identity card.

Footnote: identity and physical data from PubChem CID 5365371; EC number from ECHA CHEM 100.003.645; regulatory entries from the Union list of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 and from the eCFR. Status as of 23 September 2026.

What Is Erucamide?#

Erucamide is a primary fatty acid amide with a 22-carbon chain and one cis double bond at position 13 (C22:1), supplied as an off-white waxy solid in bead, powder or micro-pearl form. The chemical name records the parent acid: erucamide is the amide of erucic acid, in which the carboxylic acid group is replaced by a primary amide group carrying two hydrogens. That single structural change turns a fatty acid into an additive with limited solubility in polyethylene and polypropylene, and limited solubility is the property on which every one of the migrating slip additives depends. What separates erucamide from the other amide slip agents?

Chain length and saturation separate them. The C22:1 chain is four carbons longer than the C18:1 chain of oleamide, so erucamide blooms more slowly and tolerates more heat, while its single cis double bond keeps the melting point far below that of the saturated C22 amide behenamide. Erucamide is the reference member of the slip additives for plastic film, the family that also covers silicone and secondary-amide chemistries, and it is the amide against which converters benchmark slow bloom in polyolefin film, closures and fibres. The comparison section below sets the four commercial amide classes side by side.

What is the chemical name for erucamide?#

The systematic chemical name for erucamide is (Z)-docos-13-enamide; suppliers and databases also list it as erucylamide, erucic acid amide, cis-13-docosenamide and 13-docosenamide (Z)-. The name states the whole structure, 22 carbons (docos-), one double bond at carbon 13 in the cis or Z configuration and an amide end group, which together give the molecular formula C22H43NO and a molecular weight of 337.6 g/mol.

Is erucamide a fatty acid amide?#

Yes: erucamide is a primary fatty acid amide, the amide group carrying two hydrogens (RCONH2), which is the structural class that also contains oleamide, stearamide and behenamide. Two further classes sit beside the primary amides. Secondary amides such as stearyl erucamide and oleyl palmitamide carry an alkyl group on the nitrogen (RCONHR'), and bis-amides such as ethylene bis-stearamide (EBS) and ethylene bis-oleamide (EBO) carry two amide groups joined by an ethylene bridge. Primary, secondary and bis-amides are compared as a class on fatty acid amide slip agents, and the three classes differ in migration rate, thermal stability and EU food-contact restriction rather than in the physical principle they use.

What are the trade names for erucamide?#

Erucamide is sold under trade names including Crodamide ER and Crodamide E, Kemamide E, Armoslip E, Armid E and Unislip 1753. A trade name identifies a grade rather than a different substance: each of these names refers to CAS 112-84-5, and the differences between them lie in amide content, physical form and handling additives.

How Does Erucamide Work as a Slip Agent?#

Erucamide works because it is only sparingly soluble in polyethylene and polypropylene: after extrusion the supersaturated amide diffuses out of the bulk and crystallises on the surface, where it forms a lubricating layer that lowers both film-to-film and film-to-metal friction. The bulk polymer acts as the reservoir and the surface acts as the working zone, so the additive blooms to the surface continuously until the two reach equilibrium. Longer chains diffuse more slowly, which is why the C22 chain of erucamide gives slower bloom and higher thermal stability than the C18 chain of oleamide.

The surface layer is thin and ordered. Atomic force microscopy by Gubała and colleagues, in the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science in 2020, resolved erucamide on polypropylene fibres as bilayers about 4 nm thick, and Dulal and colleagues (2017) found placoid, scale-like structures on HDPE closures. Film-to-film COF tracks the surface concentration of the amide rather than the amount mixed into the compound, a relationship quantified by Ramírez, Walters and Hirt at Clemson University in the Journal of Vinyl and Additive Technology in 2005.

Four rules govern how fast erucamide reaches the surface.

• Chain length sets the rate: a shorter chain blooms faster and carries lower thermal stability, so oleamide reaches the surface before erucamide, and erucamide before behenamide.
• Bloom time runs in two stages: most of the COF reduction appears within 24 to 48 hours, and the final COF follows after 7 to 10 days.
• Film gauge sets the dose: a thicker film needs a lower slip level for the same COF.
• Surface excess carries a cost: too much slip hinders corona treatment and impairs printing and heat sealing.

