DOW
EPDM, EVA, PVC challenged by new elastomers / Trademark "Engage"
Dow Plastics has entered the rubber industry with new elastomers based on its new polyolefins technology – and the challenge is made to EPR and EPDM, EVA and especially to flexible PVC. Applications in wire and cable, extruded profile and tube, coated fabrics and impact modification of plastics are the first targets. Automotives, building and medical are the key industry sectors.
Under the name "Engage", the new elastomers were launched at a world Press Briefing in London by Dow Europe SA (HQ: CH-8810 Horgen). They form the second part of the promised range of polyolefin plastomers and elastomers made possible by development of "Constrained Geometry Catalyst Technology" (CGCT) which is now named "Insite" and has been granted worldwide patents as a new composition of material. The plastomeric materials were introduced in September 1993 under the name "Affinity" and, according to Dow, are already selling in 16 commercial applications, mainly in North America, especially in sealants and shrink, stretch, sealing and cling films, where they compete with ionomers, EVA and very low density PE. Other applications include personal care and medical films, flexible custom-moulded goods and medical parts. Some 35 more applications have been identified for commercialisation during 1994.
Rapid progress from discovery to commercialisation has characterised the development of "Insite", which was first announced in December 1991 and a year later, at K '92 (November), a 55,000 tonnes/year production plant at Freeport/Texas was announced.
Similar speedy success is expected with "Engage" elastomers, and Dow executives were confidently predicting that a second US-located production plant of the same capacity will be converted to "Insite" polymers by the end of this year. In Europe, a pilot plant at Tessenderlo / Belgium has been started, to evaluate "Insite" technology in the slurry polymerisation process. At a price of DM 2.80-4.50/kg, Dow is not exactly "giving away" the new elastomers. But, with performance at least as good as and usually better than "conventional" elastomers, the strongest arguments will be low specific gravity and improved processability – which will get the processors reaching for their pocket calculators.
The "Engage" materials can be processed as thermoplastic elastomers, for crosslinked by peroxide, silane or radiation to produce thermosetting rubbers. Heat-ageing at 160-175oC and compression set are both better than EPDM, dissipation factor is very low, UV/ozone resistance is good and it is possible to produce halogen-free ignition-resistant compounds without the usual heavy compounding costs. These applications require some years before approval can be gained and the first application in Europe will be fabric coating – tablecloths (demonstrating also the high clarity of the elastomer), but applications in automotive seals and gaskets are expected to follow.
Company executives also made it clear that this is not the end. A key feature of Insite technology is its unprecedented control of polymer microstructure, with great versatility. In effect, it de-couples the classic trade-offs between performance and processability: "It breaks all the rules" said Kurt Swogger, R & D director for the North American Polyolefins Group. The metallocene-type catalyst controls the angles between the atomic groups, to produce regular ethylene chains with octane side-groups at uniform intervals – but with the addition of long end-chains which allow other co-monomers to be introduced, without the usual penalty in processability. The way is open (so it appears) to polymers with completely new combinations of components which until now had not been thought possible. Graham Fox, European Vice President of the Polyolefin and Elastomers Group, promised that there will now follow a whole succession of announcements of completely new materials.
READER SERVICE: Dow Plastics press releases with further details on the new material family: PIE-No. 35467 – Technical data sheets "Engage": PIE-No. 35468.
Under the name "Engage", the new elastomers were launched at a world Press Briefing in London by Dow Europe SA (HQ: CH-8810 Horgen). They form the second part of the promised range of polyolefin plastomers and elastomers made possible by development of "Constrained Geometry Catalyst Technology" (CGCT) which is now named "Insite" and has been granted worldwide patents as a new composition of material. The plastomeric materials were introduced in September 1993 under the name "Affinity" and, according to Dow, are already selling in 16 commercial applications, mainly in North America, especially in sealants and shrink, stretch, sealing and cling films, where they compete with ionomers, EVA and very low density PE. Other applications include personal care and medical films, flexible custom-moulded goods and medical parts. Some 35 more applications have been identified for commercialisation during 1994.
Rapid progress from discovery to commercialisation has characterised the development of "Insite", which was first announced in December 1991 and a year later, at K '92 (November), a 55,000 tonnes/year production plant at Freeport/Texas was announced.
Similar speedy success is expected with "Engage" elastomers, and Dow executives were confidently predicting that a second US-located production plant of the same capacity will be converted to "Insite" polymers by the end of this year. In Europe, a pilot plant at Tessenderlo / Belgium has been started, to evaluate "Insite" technology in the slurry polymerisation process. At a price of DM 2.80-4.50/kg, Dow is not exactly "giving away" the new elastomers. But, with performance at least as good as and usually better than "conventional" elastomers, the strongest arguments will be low specific gravity and improved processability – which will get the processors reaching for their pocket calculators.
The "Engage" materials can be processed as thermoplastic elastomers, for crosslinked by peroxide, silane or radiation to produce thermosetting rubbers. Heat-ageing at 160-175oC and compression set are both better than EPDM, dissipation factor is very low, UV/ozone resistance is good and it is possible to produce halogen-free ignition-resistant compounds without the usual heavy compounding costs. These applications require some years before approval can be gained and the first application in Europe will be fabric coating – tablecloths (demonstrating also the high clarity of the elastomer), but applications in automotive seals and gaskets are expected to follow.
Company executives also made it clear that this is not the end. A key feature of Insite technology is its unprecedented control of polymer microstructure, with great versatility. In effect, it de-couples the classic trade-offs between performance and processability: "It breaks all the rules" said Kurt Swogger, R & D director for the North American Polyolefins Group. The metallocene-type catalyst controls the angles between the atomic groups, to produce regular ethylene chains with octane side-groups at uniform intervals – but with the addition of long end-chains which allow other co-monomers to be introduced, without the usual penalty in processability. The way is open (so it appears) to polymers with completely new combinations of components which until now had not been thought possible. Graham Fox, European Vice President of the Polyolefin and Elastomers Group, promised that there will now follow a whole succession of announcements of completely new materials.
READER SERVICE: Dow Plastics press releases with further details on the new material family: PIE-No. 35467 – Technical data sheets "Engage": PIE-No. 35468.
15.02.1994 Plasteurope.com [21584]
Published on 15.02.1994