additives | Polymer foam Infinergy TPU hits it off
A recent novel application of foamed plastics has resulted from joint develop- ment work between sports racket manufacturer Dunlop and BASF. Power Flex is a new padel bat that consists of a foamed core of BASF’s Infinergy expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (E-TPU). The two companies claim that the elastic properties and resilience of the expanded TPU offer a number of advantages in terms of playability and bat durability. BASF says Infinergy is as elastic as rubber but is lighter, allowingl weight to be optimised. ❙
www.basf.com
Processing matters Polymer foaming also requires the right processing equipment, according to KraussMaffei Berstorff Manager Foam Extrusion Joachin Meyke. “The main focus at present is on resource-efficient material usage in lightweight construction and thermal insulation,” he says. “Well-tuned processes and process parameters are required for specific application requirements. Specific problems are the processing of various thermoplastic polymers like polystyrene (XPS), polypropylene (XPP) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), as well as of engineering thermoplastics with a maximum temperature of up to 280°C containing different physical blowing agents.” Meyke says the company’s most recent development in
the polymer foaming area is its Schaumtandex ZE30/KE60 laboratory line. “The line offers the opportunity to perform trials at laboratory scale in order to transfer the experi- ence gathered to production-scale processes. At the same time, it features flexibility when it comes to determining ideal process parameters for new material compositions. The line is a downscaled version of production lines with output rates of up to 2 tonnes/h,” he says. According to KraussMaffei Berstorff, the Schaumtan-
dex ZE 30/KE 60 line concept is particularly suited for physical foaming of plastics using environmentally compatible blowing agents. “The line is composed of a
Right: An IsoBoard
Schaumtandex line for
production of XPS boards
Dunlop’s Power
Flex padel bat uses BASF’s Infinergy
expanded thermoplastic polyurethane
ZE 30 UTX twin-screw extruder for melting and mixing and a KE 60 single-screw extruder designed for melt cooling,” says Meyke. “The modular design of the twin-screw extruder is ideal for processing all standard plastics and many high-temperature polymers with maximum temperatures of up to 350°C. The blowing agents are injected in liquid form via injection nozzles directly into the processing section of the twin-screw extruder and subsequently mixed in.” Due to the extensive range of barrel and screw sections available, the Schaumtandex ZE 30/KE 60 system can be adapted to new process tasks at any time. The KE 60 also features the patented ‘active melt seal’ in the standard version, which prevents blowing agent leakage towards the gear unit. The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology
(ICT) in Pfinztal, Germany is currently using a Schaumtandex ZE 30/KE 60 for polymer foam research. “The institute’s scientists are engaged in developing new physically foamed materials with tailored proper- ties,” says Meyke. “The focus is placed, among others, on the development of foamed biopolymers and the examination of the foaming properties of engineering polymers and their potential application as insulating or lightweight building materials. In addition, the Fraun- hofer Institute plans to develop new process concepts for the design of sandwich elements with foamed core and innovative composite materials using functional and reinforcing additives.”
Click on the links for more information: ❙
www.reedyintl.com ❙
www.polymer-engineering.de (University of Bayreuth) ❙
www.clariant.com/masterbatches ❙
www.imerys.com ❙
www.trexel.com ❙
www.polyone.com ❙
www.fluorocompounds.com (AGC Chemicals) ❙
www.kraussmaffeiberstorff.com ❙
www.fraunhofer.de
50 COMPOUNDING WORLD | January 2016
www.compoundingworld.com
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