Blooming is a solubility phenomenon rather than a defect, and it is explained for every additive class on blooming and exudation in plastics.

Why does slip take days to develop?#

Most of erucamide's COF reduction appears within 24 to 48 hours, and the final COF is reached only after 7 to 10 days, because the additive has to diffuse through the bulk before it reaches the surface. ASTM D1894 records the consequence inside the standard itself: slip additives bloom to the surface, so friction results depend on the time after production, and a quality-control result taken on day one and a result taken on day ten are different numbers for the same film. Conditioning is therefore part of the test method rather than a delay in it, and bloom curves and conditioning times are plotted on slip agent migration and COF development.

In a coextruded film the reservoir is not confined to its own layer. Sankhe and Hirt mapped erucamide by synchrotron FT-IR in 2003 and found that an amide planned at 1 wt% in an LLDPE layer migrated substantially into the adjacent polyolefin plastomer layer, with nearly uniform concentration profiles across 50 µm structures.

Why is slow bloom preferred for roll stock?#

Slow bloom is preferred for roll stock because an early low COF causes winding problems: when friction falls while the web is still on the winder, the roll slips and telescopes. Converters therefore choose the amide that reaches its target COF after the roll is wound and conditioned, which is the operating reason erucamide displaces oleamide in film that is stored before conversion.

What Are the Physical and Chemical Properties of Erucamide?#

Erucamide is an off-white waxy solid, supplied as beads, powder or micro-pearls, with a melting point of 75 to 80 °C (167 to 176 °F) and no measurable solubility in water. The table below separates the physical constants recorded by PubChem from the values printed on supplier comparison sheets, because the two differ for this substance.

Table T2. Physical and chemical properties of erucamide.

The physical form carries as much weight in handling as in performance, because micro-pearls meter and disperse into a masterbatch more evenly than powder does, and the waxy solid dissolves into the polymer melt rather than wetting the screw. Supplier data put erucamide's thermal stability at about 240 °C (about 464 °F), above oleamide and below the secondary amides; these are supplier figures, not values from a primary standard-based measurement. Boiling point, density and a quantified water-solubility figure are not held in our verified data set for erucamide, and this page prints none of them rather than repeating an unsourced number.

What is the melting point of erucamide?#

The melting point of erucamide is 75 to 80 °C (167 to 176 °F) according to PubChem; supplier comparison sheets quote a slightly higher range of 78 to 85 °C (172 to 185 °F) for commercial grades. The gap between the two is a purity and specification effect, because a database value describes the pure substance while a specification range describes a traded grade with a stated amide content. Check which substance a data sheet actually describes: at least one circulated "erucamide" technical data sheet specifies an amide content of more than 66 % C18:1 and a melting range of 71 to 76 °C, which is an oleamide specification, not erucamide.

Which Polymers Use Erucamide, and at What Dosage?#

Erucamide is used almost entirely in polyolefins: 0.05 to 0.12 wt% (500 to 1,200 ppm) in LDPE and LLDPE film, and 500 to 5,000 ppm across the polypropylene range studied in the literature. Dosage is set by the surface that has to be lubricated rather than by the mass of the part, so the number that governs the formulation is the let-down level of the slip masterbatch against the film gauge.

Table T3. Erucamide dosage by polymer and form.

Footnote: supplier guideline values are typical starting points, not specifications.

Dosage rises with wall thickness and with the moulding process. The EFSA dossier for the related branched and linear C14-C18 alkanamide mixture authorised as FCM substance 1065 (opinion 2017, amended 2021) gives intended use levels of 0.2 wt% in films, 0.5 wt% in closures, 0.9 wt% in compression-moulded articles and 1.0 wt% in injection-moulded articles, a useful ladder for the amide class as a whole. The slip agent is one line in a package that also carries antioxidant, antiblock, antistat and process aid, and the full film package around it is set out on additives for polyethylene (PE).

