Plastics News Europe - June 2019 - 28

elastomers

➡ Continued from page 27
aesthetics and ergonomics. Product
design - whether a hair brush or a
power drill - has strongly benefitted
from the development of overmoulding technology.

Different classes
Today, TPEs have grown into significant players in the elastomers industry. They are 'a diverse and expanding
family of compounds', as Bradford
described them, based on a number
of different raw materials and technologies. As explained above, traditional TPEs are two-phase materials
consisting of an elastomer - the soft
phase - that gives the material its
elastic or soft properties and a hard
thermoplastic phase, that gives it
strength. TPE materials can therefore
be classified by their chemical composition, with each class exhibiting its
own list of properties and functionality, said Bradford. "Each class has
benefits and limitations in different
environments."
She continued: "We believe we
have one of the most comprehensive
TPE portfolios in the industry, with
grades based on TPS, TPO, TPU, TPV
and biobased technologies. This gives
us the flexibility to customise the best
option for each application, as we're
not limited to a specific class."

Growth opportunities
By all accounts, the TPE market is one
that continues to expand at a rapid
pace. In fact, according to a study
published in February this year by
Smithers Rapra, the global market for

TPEs are replacing flexible PVC in several applications including
medical tubing

thermoplastic elastomers will grow at
a CAGR of 6.2% from 2019 to 2024.
While classical rubber replacement
continues to be a major contribution
to TPE's growth, the main growth
driver is the global automotive
industry - and particularly electrically driven vehicles, sales of
which, wrote the authors of the report, are growing at double-digit CAGRs.
"The need to increase their driving
range will demand serious weight reductions and as such, greater use of
plastics and elastomers in construction. Heavy goods, buses and other
forms of transportation will also benefit. While slower to take off the autonomous vehicle will require even

TPE classes
CLASS
TPS or TPE-S
TPO or TPE-O

DESCRIPTION
Styrenic Block Copolymers
Thermoplastic Polyolefin

TPV or TPE-V

Thermoplastic Vulcanisate

TPU or TPE-U

Thermoplastic Polyurethane

TPC or TPE-E
TPA or TPE-A
TPZ

Thermoplastic Polyesters
Polyether copolyamides
Miscellaneous material

BASE CHEMISTRY
Compounds based on SBS, SEBS or SEPS
Blends of PP and un-crosslinked EPDM rubber and
polyethylene
Blends of PP and EPDM rubber that have been
dynamically vulcanised
Reaction of diisocynate and polyglycol forms rigid blocks
of urethane and flexible blocks of polyethyleneglycol
Crystalline Polyamides reacted with polyether diol
Carboxylic Polyamides reacted with polyether diol
TPZ-(NBR+PVC), ...

Source: Hexpol

Comparison of typical properties
PROPERTY
Hardness (Shore)
Density
Service Temperature °C
(unstressed material)
Compression Set
Oil Resistance

TPS (SBS) TPS (SEBS) TPO
20A to
0A to
45A to
65D
65D
60D
0.9 to
0.9 to
0.86 to
1.2
1.2
0.93
-50 to
-50 to
-70 to
75
125
75
✓
✓✓
✓
✗
✓✓
✓

TPV
35A to
50D
0.94 to
1.1
-50 to
135
✓✓✓
✓✓

TPU
60A to
50D
1.06 to
1.25
-70 to
120
✓
✓

Source: Hexpol

28

TPC
90A to
80D
1.13 to
1.25
-70 to
120
✓
✓✓

TPA
60A to
70D
1.01 to
1.18
-30 to
150
✓
✗

Dryflex Circular TPEs containing
polymer recyclate

more cables and electrical equipment
than the electrically driven vehicle. Indeed, they are likely to become one
and the same in the future." (The Future of Thermoplastic Elastomers to
2024).
In industrial component and motor
vehicle markets, TPV in particular is
gaining ground over thermoset rubbers. Growth segments include components still made from EPDM rubber,
such as door and window seals.
The outlook for TPE is therefore
good, and Jill Bradford would agree.
"Our main volumes are in the TPS
area, particularly for sensitive applications such as food contact, medical
devices, automotive, toys and electronics, where there is a need for high
focus on product safety, performance
and consistency.," she said. "We're
also seeing growing interest for our
TPV compounds. As well as conventional EPDM based TPVs, here we're
now working with technologies such
as NBR, HNBR and hybrid systems to
open up further performance possibilities.
The company is witnessing growing demand from different sides of

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