Swedish compounder Hexpol (Malmö; www.hexpol.com) has extended its range of “Dryflex Green” bio-based TPEs. The thermoplastic elastomer compounds based on raw materials from renewable resources were originally launched in 2015 – see Plasteurope.com of 20.10.2015. The company said it has developed customisation options for the compounds – the hardness range has been expanded to include 20 Shore A to 50 Shore D, with amounts of renewable bio-based content increased to over 90%, depending on the hardness.

Thomas Köppl, manager of Hexpol’s central technology and development centre, said: “One of the key challenges we faced with the Dryflex Green TPE compounds was to develop low hardnesses with high levels of renewable content, since most bio-based raw materials in the market are quite hard on their own. We have now added lower hardnesses to the Dryflex Green range while at the same time maintaining mechanical properties.”

Dryflex Green compounds can be processed using standard thermoplastic processing methods, including injection moulding and extrusion. Typical applications include soft-touch grips and handles, tools and hardware, sports equipment and packaging.