Erucamide in LDPE and LLDPE film#

In LDPE and LLDPE film, erucamide is dosed at 0.05 to 0.12 wt% (500 to 1,200 ppm), and the level falls as the gauge rises, because a thicker film carries more additive per unit of surface area. A 25 µm blown film and a 100 µm cast film with the same slip loading do not reach the same COF, so gauge-dependent dosing is a correction the formulator applies before the trial rather than after it. Gauge-dependent dosing is tabulated on slip agents for polyethylene film.

In coextruded structures the additive does not stay in the layer it was compounded into. Sankhe and Hirt (2003) followed erucamide planned at 1 wt% in an LLDPE layer and found that it migrated substantially into the adjacent polyolefin plastomer layer, with nearly uniform concentration profiles across 50 µm films, which means the slip level of a multilayer film is a property of the whole structure rather than of its skin.

Erucamide in PP, BOPP and CPP film#

Erucamide is the amide of choice in polypropylene film, including BOPP and CPP, because its higher melting point and heat resistance survive the processing temperatures that break down oleamide. The studied range in the polypropylene literature runs from 500 to 5,000 ppm, and a 2023 study in Polymers reports that erucamide combined with silica gives a lower COF than either additive alone. PP film carries a different additive package from PE film, and that package is set out on additives for polypropylene (PP).

BOPP adds a further constraint, because the slip agent sits in a thin skin layer over an oriented core and has to reach the surface without damaging the printable and sealable faces. Skin-layer choices for BOPP are compared on slip agents for polypropylene and BOPP.

Erucamide in HDPE caps and closures#

In HDPE closures, erucamide has to reach a surface concentration of 15.7 µg/cm² to reduce cap application torque, while behenamide achieves the same effect at 1.7 µg/cm², in the study by Dulal and colleagues (2017) at RMIT, CSIRO and Coca-Cola Amatil. Surface concentration in µg/cm² is not a formulation level: it is the amount that has bloomed and is available at the interface where the cap meets the neck finish, so a closure with the right bulk loading and the wrong conditioning still fails its torque window.

Surface structure differs with the amide as well. Erucamide forms placoid, scale-like features on the closure surface, while behenamide forms denticulate ones, and the EFSA intended use level for the C14-C18 alkanamide mixture in closures is 0.5 wt%, higher than the film level, because the wall is thicker. Torque targets and amide choice for closures are covered on slip agents for caps and closures.

Erucamide in PP nonwoven fibres#

On polypropylene nonwoven fibres erucamide forms bilayers about 4 nm thick, which changes the fibre hand and the perceived softness of the fabric. No bulk dosage figure for nonwovens is held in our verified data set, so the effect is described here and not quantified; fibre and nonwoven additive packages are covered on additives for synthetic fibres, textiles and nonwovens.

What Is Erucamide Used For? 6 Applications in Plastics#

Erucamide is used in 6 plastics application areas: blown and cast polyethylene film, BOPP and CPP packaging film, bottle caps and closures, polypropylene nonwovens, slip masterbatch and wire and cable jacketing. The 6 areas are listed below in order of processing volume.

• Blown and cast polyethylene film, where erucamide lowers film-to-film COF so that bags open, stack and convert.
• BOPP and CPP packaging film, where the amide works from a thin skin layer at PP processing temperatures.
• Bottle caps and closures in HDPE, where surface amide sets cap application and removal torque.
• Polypropylene nonwovens, where surface bilayers change fibre hand and fabric softness.
• Slip masterbatch, the concentrate form in which most erucamide reaches converters.
• Wire and cable jacketing, where the amide reduces friction during pulling and winding.

Most erucamide arrives at the extruder as a concentrate rather than as neat powder, which is how a 500 to 1,200 ppm target is metered accurately at line speed. Slip sits beside antiblock, antistat and antifog in the package described on additives for packaging film, and one masterbatch often carries two of those functions.

How Is Erucamide Performance Measured? COF and Additive Analysis#

Erucamide performance is measured as the coefficient of friction of the finished film under ASTM D1894, with ISO 8295 as the international equivalent for dynamic COF and ASTM D3354 for blocking. ASTM D1894 covers the static and kinetic COF of plastic film and sheeting, and it allows either a moving sled or a moving plane because the two configurations give the same values, with a heated plane as an option. Two numbers come out of the friction test rather than one: the static COF is the resistance at the start of motion and the kinetic COF is the resistance during steady sliding, and both are reported film-to-film and film-to-metal because a web rubs against itself and against the machine. Blocking is the separate failure mode: ASTM D3354 measures the load needed to separate two layers, up to a maximum of 200 g, and a film can pass a COF target and still block.

Table T5. Erucamide performance indicators and test methods.

Method details and sled conditions are on coefficient of friction and blocking of plastic film, and the numbers a specification quotes are only comparable when the conditioning time is quoted with them.

What coefficient of friction does polyolefin film need?#

Suppliers commonly aim for a coefficient of friction of around 0.2 in polyolefin film, a target figure from supplier literature rather than a standard specification. No standard sets a COF value for polyolefin film, because the value a converter needs depends on the machine, the web path and the pack format, and our verified data set holds no measured before-and-after COF pair for erucamide. Over-dosing is a real failure mode rather than a theoretical one: excess slip at the surface makes corona treatment difficult and impairs both printability and sealability, so the correct target is the lowest COF the line needs and not the lowest COF the additive can deliver.

How is erucamide content measured in PE and PP?#

Erucamide content is measured by liquid chromatography: ASTM D6953 covers polyethylene and ASTM D6042 covers polypropylene, both after solvent extraction and both reaching limits of detection near 2 ppm. ASTM D6953 extracts with isopropanol below a density of 0.94 g/cm³ and with cyclohexane above it, then quantifies by LC-UV against an external calibration, while ASTM D6042 uses cyclohexane and methylene chloride under reflux or ultrasonic extraction and quantifies by LC-UV at 200 nm against an internal standard. A gas-chromatographic route exists as well: Garrido-López and colleagues, writing in the Journal of Chromatography A in 2007, used pressurised liquid extraction with isopropanol at 105 °C followed by GC with flame ionisation, thermionic specific or mass-spectrometric detection for oleamide and erucamide. Extraction and chromatography routes for every additive class are on additive analysis and deformulation of plastics.

How Does Erucamide Interact with Other Additives?#

Erucamide is rarely the only migrating additive in a film, and its three most important interactions are with antiblock silica, with migrating antistats and with oxygen. The three interactions below decide whether a film reaches its COF target on schedule.

• Antiblock silica: synergy on COF, antagonism on migration rate, because the amide adsorbs onto the particle surface.
• Migrating antistats: competition for the same surface, so the two additives cannot be optimised in isolation.
• Oxygen: oxidative degradation of the amide, with aldehydes as the odour-relevant products.

Competing and cooperating additive pairs are catalogued on additive interactions: synergy and antagonism, and each of the three is treated below in the order of how often it changes a film formulation.

Erucamide and antiblock silica#

Erucamide and synthetic silica work better together than apart: in polypropylene the pair gives a lower COF than either additive alone, which is why combination slip and antiblock masterbatches exist. The mechanism is adsorption, because the amide attaches to the high-surface-area particle and is presented at the interface with it. The particle side of the pair is covered on antiblock additives.

The same adsorption slows migration. Synthetic silica holds slip and antistat molecules and delays their arrival at the surface, so a silica-loaded film needs either a longer conditioning time or a higher slip level to reach the same COF; precipitated silica below 0.5 wt% is enough for antiblock and COF reduction, and high pore-volume grades work at 1,000 to 1,500 ppm. Grade selection by film thickness is on silica antiblock.

Erucamide and antistatic agents#

Erucamide and migrating antistats such as glycerol monostearate, ethoxylated fatty amines and fatty diethanolamides compete for the same surface, so a film formulated for both properties needs the two levels balanced rather than each optimised alone. The surface is a finite area, and an antistat that wins the competition leaves a film that passes its charge-decay test and fails its COF test. GMS, ethoxylated amines and diethanolamides are compared on antistatic agents for plastics.

Oxidation, odour and taste in closures#

Erucamide oxidises: peroxide formation and chain scission produce aldehydes, and in caps and closures for beverages that shows up as an odour and taste problem rather than as a mechanical failure. The double bond at C13 is the reactive site, and the consequence is organoleptic, which is why closure producers screen amide-containing compounds by sensory panel as well as by torque.

What Is the Regulatory Status of Erucamide?#

Erucamide is registered under REACH, is not a Substance of Very High Concern, is authorised for EU food-contact plastics as FCM substance 271 without a specific migration limit, and is cleared in the United States as a release agent under 21 CFR 178.3860 (status 23 September 2026).

Table T6. Erucamide regulatory matrix, status 23 September 2026.

What registration, evaluation and restriction actually mean for an additive is explained on REACH and plastic additives, and the three questions a specifier asks most often about erucamide are answered below.

Is erucamide approved for food contact in the EU?#

Yes: erucamide is listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 as FCM substance 271 (Ref 52720) and carries no specific migration limit, so the generic SML of 60 mg/kg and the overall migration limit of 10 mg/dm² apply. Not every amide slip agent is treated the same way. The secondary amides stearyl erucamide (FCM 587) and oleyl palmitamide (FCM 622) each carry a specific migration limit of 5 mg/kg with the fat reduction factor applicable, and the branched and linear C14-C18 alkanamide mixture (CAS 85711-28-0, FCM 1065) is limited to 5 mg/kg, restricted to polyolefins and excluded from foods assigned simulant D2. The generic SML, the OML and the Union list structure are explained on EU 10/2011.

Table T7. EU Union list status of the amide slip agents.

Is erucamide FDA approved?#

Erucamide is cleared, not "FDA approved": it is listed in 21 CFR 178.3860 as a release agent for polymeric resins in contact with food, to be used in quantities not exceeding those required for the intended effect, and in 21 CFR 175.105 for adhesives. The listing carries no numeric limit, so the good manufacturing practice condition is the limit, and a compliance statement quotes the section rather than an approval. The clearance is not shared by every amide: oleamide is not named in 21 CFR 178.3860, and the entry for oleic acid amide in 21 CFR 178.3910 covers surface lubricants for the manufacture of metallic articles, not polymer additives. How a 21 CFR listing differs from an approval is set out on FDA food contact rules for plastic additives (21 CFR).

Is erucamide REACH registered, and is it an SVHC?#

Yes, erucamide is registered under REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006) with 36 active registrations in ECHA's database as of September 2026, and no, it is not a Substance of Very High Concern. The registration is an Article 10 full joint submission with a lead dossier from 2010, and the tonnage band is not held in our verified data set. Erucamide is absent from the Candidate List as checked on 22 September 2026, from Annex XIV and from Annex XVII, and every additive that is on the list, with the date it was added, is on the SVHC Candidate List.

Is Erucamide Toxic? Health, Safety and Environmental Profile#

Erucamide has no harmonised hazard classification under the EU CLP Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008: the majority of companies notifying it to ECHA report that it is not classified, while about one third notify skin irritation (H315), serious eye irritation (H319) and respiratory irritation (H335). A notification split of this kind describes disagreement between registrants about a self-classification rather than a regulatory finding. The three status points that carry legal weight are listed below.

• Classification: no harmonised CLP classification; the notified self-classifications divide between not classified and the H315, H319 and H335 irritation set.
• Migration: authorised in EU food-contact plastics without a specific migration limit, so the generic SML of 60 mg/kg and the overall migration limit of 10 mg/dm² are the controlling values.
• Regulatory absence: no SVHC listing, no REACH Annex XIV entry, no REACH Annex XVII restriction and no listing under the POPs Regulation (EU) 2019/1021.

Migration into food is the regulated exposure route for a slip agent, because the additive is designed to reach the surface, and the EU answers that route by authorising erucamide without a substance-specific limit and leaving the generic 60 mg/kg SML and the 10 mg/dm² OML in force under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011. How an SML is verified in practice, with simulants, times and temperatures, is on migration testing of plastics for food contact. No LD50, NOAEL or measured migration value for erucamide is held in our verified data set, so the substance is described here by its regulatory status rather than by an adjective.

What Are the Alternatives to Erucamide?#

The main alternatives to erucamide are the other fatty amides, graded by chain length and saturation: oleamide for fast bloom, stearamide and behenamide for slow bloom, stearyl erucamide and oleyl palmitamide for high processing temperatures, and non-migrating silicone slip where migration itself is the problem. The 8 amides below are ordered by chain length within each class.

Table T4. Fatty amide slip agents compared.

Footnote: melting points are PubChem values unless marked as supplier data. Bloom-speed and thermal-stability rankings come from supplier comparison literature and are relative rankings, not measured values.

The full side-by-side sits on erucamide vs oleamide vs behenamide, and the five comparisons below answer the selection questions a formulator asks first.

Erucamide vs oleamide: which slip agent is better?#

Erucamide is the better choice wherever processing temperature, roll-stock winding or a stable long-term COF matters, because its C22 chain blooms more slowly and survives more heat than oleamide's C18 chain; oleamide remains the cheaper option where a low COF is needed within hours. Bloom speed is the axis that separates them: the shorter chain reaches the surface faster and carries lower thermal stability, which makes oleamide the fast-slip amide for PE blown film and bags, and erucamide the amide for PP and BOPP film, for closures and for film that is wound and stored before conversion. Oleamide blooms faster and costs less, and its US food-contact route is not 21 CFR 178.3860.

That last point is the regulatory asymmetry no supplier comparison states. Both amides are in the EU Union list of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 without a specific migration limit, erucamide as FCM 271 and oleamide as FCM 335, but only erucamide is named in 21 CFR 178.3860, and commercial oleamide is covered under REACH through the multi-constituent entry "Amides, C18 (unsaturated)" (EC 931-801-1) because the single-constituent entry EC 206-103-9 has no active registration.

Erucamide vs behenamide for caps and closures#

For caps and closures behenamide is the stronger performer per unit of surface: Dulal and colleagues (2017) reduced HDPE cap application torque with 1.7 µg/cm² of behenamide, against 15.7 µg/cm² of erucamide. Surface efficiency of that order comes from a different surface structure, denticulate for behenamide against placoid for erucamide, and both were measured on the same closure system in the same study.

The trade-off is speed. Behenamide's saturated C22:0 chain and 110 to 113 °C melting point give it the slowest bloom and the highest thermal stability of the primary amides, so it suits closures and delayed-slip film rather than film that has to reach a target COF quickly, and it is cleared in the EU as FCM 458 without a specific migration limit and in the US under 21 CFR 178.3860 as a saturated fatty acid amide. Behenamide is the saturated C22 amide, with the slowest bloom of the primary amides.

Erucamide vs stearamide#

Stearamide is not an erucamide substitute for COF: its saturated C18:0 chain crystallises at the surface and delivers antiblock and mould release, called mold release in US data sheets, rather than the low friction erucamide gives. Stearamide melts at 107 to 109 °C (commercial grades 98 to 105 °C), carries CAS 124-26-5, and is authorised in the EU as FCM 306 without a specific migration limit and cleared under 21 CFR 178.3860; stearamide delivers antiblock and release rather than low COF.

Secondary amides: stearyl erucamide and oleyl palmitamide#

Stearyl erucamide and oleyl palmitamide are secondary amides: substituting the nitrogen removes one N-H, which lowers hydrogen bonding and volatility and gives slower, more controlled migration than erucamide at extrusion-coating temperatures. Stearyl erucamide (CAS 10094-45-8) melts at 72 to 78 °C in supplier data and holds up above 300 °C in supplier data, which is why it appears in extrusion coating and cast film where erucamide would volatilise.

The regulatory price of that stability is a limit. Both secondary amides carry a specific migration limit of 5 mg/kg in the Union list of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, stearyl erucamide as FCM 587 and oleyl palmitamide as FCM 622, both with the fat reduction factor applicable, while erucamide carries none; oleyl palmitamide (CAS 16260-09-6) is the other secondary amide used in cast film and extrusion coating.

Non-migrating silicone slip additives#

Where migration itself is the problem, silicone slip replaces the amide: silicone concentrates give BOPP a low COF without blooming, so the surface stays printable and metallizable. Spherical silicone resin particles sold as Tospearl carry a refractive index of 1.42 in grades from 1.8 to 10.5 µm, stay stable to 400 °C and are selected at a bead diameter of about 40 % of the skin-layer thickness; non-migrating chemistries are compared on silicone slip additives.

Who Manufactures Erucamide? Grades and Suppliers#

Erucamide is produced by oleochemical and additive companies including Croda, Nouryon, PMC Biogenix, Fine Organics and Baoxu Chemical, and sold under trade names such as Crodamide ER, Armoslip E, Armid E, Kemamide E and Unislip 1753. The producers are the same oleochemical and additive companies that supply the other fatty amides.

Table T8. Erucamide producers and trade names.

The Crodamide and Atmer lines passed into the Croda Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals business, of which Cargill acquired the majority in July 2022 for about GBP 667 million, and this page does not assert the current owner of either brand until that transfer is verified from corporate sources. Most erucamide reaches the extruder as additive masterbatch rather than as neat powder, so the commercial decision is usually a concentrate specification. Producer locations and product ranges are listed in the directory of slip agent and erucamide suppliers. Buyers should ask for the supplier's TDS and SDS, the amide content and the melting range, because at least one circulated erucamide TDS carries an oleamide specification.

How Do Fatty Amide Slip Agents Fit into the Wider Additive Picture?#

Erucamide is the reference member of the fatty amide slip agents, the additive family that sits beside antiblock, antistatic and antifog additives in the film-additive package. Slip agents make up 0.1 to 3 wt% of plastic products according to Chea and colleagues (2025), adapted from Hahladakis and colleagues (2018), and the family divides into four chemistries: primary amides, secondary amides, bis-amides and non-migrating silicone. Erucamide, oleamide and behenamide are the primary amides among the slip agents, and each of the four chemistries is chosen for a different balance of bloom speed, thermal stability and migration.

Slip, antiblock and antistatic additives are sold mainly as additive masterbatch, which is why a film formulation is usually discussed as a set of concentrates rather than as a set of substances.

What is the difference between a slip agent and an antiblock agent?#

A slip agent and an antiblock agent solve two different problems: the slip agent migrates to the surface and lowers friction, while the antiblock stays in place as a hard particle and lifts the two film faces apart by roughening the surface. Antiblock works by micro-roughness, which reduces the true contact area between the layers and with it the van der Waals adhesion that makes a film block, and the property is measured by the separation load of ASTM D3354 rather than by COF.

The dose scale differs by an order of magnitude. Erucamide works at 500 to 1,200 ppm, while diatomaceous earth or talc antiblock is trialled at 2,500 to 10,000 ppm, calcium carbonate at 2,500 to 20,000 ppm, precipitated silica below 0.5 wt% and high pore-volume silica at 1,000 to 1,500 ppm, with talc used up to 5 wt% in PP blown film.

Erucamide outside plastics#

Erucamide appears outside the plastics literature as well, most visibly in biomedical research on endogenous fatty acid amides, and this reference does not cover those uses. Search results for the substance name mix the two contexts, so the distinction is stated here rather than left to the reader: everything on this page describes erucamide as an additive in polyolefins, and no biological, cosmetic or food property is claimed for it anywhere in this reference.

What is the price of erucamide?#

Erucamide is sold by the tonne to compounders and masterbatch producers, and the price depends on grade and amide content, physical form, order volume and origin rather than on a single list figure. Current pricing therefore comes from a supplier quotation for the specific grade and volume; price drivers for additive classes are tracked under plastic additive prices.

Is erucamide bio-based?#

The name records the chemistry, not the feedstock: erucamide is the amide of erucic acid, and a bio-content figure for any specific grade has to come from that supplier's documentation. Our verified data set holds no feedstock or bio-content statement for erucamide, so this page repeats none.

Is erucamide the same as erucic acid?#

No: erucamide (CAS 112-84-5) is the amide, in which the acid group is replaced by an amide group, so it is a different substance from erucic acid with its own CAS number and its own regulatory entries. The two are related by one chemical step and separated by every identifier a compliance file uses, from the EC number to the FCM number.